"Take a psychedelic journey to Nowhere land with the Beatles & the Nowhere Man where you'll find nothing too pleasing without a little help from your friends."
Praised as one of the most popular musicals of all by hippies and young people alike, this psychedelic journey in the Beatles' Yellow Submarine has less than pleasing animation which is far from eye candy, while the songs and music are the only things valuable in the whole thing.
So we can just face it now. The movie is meant for people that are with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, or for those who've received a little help from their friends. For there is no logic in the story, even for the logic of an animated film. It pretty much showcases a hippie's dream world like San Francisco which is realized in Pepperland that's protected by Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. But Pepperland is quickly plagued by the music hating Blue Meanies who enclose Pepperland in a soundproof bubble which turns the residents into statues and drains all the color from the countryside.
The Blue Meanies are obviously a reference to riot police and police in general. Especially with how overweight they are in resemblance to pigs--a common negative slang term for cops. This opening to the film is also a reference to the purging of the counterculture by the system and older generations. All great metaphorical messages, but they don't last once the Beatles are introduced in the story.
Old Fred (Lance Percival) however escapes Pepperland under orders from Lord Mayor (Dick Emery) in a yellow submarine which he gets Ringo Starr (Paul Angelis), George Harrison (Peter Batten/Paul Angelis), Paul McCartney (Geoffrey Hughes), and John Lennon (John Clive) to join him on in Liverpool England. On their way back, they pass through six seas.
The first is the Sea of Time where the clock runs in all directions to the song "When I'm Sixty-Four."
The second is the Sea of Science which has all sorts of scientific things whilst the song "Only A Northern Song" plays.
The third is the Sea of Monsters, where no song is featured, but a weird monster threatens the voyage.
The fourth is the Sea of Nothing, where the famous brown sheep with the Blue Meany head named Jeremy Hilary Boob P.H.D. (Dick Emery) resides in what anyone would consider to be Nowhere land, where the Beatles mock Jeremy in the song "Nowhere Man."
The fifth is the Sea of Heads, or Foothills of the Headlands, where once being lost from the submarine John randomly starts singing "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" as if it'll lead them back to the submarine.
The sixth and final sea is the Sea of Holes which is actually the Sea of Green from the song "We All Live In A Yellow Submarine."
All of the aforementioned sequences feature the same unpleasant animation. I couldn't stand it, and still can't after seeing it again for the first time in 15yrs. Though it was a staple in the Monty Python movies which followed in the seventies. Despite this, the animation was loved by escapists of the sixties since the animation--like the film--defied reality and created a landscape that's impossible to recreate in the real world. So there you go. If you're not a drugged up escapist from the sixties, then you're not going to appreciate it, despite that the most popular & skilled animators in the business worked on it. Especially the Sea of Heads sequence which featured mass rotoscoping. Though it still wasn't pleasant.
Plus different voice actors were chosen for the Beatles with the exception of the singing, as they themselves make a live appearance at the end of the film having been too disappointed with two of their previous three films, one a TV movie "Magical Mystery Tour" which just spent 55 minutes showcasing the group on LSD running around Russia with Walrus costumes on {as if they didn't know it'd be poorly received}, and the second "Help!" being released before which also was received poorly despite its high budget.
The Special Features I've not seen as the theatrical film isn't available to review on the site, but the supplements are as follows:
1) The Mod Odyssey--behind the scenes featurette.
2) Audio Commentary
3) Three Storyboarded sequences, two of them not in the final film.
4) Original Pencil Drawings.
5) "Making Of" Photos.
6) Cast & Crew Interviews.
7) Music Only Track to highlight the score of the film.
8) Original Theatrical Trailer.
9) Collectible Booklet.
10) Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Soundtrack.
In all, the features seem very good considering the movie wasn't a huge success and was 31yrs old at the time of this DVD release, so I would concur that 5 stars is worthy of these supplements
Overall, director George Dunning achieved a cult classic here. But it's similar to "Magical Mystery Tour" in its nonsense and severe lack of enjoyment without chemical supplements. If however you have received a little help from your friends, or are in the sky with Lucy & her diamonds, then by all means, see this movie. Especially if you love anything & everything Beatles related.
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