289. Yellow Submarine; movie review

YELLOW SUBMARINE
Cert U
86 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very mild threat

Yellow Submarine is hailed as a classic animation but before we cheer the emperor's new clothes on their 50th anniversary, I am going to commit sacrilege and claim that, like all the The Beatles' films, it is twaddle.
Sure, Help!, A Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine offer a showcase for instantly recognisable tunes but, otherwise, they are surrealist nonsense.
George Dunning's film is the worst of the three with crazed animation illustrating a story which makes very little sense.
And yet, during this depressing drizzle, there is a rainbow with a crock of gold in the shape of songs such as Eleanor Rigby Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and All You Need Is Love.
Internet movie database is awash with praise for the movie in which Captain Fred (Lance Percival) persuades The Fab Four and to go in his Yellow Submarine to underwater Pepperland to free it from the music-hating Blue Meanies.
Along the way they meet several dubious characters, including one voiced by Dick Emery.
Yes, its doesn't read and better than it looks.
And The Beatles don't even play themselves - so Geoffrey Hughes (better known as Coronation Street binman Eddie Yeats) provides the voice of Paul McCartney while Paul Angelis voices both Ringo Starr and George Harrison and John Clive mimics John Lennon.
Confused? I certainly was - especially when The Beatles did appear in the final scene.
Perhaps the film-makers had noted their inability to act in Help! and Hard Day's Night and thought they had a solution.
They were wrong - with or without them, Yellow Submarine wasn't very good and with the passing of time is even worse.

Reason to watch - the music
Reasons to avoid - self-indulgent twaddle

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 3/10

The big question - Why do so many people think this is good?

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