THE BEATLES: YELLOW SUBMARINE [1968 / 2012] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
The Animated Classic by The Beatles that is Inventive and Original!
The music-loving inhabitants of Pepperland are under siege by the Blue Meanies, a nasty group of music-hating creatures. The Lord Mayor of Pepperland [Dick Emery] dispatches sailor Old Fred [Lance Percival] to Liverpool, England, where he is to recruit the help of The Beatles [John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr]. Join the greatest band of all time for a mind-blowing voyage you will not forget and heralded as a “cartoon landmark” and this visually stunning odyssey turned animation upside-down with its irreverent style and innovative techniques. Where we see The Beatles sympathetic ride in a yellow submarine to the occupied Pepperland, where the Blue Meanies have no chance against the Fab Four's groovy tunes. Narrated by Paul Angelis.
Now lovingly restored digital in 4K by hand, frame by frame, this visionary ground-breaking animated film with glorious stereo and 5.1 surround soundtrack, looks and sounds even better than ever before.
FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 1969 Hugo Awards: Nomination: Best Dramatic Presentation for Al Brodax (screenplay), Erich Segal (Co-Writer), George Dunning (director), Jack Mendelsohn (screenplay), Lee Minoff (screenplay) Roger McGough (screenplay). 1969 National Board of Review, USA: Win: Top Ten Films. 1969 National Society of Film Critics’ Awards, USA: Win: George Dunning for a feature-length animation. 1970 Grammy Awards: Nomination: Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and George Martin.
Voice Cast: The Beatles (singing voices), Paul Angelis (Ringo / Chief Blue Meanie / George / Narrator), John Clive (John Lennon), Dick Emery (Jeremy Hilary Boob, Ph.D. – Nowhere Man / Lord Mayor / Max), Geoffrey Hughes (Paul McCartney), Lance Percival (Old Fred), Peter Batten (George Harrison) (uncredited), George Harrison (uncredited), John Lennon (uncredited), Paul McCartney (uncredited) and Ringo Starr (uncredited)
Director: George Dunning
Art Director: Heinz Edelmann
Animation: Jack Stokes and Robert Balser
Live-action: Al Brodax and Dennis Abey
Producers: Al Brodax, Alan Kozlowski and Mary Ellen Stewart
Screenplay: Al Brodax (screenplay), Erich Segal (screenplay), Jack Mendelsohn (screenplay), John Lennon (based upon a song), Paul McCartney (based upon a song), Lee Minoff (original story/screenplay) and Roger McGough (uncredited)
Composers: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Martin (Musical Director)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 1.0 LPCM Original Mono Audio
English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
German: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Italian: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio Stereo
Subtitles: English, English HOH, French, German, German HOH, Spanish, Italian, Português, Nederland, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish and Finnish
Running Time: 89 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Apple Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Roll out the red carpet for the 'THE BEATLES: YELLOW SUBMARINE’ release of this digitally restored 1968 animated classic by The Beatles! Here is a family film par excellence, there is something for everyone and children will thoroughly enjoy the animated cartoons, and adults will be able to sit back and feel what being young was all about; and everybody will revel in the amazing music of The Beatles.
The ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ is an animated film for all ages. The musicians who spearheaded the pop culture revolution of the Sixties proved with their creation of this animated feature film that they could reach across the generations. Entering into the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ is something like traveling to the fantasy world of Alice in Wonderland. The Beatles take us on an engaging and inventive voyage and they depict a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil.
The ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ animated film, has been given meticulous frame-by-frame restoration, making the Fab Four looks better than ever as the band’s animated odyssey arrives on the Blu-ray format. Some 44 years after its original release, the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ still ranks as one of The Beatles most famous works. Now newly released on a 4K frame-by-frame restoration, the animated odyssey looks better than ever. Originally developed as a creative way for The Beatles to fulfil its contract with United Artists after making the film HELP!
‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ gave The Beatles an opportunity to create a unique story that demanded a minimal time commitment. Presaging or predicting the music video era, the animated film focused more on pairing music with interesting imagery than telling a proper story, but it went on to be both a critical and commercial success.
