YELLOW SUBMARINE

This symphatetic animation flm presented me the world of psychedelia, and it made a great impression on me. The naivisitic story tells us the tale of four musicians, who are being seeked by an old captain of the Yellow Submarine, who needs their help in order to rescue The Pepperland from the ruthless attack of music hating blue meanies. Majority of the film concists of their voyage in the surreal oceans separating The Pepperland from our own world, and during the adventure we get to hear many classic Beatles numbers. As an anecdote, there are different people dubbing up the speaking voices of the Beatles characters, but the musical numbers are ofcourse original. Along with the journey we meet Nowhere man and many other psychedelic characters. In the end the band starts to fight the blue meanies with music and love. There's are really nice selection of songs here, and the musical visualisation of "Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds" is just awesome. Suggested for kids but ofcourse also to the fans of the band and happy psyhcedelic stuff!

The films of The Beatles were rarely shown on cinemas in my city. I remember that there were a few occasions on which all the films they made (with the exception of "Magical Mustery Tour", which I only saw once in a cinema in 1981) were shown in "Beatles`s Films Festivals" in some cinemas and in the Cineteca Nacional, the Goverment`s institution dedicated to preserve films. One of those "festivals" was done in mid 1979, and I remember that I went to see the "Let It Be" film, and another "festival" was done in 1984, and I only saw the "A Hard Day`s Night" film in that occasion. But I never went to see the "Help!" and "Yellow Submarine" films (I can`t remember now why!).With almost all the films of the Beatles`available now on DVD (with the probable exception of "Let It Be") now it is not really needed to wait for those "festivals" anymore (and they are not organized anymore, I think). So, now I have this film in the DVD format.

This "Yellow Subamrine" film is very interesting, with very Psychedelic cartoons and story. I don`t know if this film is really appropiate for children, because it seems more like a "psychedelic dream", but with tales and films for children like "Alice in Wonderland" maybe this film is appropiate for them. In fact, it is considered more as a film for children than for adults.

The story, as a previous reviewer wrote, is about how the happy Pepperland town is invaded by the Blue Meanies, a group of characters who hate music and the happiness of other people. So, one of the good characters of Pepperland drives the Yellow Submarine to look for The Beatles`characters to help them fight the Blue Meanies with their music. In the end, The Beatles and the good people of Pepperland win over the Blue Meanies, fighting them with music and love. In the end the Blue Meanies are convinced by The Beatles and they also became "good citizens of Peperland". The Beatles themselves appear as real persons in the final scene singing "All Together Now".

The film is very enjoyable, not only for the story and the music, but also for the very good animated cartoons and the "Psychedelic Colours". Also the message of the story, "Love Conquers All", is very positive and very "Psychedelic Sixties" in meaning. I also think that music and love helps people to be happy in this world and to fight the negative moods caused by "the Blue Meanies" (problems of every day life and also caused by some real life "Mean Characters").

'The Yellow Submarine' - The Beatles (8/10)

I first watched the 'Yellow Submarine' movie when I was a small child. Even then, I was a great fan of the Beatles (more so than I am now) and having their music transposed onto an official cartoon was like a dream come true for my four-year old self.

Having watched the film more recently, I found I could still appreciate it, albeit in a different way. While it's a film that children could probably enjoy more than your average adult, there's a very cerebral (read: TRIPPY) element to the film, and alot of surrealism to boot.

The story incorperates elements from the band's legendary 'Sgt. Peppers' album and makes a very hippy film that propogates love and goodwill through a whimsical, entertaining story.

It's good family entertainment, although I'm sure your average drug-induced College student could love it just as much! Not every Beatles fan is going to appreciate such a playful rendition of the Beatles' music, but it's certainly a potent dose of creativity.

Four stars.

"Yellow Submarine" is one of my favourite films from the flower power year of 1968 and captures the essence of the drug culture with some of the weirdest LSD imagery you will ever see. It was perhaps best viewed under the influence on the big screen as I am sure the imagery perhaps sent many viewers into their own private psyched Pepperland. Kids will love this too as it is so vibrant and colourful with heaps of songs and enough silliness to appease the toddlers. Beatles fans can revel in the zaniness of Beatlemania at it's peak, psychedelic connoisseurs can indulge in the imagery including insane collages, rainbows, and a psyched up sub traversing surreal multi coloured oceans with bizarre creatures such as the Blue Meanies.

The story line is whimsical and quite incidental to the dreamscape imagery, making little sense, but it centres on proving to bonafide music critics the Blue Meanies that music is positive and necessary to create a better world. The Beatles' voice overs are enjoyable, though it is disappointing that they are all voiced by other actors, and the best moments are of course the songs such as All Together Now ("Can I take my friend to bed?"), and Hey Bulldog ("You think you know it but you haven't got a clue"); all are wonderful visual feasts. All You Need Is Love, ("It's easy!"), ends the film on a positive note and we see the footage of the band members at the end which is a nice touch. I kind of wished The Beatles real voices were used but it seems to work okay for the most part.

The scenes of Pepperland are absolutely eyeball searing with massive numbers and letters flashing on screen, words of the songs appear like great monoliths and the characters are soaked in a kind of psychedelic brilliantine colour scheme. The colours and images are bold and memorable throughout but may disturb some viewers with the references to druggy dreams and dark realms of the psyche. It all should sail completely over a younger viewer's head, and the film is designed for kids and adults alike. Perhaps this is the best Beatles film, it certainly is something different and it holds the attention for its rather short running time. "Yellow Submarine" is one to get hold of for film buffs, music connoisseurs and those intrigued by the acid soaked psychedelic movement of 1968.