Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine' Film Restored for May Release on DVD

The Beatles’ classic late-1968 animated feature film, Yellow Submarine, has been digitally restored for DVD and Blu-ray release on May 29. The film’s songtrack album, originally issued in September 1999 (not the original Beatles Yellow Submarine album), will be reissued on CD the same date.

The film, which is out of print, has been restored in 4K digital resolution for the first time by Paul Rutan Jr. at Triage Motion Picture Services and Eque Inc. No automated software was used in the clean-up of the film’s photochemical elements. It was all done by hand, frame by frame.

Bonus features on the Yellow Submarine DVD and Blu-ray include a short making-of documentary titled “Mod Odyssey”; the film’s original theatrical trailer, audio commentary by producer John Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann; brief interview clips with others involved with the film; storyboard sequences; 29 original pencil drawings and 30 behind-the-scenes photos.

Both Digipak packages will include reproductions of animation cels from the film, collectible stickers and a 16-page booklet with a new essay by Yellow Submarine aficionado John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios).

Lasseter writes in his essay, “As a fan of animation and as a filmmaker, I tip my hat to the artists of Yellow Submarine, whose revolutionary work helped pave the way for the fantastically diverse world of animation that we all enjoy today.”

On April 24, Candlewick Press will release a new, compact hardcover edition of the Yellow Submarine picture book.