Editor's note: Due to Apple Corp's decision not to promote the 30th anniversary ofThe Beatles' Yellow Submarine, and subsequent legal restrictions about publishing art on the Internet, this article does not contain any images from the film.

Yellow Submarine's director George Dunning looks over artwork with one of the film's artists. Photo courtesy of John Coates.

Many people are too young to remember the impact the feature The Beatles' Yellow Submarine had on the animation industry and American society when it was released in 1968. At the time it was produced, Disney dominated the animated feature market with traditional-looking products that were released once every three or four years (Jungle Book, 1967). With the release of Yellow Submarine the world actually changed.

The film contained music, a spirit and an amazing look that delighted and charmed the Western world. This simple fable helped people regain a more positive attitude about life and reminded them it was okay to smile and have fun. Some people who had dressed conservatively before they saw it were suddenly wearing bright colors, costumes and the latest in mod fashions. Hippies painted Yellow Submarines on their vans and in San Francisco a Beatles fan painted a scene from the film on the front of her house.

More importantly, the direction by George Dunning and the brilliant design work by Heinz Edelmann influenced the look of advertising art. Suddenly 7 Up, General Electric and other corporations were promoting themselves with animated TV commercials and print campaigns inspired by the feature. Most studios producing animated TV commercials were barely surviving before Yellow Submarine was released. After it came out everybody who worked with the new look was busy well into the next decade making a good living creating ads full of rainbows, butterflies, flowers and other motifs. Some of the mixed-media techniques introduced in the film inspired the "blendo" style still seen on TV. The feature also showed Ralph Bakshi and other non-Disney directors that they might be able to create successful animated features as well.

The Creatives Behind the Film
Although Yellow Submarine is a milestone in animation, little has been written about the people who actually created this classic. At the time of the film's release a lot of credit was given to producer Al Brodax who turned out to be an executive producer with King Features, the company that paid for the production. He shared writing credit with Lee Minoff, Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal. The Beatles got music credit of course, and Heinz Edelmann, a German-speaking Czech graphic artist, was recognized as the film's talented designer.

Director George Dunning's name was on the screen in big letters as was TVC (TV Cartoons), the animation company in London that created the film. Unfortunately, the press wasn't familiar with their names so not much was written about them. The staff of TVC was relegated to the fine print in the screen credits and press releases, even though their involvement was essential in the production of the film. Without TVC's esteemed opinions concerning creativity and imagination, Yellow Submarine might have never received financial backing. TVC, in 1967, was simply a very young and inexperienced production company. John Coates, who was the actual producer of the film was simply listed as "Production Supervisor." If the film had been made recently, Brodax would have been listed as Executive Producer and Coates as Producer, but things were different in 1968.