Yellow Submarine

This film has had a profound influence on my life. It not only was at the center of my discovery world during high school, watching it with Ted in the basement until we knew every inflection, but it was also a catalyst in my relationship with Amy, who, for those of you who are strangers, is my lovely wife. When I found out she loved this film as much as I did, it was that much more obvious that I loved her. I knew that pretty much right away, but Yellow Submarine was a worldly element that brought our worldly individualities that much closer together. Our spirits have always been married, but this film helped our personal humanities join that much more effortlessly.

I saw this film at the Music Box when it was re-released in 1999. I hadn't seen it since the days with Ted I spoke of before and the opening credit scene with "Yellow Submarine" the song playing made me tear up. Watching the film that night filled my body and mind with joy of both reminiscent and timeless varieties. Perhaps I see this film with too much gravity, but it has been a big part of my adult life. The first time I saw it was when I was about 9 years old with my mom and brother. Most of it was over my head, of course, but it fascinated me like no other cartoon ever could (even Rocky & Bullwinkle). It planted a curiosity in my impressionable temperament, one that has yet to recede.

The animation is pioneer, I think, especially since modern Nickelodeon cartoons are beginning to emulate it. Shows like SpongeBob Squarepants and CatDog are created by people who were clearly effected by Yellow Submarine. It is obvious that the torch has been passed to a new generation, people who were 10 or 11 when the film was released in the late sixties. I love to see this influence because I love this film.

I've learned that the Beatles initially wanted nothing to do with it. They rejected the idea until they saw it, I guess. Their only participation is the dorky live action cameo at the end of the film (except of course their music). I was disappointed when I learned that they didn't do the voices, I felt deeply betrayed, but it doesn't truly matter. This is the most lasting, influential, and in depth of the Beatles films. All of which are silly, of course. Yellow Submarine gets inside and within the music while the other films show its façade. It is a manifestation of the effects of the Beatles' music on the brains of the creators. A ridiculous song became a symbol of peace and harmony by the only human route worthy of such ideals: imagination. Yellow Submarine is not merely phony entertainment and emotional trickery. It is not really a statement of the times, however, either. It is somewhere in between, somewhere in the mindset of the sixties that gets little airtime even in hindsight. It is based in some simple and base form of creativity and imagination of which the Beatles were figureheads and leaders. They both represented and acted as chiefs of the sixties peace movement. Yellow Submarine is an inadvertent example of their profound influence, and one of the most durable ones in their brief but rich history.

When I saw this film at the Music Box I sat behind an animation student who brought his professor who hadn't seen it. The film broke at one point and in the ensuing intermission the professor analyzed and deconstructed it. It made me both sick to my stomach and laugh at him. What a waste of energy it is to tear it apart. That's like studying a Lego house and criticizing its lackings of structural depth. I mean, come on, if you can't sit back let go and enjoy this movie of all movies there is something sadly desperate about you. Let it go, watch this film, laugh and maybe you'll be moved like I was and continue to be.