Anniversary Series: Yellow Submarine (50 years)

Directed by George Dunning (1968); 87 min., Rated G

A joyful, phantasmagoric blend of colorful animation and the music of the Beatles, Yellow Submarine is delightful family fare. This animated meandering journey filled with puns and dry British humor, where psychedelic music videos take precedent over any linear story. The swirling animation is a mixture of pop-culture images and modern artistic styles brought loosely together with a naïve antiwar message and some clever political commentary. The Blue Meanies take over Pepperland, draining it of all its color and music, firing anti-music missiles, bonking people with green apples, and turning the inhabitants to stone by way of the pointed finger of a giant white glove. As the only survivor, the Lord Admiral escapes in the yellow submarine and goes to London to enlist the help of the Beatles.