The plot couldn't be simpler: Pepperland, a psychedelic haven of happy free-thinking people, is suddenly overrun by the evil Blue Meanies, a collection of odd generic baddies. One man escapes the carnage in a sea going, yet flying submarine vessel from which the animated film gets its name and with Old Fred lands on the doorstep of The Beatles mystic mansion and begs them to help rid Pepperland of the Blue Meanies. They agree, and so the odd odyssey begins. Along the way they venture through the Sea of Time, the Sea of Science, the Sea of Monsters, the Sea of Holes, and eventually the Sea of Green where Pepperland is, for their confrontation with the evil Blue Meanies. Along the way the animated film is punctuated with The Beatles timeless songs and peppered with thousands of throw-away jokes, groaners and one-liners typical of the era.
The creatures are pure magic, particularly the Blue Meanies, each representing a different aspect of "the man.” The Blue Meanies mouse like ears almost gives them a look of Mickey Mouse clones gone psycho; it leaves a lasting impression and if you do not recall whether you remember or a faded memory of ever seeing this animated film, but you'll remember the Blue Meanies. The dialogue is downright funny in a deadpan-cheeky-British way that just isn't seen anymore, like when Paul says, "Its blue glass!" Ringo says "Must be from Kentucky then?
‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ is the most innovative and surprising thing about this amazing animated film from the 1960s and features The Beatles on an amazing, vibrant journey via some of the most experimental and inventive animation techniques seen at that time. The film encapsulates everything good and lasting about The Beatles and their cultural influence. Watching their trip to Pepperland evokes nostalgia and total brilliance.
The music loving people of Pepperland are conquered by the anti-music Blue Meanies. Old Fred, conductor of Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, calls upon the Beatles for assistance. Armed with songs, the Liverpool quartet makes their way to Pepperland in a Yellow Submarine. On the way, they ward off dangers in the Sea of Monsters, the Sea of Time, Music, Nowhere, and the Sea of Holes. Once the Beatles arrive in Pepperland, the repression brought on by Jack the Nipper, the Apple Bonkers, The Hidden Persuader, the Snapping Turtle Turk, and the Roly-poly Butterfly Stompers comes to an end.
The Beatles don their band uniforms and sing life and love and colour back into the greying land. Fourteen of their best songs are showcased in Yellow Submarine: "Altogether Now," "All You Need Is Love," "Eleanor Rigby," "A Little Help From My Friends," "Strawberry Fields," "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Nowhere Man," "Fool on the Hill," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Michele," and "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
And they weren't alone in their appreciation, because the word “classic” is tossed around much too frequently when it comes to certain films, yet the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ earns its exalted legacy, and not just because of its association with the most successful group in music history. What director George Dunning and company were able to accomplish is astounding. The result is a feast for the eyes, and a wonderful delight for your ears, with something surreal occurring in just about every scene.
George Dunning directed this 89 minute animated film from a screenplay by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn, and Erich Segal. The music producer and supervisor was George Martin. It has been said about The Beatles, that the message of youthfulness, implicit in rock since the beginning, erupted as a dramatically explicit declaration. The animated film ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ marks the declaration of independence of this English Fab Four group who set a new standard for pop ballads by celebrating music's ability to transform life.
‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ is a true British animated film, and released in 1968, and of course was based on the songs of The Beatles. It was designed to appeal more to hippies of the era and adult fans of The Beatles than to children, the traditional target of animated productions. Though The Beatles agreed to participate in the making of this film, they did not provide the voices for their own characters, instead appearing only in a brief live-action epilogue. The psychedelic animation was considered quite innovative by the standards of the late 1960s, and it holds up well for many viewers when combined with The Beatles classic songs. The script was co-written by novelist and screenwriter Erich Segal.
