Yellow Submarine (1968)
 The Beatles come to the rescue when the evil Blue Meanies try
to drive all the music and fun from Pepperland in the third
feature film featuring the acclaimed and influential rock band.
This marvellous Pop Art animated classic features songs from
Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper , so the Blue Meanies don't
stand a chance!
As the film opens, the sinister Blue Meanies launch an all-out
assault on Pepperland, stealing the love, peace and music from the
good people who live there.
 Only Old Fred escapes, and he seeks
out the Liverpool lads in his multi-talented yellow submarine.
Once the boys are rounded up, Fred and The Beatles travel in
the submarine through seas of monsters, science, time and holes,
running across such oddball creations as Jeremy Hillary Boob, PhD,
a fast-talking, rhyming munchkin.
The lads brave through every
danger with a smile and a song, eventually arriving at Pepperland
for a love-fuelled showdown with the Meanies and their dreaded
blue Glove.
Admittedly, the plot was a bit thin, but that was hardly the
point. Yellow Submarine wasn't a journey - it was a trip.
With a
wide palette of bright colours and a pop art psychedelic look
reminiscent of Peter Max, the movie was an endless source of
rainbow eye candy.
It was also a treat for the ears, mixing new
tunes like It's All Too Much with Beatles classics such as
Eleanor Rigby, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, All You Need Is Love and of
course, the title tune. When the music wasn't playing, the film
was peppered with clever bits of dialogue and throwaway
one-liners.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr
did not supply the voices for their likenesses, which were instead
provided by voice-over actors.
 Even though actors provide the
voices, they managed to capture each Beatle's individual
sensibility: John's cheekiness, Paul's cheeriness, George's
drollness and Ringo's penchant for always getting himself into
some sort of trouble.
The Beatles themselves appeared in a
live-action epilogue.
Yellow Submarine's original animation style and choice Beatles
songs made it an instant classic in its day.
In 1999, the film was
re-released on home video and DVD, including the Hey Bulldog
sequence cut from the original movie.
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