Once, upon a post...
Or maybe twice.
Welcome back for another draw of 52 Pick-Up. Already one month down and so far, it's been an interesting journey. From cautionary tales of the dangers of authoritarianism, to fever dreams of demonic furniture, to a murder mystery abroad. With January going to a close, where do we go from here?
For starters, as I said last time, we're still tooling around Europe (and will be for just a little bit longer next month), but also we're closing out this month with a title that has been on my 'to do' list for a long time. In fact, of the first four, this has arguably been on here the longest.
It's the movie my wife was surprised to learn I hadn't seen until just this month, it's the animated classic Yellow Submarine.
I should start by saying, I wasn't avoiding this movie. It's one I'd had a general interest in for some time both for its own sake as a movie and just as one of the more colorful creations born out of the Beatles' legacy. Mostly it was just never quite lining up the right pieces of time, access, and opportunity.
As John himself once said it best 'life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.'
Okay, that's a bit of a reach to justify the fact this took me this long, but humor me.
Having now seen this movie? I have two immediate thoughts. The first – this was an incredibly fun experience and one I was pleased to see did not falter under its own reputation.
The second is a call back to the fact my wife was surprised I hadn't seen this (and something I am posting here with her blessing.) In mentioning this was on my to do list, she had mentioned first seeing this when being shown it by a music teacher she had growing up. Said teacher, she added, was very likely at some point in their life a hippie.
On having watched the movie for myself, I immediately sent her the below image with regards to that assessment:
Again, this is not a criticism. I really enjoyed this one.
First, let's get into the customary 'What is this about?' part.
Before I get into the pitch for this movie, I just want to say this – if you're watching Yellow Submarine for the plot, I don't want to say you're watching it wrong, but I am seriously questioning your priorities on this one. The story, such as it is, involves Pepperland, a fantastical fairy tale realm of love, peace, and music under the sea, where the people are all living in harmony. At least, for the first few minutes – enter the Blue Meanies, an outlandish band of villains whose hatred of music is matched only by their desire to stomp out joy (as their boss loudly declares early on “We Meanies only take NO for an answer!” if that gives an idea how committed they are.) The Meanies invade Pepperland, plummeting it into a sadness and disarray in short order. In the chaos, one of the residents, Young Fred, escapes in the titular Yellow Submarine to get help. His journey leads him to Liverpool where he crosses paths with the Beatles (not voiced by themselves, though they appear at the very end) who agree to help him save his homeland. What follows is a free-wheeling, outlandish journey through space, time, and a respectable slice of Beatles discography.
Hmmm...can I still make the 'It's not the real Beatles,
but it is an incredible simulation' joke if the actual Beatles
do still make an appearance at the end of the movie?
Again, don't try to think too hard about the plot unless you want to give yourself a bad time. Just enjoy the ride, because while it's not deeply or tightly plotted, it has a lot to recommend in it.
Up high on the list of things to recommend this for? The animation. I had known about the look of this movie from stills for years, but finally seeing this all in motion, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this looks in general, both in terms of its motion and just the uniquely strange visual styles it plays around with. In fact, this just placed pretty high on the movies I'll be looking for repertory screenings on, because I'd love to see this one in a theater to further just soak it all in.
Of course, this isn't all just music and fun visuals – though that is a lot of it. For as much as I was saying not to expect a deep or involving story, what story there is here is helps keep everything moving, it's breezy, it's funny, and it just keeps you interested and moving in equal parts to keep you from getting too bogged down in 'how did that work?' types of questions. The humor, especially, was one I didn't see coming. I expected this to just be a fun, delightful ride, but I was also pleasantly surprised at the number of times this movie got honest to God laughs out of me – be it with the over the top antics of the Meanies or the often deadpan comedic deliveries of the Beatles themselves. The two make a fun contrast, with the villains played at a constant 11 while the dialed back performances of our heroes read as less 'cool' and more comically oblivious to the situation they've been thrust into and just going with the flow.
Paul Angelis, whose performance as the Chief Blue Meanie
is easily the acting MVP of the film. Just pure concentrated
mustache-twirling lunacy, and one was not surprised to learn
Mark Hamill got some inspiration from for his Joker performance.
Okay, score one for chance on this entry. Yes, the year started off on a good, but downright bleak note. As we come to the end of the first month and the temperatures get colder, this made for a welcome light note to close out on and one I'm now glad to have taken off the list.
For a starting four, this is giving me a general good feeling about the year ahead.
Speaking of which, next time something goes live here, it will be a new month, and with it, some new tweaks to the way these are chosen. I'll explain more next time as our informal tour of Europe continues for just a bit longer, though we're finally shifting to a different period in time. So, see you all in February when this project stops in Ireland for the 2024 horror movie Oddity.
Until then.
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