YELLOW SUBMARINE MUSIC TRACK LIST
YELLOW SUBMARINE (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
HEY BULLDOG (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
ELEANOR RIGBY (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
LOVE YOU TO (Written by George Harrison) [Performed by The Beatles]
ALL TOGETHER NOW (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
THINK FOR YOURSELF (Written by George Harrison) [Performed by The Beatles]
SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
WITH A LITLLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
BABY YOU’RE A RICH MAN (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
WHEN I’M SIXTY-FOUR (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
NOWHERE MAN (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
IT’S ALL TOO MUCH (Written by George Harrison) [Performed by The Beatles]
ONLY A NORTHERN SONG (Written by George Harrison) [Performed by The Beatles]
A DAY IN THE LIFE (Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) [Performed by The Beatles]
TIPTOE THRU’ THE TULIPS WITH ME (uncredited) (Music by Joseph A. Burke) (Lyrics by Al Dubin) [Portion sung by Paul Angelis as "Tiptoe through the Meanies"]
Blu-ray Image Quality – Apple Films presents us with a stunning overhauled 1080p image presentation, and with an equally impressive 1.66:1 aspect ratio, really enhances this wonderful psychedelic animated film. The pop art explosion that is ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ has never looked sharper, bolder or brighter than on this new Blu-Ray release. The colours are unbelievably vibrant and the line and shadows detail is exceptionally strong. Sharpness appears immaculate. The animated film comes across as crisp, sharp and well defined, as I noticed no signs of softness at any point. Never did the detail waver during this accurate and distinct image. Print flaws seemed totally absent. At no point did I discern any specks, grit, marks, or other issues in this new frame-by-frame restoration. It’s only the live action footage that is not in the best of shape, but I doubt it ever was. Overall the Blu-ray appearance of ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ is a spectacular psychedelic eye-popping in its sharpness and precision.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Apple Films gives us a real gem with the audio presentation, as you will experience some wonderful sounds, and you have several different audio experiences to choose from and of course the best one out of all of them is the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and is the best sound you will experience and wins hands down, and your guests will be hard pressed to disagree, but now and again the sound can be very loud and so I had to turn the sound down a notch or two. The speaking sequences are really lovely, particularly the Flying Glove, which visits all speakers on its flights of terror, circling your living room deftly and then cackling his evil laugh via your subwoofer is pure audio candy! If you are a fan of The Beatles music and their songs, they have been re-mastered religiously, and under the watchful eyes of the surviving Fab Four. But, if you are an audio purist and want to hear the animated film, you have the choice of alternative English sound experiences, and you have the choice of 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 1.0 LPCM Original Mono Audio and 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio, but out of all of them, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is simply a totally wonderful psychedelic experience. If you want to give your speakers a good workout and to also impress any guests you want to invite for a special viewing treat, then this is the animated film that will satisfy their audio experience.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by John Coates with additional contribution by Heinz Edelmann: First up to introduce themselves is John Coates and he informs us at the time of this audio commentary, that it is 30 years or more that he was involved in putting a team together to make the animated film ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE,’ and his particular aspect was being the production supervisor, but today he would be called the line producer, in overseeing all aspects of the animated film. But before that, three years earlier, John Coates was involved with The Beatles children’s TV cartoon series in America and the man in charge wanted the same, but as an animated film version instead, but John Coates rejected this silly idea, as he warned that people would not pay to see a crude cartoon version of The Beatles, like the style of the American TV series, so instead John Coates said that the animated film had to be much more substantial in contents, style and especially the storyline, especially at the time you had the flower power movement and especially psychedelia in full swing. Also at the same time The Beatles said they were not keen to be replicated in the style of the American TV cartoon series and wanted something much more intelligent in style, and also wanted the animated film to be much more enjoyable for all age groups, especially for very young children, adults and senior citizens. So John Coats decided to make a three minute promo cartoon and invited Al Brodax from America to view the screening at the Mayfair Hotel in London and loved everything he viewed and so got the wheels in motion to produce a full length animated film. With any animated film, you have to record the voices first, but because The Beatles were at the height of their fame at the time, were very hard to get them into the recording studio to record their voices, as time was very tight, so in the end they hired four people who could do the voices of the Fab Four, which is a very curious story in itself and