Yellow Submarine (1968)
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The story
Pepperland is a music-loving paradise under the sea, home to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The land falls under a surprise attack from the music-hating Blue Meanies, who live beyond the mountains. The attack starts with a music-proof glass globe that imprisons the band. The Blue Meanies fire projectiles and drop apples that render Pepperland's residents immobile as statues, and drain the entire countryside of colour. In the last minutes before his capture, Pepperland's elderly Lord High Mayor sends Young Fred to get help. Fred takes off in the Yellow Submarine to find the Beatles in Liverpool to join his quest.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Pepperland, a music-loving underwater paradise, is attacked by the music-hating Blue Meanies, who imprison the band in a glass globe and turn residents into statues. Young Fred escapes in the Yellow Submarine to Liverpool, where he recruits the Beatles. The group journeys back to Pepperland, passing the Sea of Time, the Sea of Science, and the Sea of Monsters. After a series of surreal adventures, including meeting Jeremy Hillary Boob Ph.D. and navigating the Sea of Holes, they arrive back at Pepperland. They find the landscape grey and miserable. The Beatles dress as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to rally the residents for a rebellion. They defeat the Dreadful Flying Glove and the Chief Blue Meanie's multi-headed dog. The Chief Blue Meanie eventually has a change of heart after Jeremy performs 'transformation magic' on him. Peace and love are restored to Pepperland. The film concludes with a live-action segment where the real Beatles show souvenirs from their journey and lead the audience in a sing-along.
- First release year
- 1968
- Runtime (minutes)
- 89
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- George Dunning
- Writers
- Lee Minoff · screenplay; Al Brodax · screenplay; Jack Mendelsohn · screenplay; Erich Segal · screenplay; Lee Minoff · story
- Cast and characters
- The Beatles · The Beatles (singing voice); Paul Angelis · Opening Narrator / The Chief Blue Meanie / Ringo Starr (additional dialogue); John Clive · John Lennon; Dick Emery · Max / Lord Mayor / Jeremy Hillary Boob Ph.D.; Geoffrey Hughes · Paul McCartney (as Geoff Hughes); Lance Percival · "Young / Old" Fred; Peter Batten · George Harrison (uncredited); George Harrison · himself (uncredited); John Lennon · himself (uncredited); Paul McCartney · himself (uncredited); Ringo Starr · himself (uncredited)
- Genres
- animated musical; fantasy; adventure; comedy
- Themes
- Peace; Love; Music as a force of nature; Surrealism
- Tone and mood
- Psychedelic; Whimsical; Phantasmagoric; Joyful
- Premise and plot tags
- Musical; Adventure; Fantasy; Animation
- Source material / true-story basis
- The music of the Beatles
- Reception
- The film received widespread critical acclaim and is regarded as a landmark of animation. It was praised for its lush, creative images and its soundtrack, being described as a joyful, phantasmagoric blend of colorful animation and music.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 97%; Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Awards and nominations
- Special Award · New York Film Critics Circle Awards · 1968 · Win; Hugo Award · Best Dramatic Presentation · 1969 · Nomination; Grammy Award · Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special · 1970 · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The Blue Meanies were originally intended to be red or purple, but were changed to blue by accident.; The film's animation was so decentralized that many official cells are unintentionally drawn 'off-model' with inconsistent proportions.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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