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"All
Aboard This 'Submarine'"
by Scott Mantz
"Yellow Submarine"
The Beatles (animated)
Directed by George Dunning
"The Meanies
are coming! The Meanies are coming!" Yes, those blue devils are
back to take over Pepperland, and its up to the fabulous Beatles
to stop them. On the 30th anniversary of its original release, "Yellow
Submarine" has been completely restored with enhanced sound and
previously unseen footage. Now including the previously deleted
"Hey, Bulldog" sequence, "Submarine" is sure to satisfy both diehard
Beatles fans and their kids.
To say that
The Beatles were incredibly prolific would be an understatement.
In just 4 short years, their music grew from "She Loves You" to
"A Day in the Life". As their music expanded, their appearance changed
from the lovable moptops of "A Hard Day's Night" to the psychedelic
gurus of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The film "Yellow
Submarine", based on a Lennon-McCartney ditty from the 1966 album
"Revolver", took the look and feel of "Pepper's" and put it in cartoon
form.
Being a self-professed
Beatlemaniac, I must admit I was never a big fan of "Submarine".
As much as I love all The Beatles' music, I prefer the upbeat and
vibrant rock'n'roll of their early albums. Even as good as the "Let
it Be" film is, it captured the disintegration of the group in all
its depressing glory. I'd much rather watch the happy-go-lucky fab
four in "A Hard Day's Night" or "Help". By the time I finally caught
"Submarine" on its brief video release in 1989, I liked it, but
I was not blown away.
Now that I've
seen "Submarine" on the big screen for the first time, my opinion
has changed. With the lush colorization and attention to detail,
here's a film that was meant to be seen on the big screen. The soundtrack
has been completely remixed for theaters, and it sounds great on
today's state-of-the-art sound systems. It makes that much of a
difference, and I cannot recommend this film enough. Also, seeing
parents bring their kids was touching, since this is one film that
should be handed down from generation to generation.
That "Yellow
Submarine" even got made is a miracle. Having The Beatles appear
in an animated film was one of the last things manager Brian Epstein
set into motion before he died in 1967. By the time work for "Submarine"
got underway, The Beatles showed little interest. They didn't provide
the voices for their characters, and they contributed only 4 average
songs (average for The Beatles, that is!) to the soundtrack. When
they finally saw how well the project was going, they decided to
film an appearance as themselves in the live-action finale.
By the time
it was released, the Summer of Love was long over. The year 1968
was one of the most volatile years of the twentieth century. The
feeling of free love and wearing flowers in your hair was replaced
by race riots, violent anti-war demonstrations, and talk about a
revolution. What a difference a year can make. Fortunately, "Yellow
Submarine" was able to capture the spirit of the "All you need is
love" generation and spread some much needed good vibes.
"Yellow Submarine"
certainly has the look of its day, but the music of The Beatles
is timeless. As we embrace the start of the new Millennium, the
message is loud and clear. The submarine is symbolic for the world
in which we live, and love is still all you need.
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