you will have to listen to this audio commentary to find out how these four people were hired. Then the next process was to organise people to the artist cartoon drawings, especially onto the cells and also the background illustrations, and through Charles Jenkins [Visual Effects] had brought in a West German magazine entitled “TWEN” [1959/1971] and saw the quirky artistic illustrations by Heinz Edelmann and eventually was able to contact him and told him about The Beatles animation project and asked if he was keen to help them and was very keen on the project and was flown to London and was asked to come up with some cartoon illustrations of The Beatles, so went back to his hotel and did loads of sketches and a week later a big brown envelope arrived and found four separate pieces of artwork of The Beatles and they were totally amazed in what they viewed and of course immediately hired Heinz Edelmann and they now had eleven months to have the animated film ready to be screened at the premiere at The London Pavilion cinema on July 1968 and so with a staff of roughly 209, all set to work lie Trojans, especially in shifts of 24 hours and this was the start of the animation revolution in the United Kingdom, and as the work was well under way, The Beatles decided to visit the TVC Studio in London and what they witnessed being produced, were very enthusiastic and gave the studio great encouragement. When we arrive at Ringo Starr’s home with Old Fred, and we have all the mad capers happening and finally The Beatles are all together to battle against the Blue Meanies, we are informed that the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ is Her Majesty the Queen’s favourite film and ordered a new print. John Coates then goes onto inform us that The Beatles came to the TVC Studio in Dean Street to see how the animated film was progressing, but when they individually heard their voices done by the other people, each of them said they hated hearing their voice portrayed, but each of The Beatles loved the other three voices that were not their one, but of course as we all know we all hate the sound of our own voice when we hear a recording of our voice played back to us, but on the other hand, when the audiences saw the animated film, they really thought it was the Fab Four actual voices, so John Coates feels they did a good job. But one negative aspect was that pressure was put upon the team, as they were warned they were behind schedule, so John Coates contacted all of London’s School of Arts to invite all of the students if they would like to work on painting the cells at night and they were all offered meals on wheels, in fact they were supplied sausage and mash, which is a typical English food and it all went down very well, and John Coates feels without these students help, the animated film would have been seriously behind schedule and never make it to the showing of the animated film at the Premiere. At the time the budget for the animated film was $1,000,000 and at the time in 1997 the $Dollar was $2.40 to the Sterling Pound, which was roughly £305,000, but unfortunately they went over budget to the tune of £25,000 and got severely scolded for making it go over budget when the animated film was finished, but of course since then it has won awards and made a big profit overall and John Coated feels they were very unfairly criticised as animated films in general always go over budget, because of always serious logistic problems, but despite this, John Coates had a brilliant time in producing the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ film. John Coates also talks about how success the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ film was and even now the music of The Beatles then was massive and is still today and again whenever The Beatles came to the TVC Studio, they were all very nice and very enthusiastic about the animated film. John Coates also talks about how animation in 1967 was very labour intensive and mentions that when the animated fil was released, computers were starting to become available, especially with the use of doing animation, and John Coates also informs us that the total amount of animation cells used to make the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ was in the region of 200,000 cells and the total number of background artwork was in the region of around 40,000. At around 1:22:55 Heinz Edelmann audio commentary kicks in and as they say, “Better late than never,” and must have been recorded at a café somewhere, as there is a lot of background noise and you have a job hearing what he has to say, but despite this Heinz Edelmann talks about his aspect towards making the animated film and what the Blue Meanies represent in hateful disrespect of music and especially of The Beatles music, and when he speaks, he sounds just like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Heinz Edelmann also talks about how he wanted the Blue Meanies to be painted red, to represent the Germans in the Second World War to be bungling idiots, but luckily the person in charge of the painting schedule, realised he had got it wrong and of course went onto have the Blue Meanies painted blue and Heinz was glad they disregarded his comments, as he realised that painting them red would have been wrong, but Heinz also feels The Beatles music was very psychedelic and feels that The Beatles music is still very popular today and is also timeless, and as the credits appears on the screen, Heinz thanks all who worked on the animated film. Then suddenly John Coates comes back and says that he really enjoyed doing the audio commentary and brought back so many good memories, and hopes every one of us enjoyed watching the animated film with his personal audio commentary, well I for one did really like hearing John Coates comments and is well worth a listen.
