It turns out you don’t have to be on drugs to enjoy Yellow Submarine; I managed to have done so at least a dozen times. The question is: could I enjoy it better … ? Honestly, I’m not sure.
Ever since white men with money figured out you could sell pop idols, musicians have been part of the cinema. It’s not always a good part – I’m looking at you, Glitter. From every Elvis luau to Lady Gaga being born a star, we the audience have accepted a certain magnitude of “he can’t act” in exchange for some decent tunes. And yet, of all the films that exist solely to show off the music and musicians we love, Yellow Submarine is, by far, the best among them.
There is no mistaking the Yellow Submarine animation. You’re never going to be reminded of Shrek or Cinderella or South Park. There is no mistaking the villains of Yellow Submarine. You’re never going to say … “Blue Meanies … were those the bad guys in Raiders of the Lost Ark?” There’s no mistaking the plot of Yellow Submarine. “What’s that film again where The Beatles save Pepperland? I know … Schindler’s List.” There’s no mistaking the characters of Yellow Submarine – animated Beatles, snapping Turks, apple-dropping bonkers, yellow-toothed mickey-mouse eared blue blobs, an erudite Nowhere Man, a giant, malevolent, rocket-like glove; you’re not going to find any of these things in Pride & Prejudice.
It would be easy to dismiss Yellow Submarine as the product of and presentation for a throng of drug-influenced
hippies. The word “psychedelic” seems almost invented specifically for the images on screen. It doesn’t help that after the Sea of Monsters, Paul breaks into “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” The Beatles least well-concealed drug subterfuge. Heck, if even “The Simpsons” call you out, there must be something there, right? But replete with Beatles hits, terrible puns, and an uncanny benevolence, Yellow Submarine is an extremely clever and entertaining film … one in which the picture can literally count to 64 on screen and not lose an audience; good luck finding that true of any Daniel Day-Lewis movie.
The plot to Yellow Submarine is simple enough – the music-loathing Blue Meanies (a euphemism for critics, perhaps?) attack the animated paradise of Pepperland, forcing its remaining mobile inhabitant, Fred (voice of Lance Percival) to seek help, which he does with a flying/floating/contorting Yellow Submarine. Soon enough, Fred collects John, Paul, George, and Ringo (all songs performed by the band, but they are non-singing voiced by John Clive, Geoffrey Hughes, & Paul Angelis). This is one of the great coups of moviedom — aside from a cheesy end credits sequence, The Beatles themselves were not actually asked to act at all, not even voice act. See how that works? We get to see them all as cute and clever and funny (aside from being the greatest band in music history) and the Fab Four doesn’t have to do a thing but play music. Awesome, right? Animated and artificially-voiced versions of The Beatles return to Pepperland to battle the Blue Meanies, all while unleashing about a dozen Beatles songs into the world of psychedelic cartoonery.
Yellow Submarine and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory were probably my two favorite films until I discovered who this James Bond guy was or before Star Wars changed film forever. I don’t apologize for any of that. But I will say this much – were I to make a top 50 movie list of all time right now, no Bond film would come anywhere close, only one or two Star Wars films would get within throwing distance, but Yellow Submarine and Willy Wonka would still be on it.
♪Pepperland invaded by a Meanie horde
Fred he must escape by submarine
Finding four musicians that we’ve all adored
“Let’s take a trip, avoid the mescaline”
There goes “John!”
There goes “Paull!”
There goes “George!”
Rah
Don’t forget “Ringo” as well
Here comes “John!”
Here comes “Paull!”
Here comes “George!”
Rah
Dig that crazy hand-drawn cel♫
Rated G, 85 Minutes
Director: George Dunning
Writer: Lee Minoff and Al Brodax & Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal
Genre: Films like this don’t have a genre
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Beatles fans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Blue Meanies
♪ Parody Inspired by “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