Special Feature: The Beatles Mod Odyssey [1968] [1080p] [1.33:1] [7:40] This wonderful little “Making of Documentary” offers a rare look behind-the-scenes of the animated film's creation and also provides some fun background on the animated film ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ that was conceived and produced by King Feature Production and the premise of the animated film’s fantasy themes relates to the age old tales from authors like Dante Alighieri, H.G. Wells, J.R.R. Tolkien. Jonathan Swift, Jules Verne, L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll. There is some behind-the-scene footage of the Fab Four clowning around in the TVC studio. Contributors include: George Dunning [Director] [voice only], Heinz Edelmann [Art Director] [voice only], George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. This was a Subafilms Ltd Production.
Theatrical Trailer [1968] [1080p] [1.66:1] [3:45] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the animated film ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE.’
Special Feature: Storyboard Sequences [1968] [1080p] [1.78:1] This is for hard-core fans of The Beatles, where we get to see three separate early storyboard artwork for the animated film. First up we get to view the definitive “Sea of Monsters” [4:31] where we get to view the storyboard with the corresponding sequence from the animated film. Next up we get to view “Battle of the Monsters” [10:51] where we get to view early storyboard pre-dating Heinz Edelmann involvement. These monsters are pre-historic compared with the surreal monsters created for the final “Sea of Monsters” storyboard. We get to view 121 very crude pencil sketches and it is slightly boring, as it is completely silent. Finally, “Pepperland” [5:41] here Jack Stokes, the animation director, belieives this storyboard to have been commissioned by King Features following a dispute with TVC London about the ending of the animated film. In the end this alternate storyboard, which depicts The Beatles flying into Pepperland on a giant bird, was never used. Once again we get to view 63 very crude pencil sketches and again is totally silent.
Special Feature: Original Pencil Drawings [1968] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:33] Here we get to view the development drawings for the song "All You Need is Love" sequence, where we see John Lennon in different colours, and early colour drawings of Paul McCartney before Heinz Edelmann was involved. Once again we get to view 96 crude pencil sketches and again it is totally silent.
Special Feature: Behind the Scenes [1968] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:45] Here we get to view The Beatles when they visited the TVC animation studio in Soho, London in November 1967. What we get to view is 30 black-and-white images and again it is totally silent.
Special Feature: Interviews [1968] [1080i] [9:00] Here we get to view are short interviews that seems to have been taken from a larger documentary on the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ animated film with the cast and crew members we get to meet. Contributors include: Paul Angelis [Voice of Ringo Starr and Chief Blue Meanie] [1:41]; John Clive [Voice of John Lennon] [2:07]; David Livesey [Key Animator] [1:13]; Millicent McMillan (Assistant to Heinz Edelmann) [1:14]; Jack Stokes [Animation Director] [3:44] and Erich Segal [Co-Writer] [1:38]. With the final interview with Erich Segal, this was very strange, as he seem to be in a great hurry to finish and go, and always sounded out of breath, and even weirder, it finishes very abruptly. Sadly you have to view each person’s interview separately.
BONUS: Includes a beautiful illustrated 14 page glossy insert booklet with a new essay entitled “YELLOW SUBMARINE” by PIXAR Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter. Also featuring a rare look behind-the-scenes on this landmark animated film adventure. You also have reproductions of four of the film’s animated cells of each of The Beatles characters, plus wonderful colourful stickers.
Finally, the ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’ animated film is a must if you are massive fan of The Beatles like me, and this Blu-ray disc is a must own. YELLOW SUBMARINE is a pleasure for the eyes, ears, and heart. It features spectacular animation, gorgeous music, including "When I'm 64," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "All Together Now," and the lovely "Sea of Time," written by long-time Beatle collaborator George Martin. So with witty wordplay, lots of puns and some sly political satire as an added bonus, and a lovely enjoyable story line with a nonviolent happy ending for all to enjoy. Younger kids will appreciate it on a different level from their older siblings and parents, and that's just fine for everyone. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
