The Beatles (Animated Series) |  | Actors: Paul Frees, Lance Percival, The Beatles
Category: DVD
This item is no longer available
Rating:  10 reviews
Format: Ntsc
Running Time: 30 Minutes
ASIN: B00005JMMQ
Theatrical Release Date: September 25, 1965
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 All You Need is Love May 1, 2006
Gord Wilson (Bellingham, WA USA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Why would I give five stars to a DVD set that isn't even out yet and I know nothing about? SImply to help the thing along. Although I saw the Beatles cartoon show when it initially aired, I had a chance to see a few episodes recently and was surprised at how great it was. I'll qualify that for those viewers who compare everything to films like Snow White that took thirty years to break even.
As most viewers know, TV animation had far smaller budgets, shorter deadlines and smaller staffs than the comparably large funding for lavish theatrical cartoons. Despite a few attempts at very short, limited-animation 'toons, usually shown by a live host to keep the cartoon segments short, nobody thought TV animation could really be done. Hanna-Barbera proved that it could be, but only by taking short-cuts, which is to say, cutting corners somewhere. Later Cartoon Network 'toons would parody the well-known H-B characters running past the same tree or barber pole ten times in an effort to reuse backgrounds and scenery.
Other studios took different tacks to limited animation. UPA developed a much-admired modern, graphic style. DePatie-Freleng, with the Pink Panther, came up with a style all its own. Jay Ward studios are instantly recognizable for Rocky and Bullwinkle, and so on.
Al Brodax came up with a very limited but compelling look for the Beatles in this popular series, and a simple but sure-fire formula: each episode is based around a Beatles' song. Al Brodax also made the later film, Yellow Submarine, awash with wonderfully psychedelic art and animation synched to numbers by the Fab Four. Whoever owns the copyrights to all those songs now, whether it's Michael Jackson or Yoko or Paul McCartney, would have to license these cartoons to appear on DVD. But hopefully, with Beatlemania resurging and interest in animation at an all-time high, they will soon do so, and let more fans (re)discover this light-hearted, good-natured cartoon.
Good clean fun March 17, 2007
K. Pederson
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My girlfriend and I were just discussing how violent some of the cartoons from our childhood were. Some of our favorites shows from childhood just don't seem appropriate for our kids.
Not the case here -- the Beatles cartoons are good clean fun! As someone else mentioned, the song portion of the show is reminiscient of the "Monkees' romps." As The Beatles' music plays, our Fab Four are often being chased by non-threatening bad guys. Silly but sweet.
Episodes would often end with Ringo delivering a very punny line, punctuated by his charming laugh -- "heh-huh -- yeah."
We wish these would get released soon!
 Great Nostalgia, yeah yeah yeah! January 21, 2007
Tomato Pie (Yardley, PA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In my mind's memory, they were clever stories, good animation, full of Liverpudlian accents, and zany/campy madcap adventures, a la the Monkees.
In reality, they are goofy, campy, irreverent, and show evidence of being dashed off to cash in on Beatlemania. That's part of the charm. The "plots" are developed to frame the music, which of course is superb. Ringo sports an authentic sounding Liverpudlian accent. Some songs are used, like a music video, to illustrate a simple story. Others are played as a singalong, while the lyrics are displayed over the screen.
These really take me back to a simpler time in our culture. The caricatures of the Beatles' faces are cute, too.
We want our Beatles 'toons as well as our Beatles tunes! September 16, 2006
Constance Newell (Saratoga, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I remember the animated series from 1960's with a great fondness. I would absolutly love to see the series released on DVD. The show represents a slice of nostolgia that I believe would have a HUGE audience from the Baby Boomers as well as a respectable showing from the younger age groups. The cartoon captured the high energy zaniness that trademarked The Beatles. I remember it as being in good ol' B&W and I believe it should be left as it was...right down to the cartoon's ending when John, Paul and George unplug their guitars, and Ringo, with a forlorn expression on his face, watches his drums deflate as he unplugs them!
THE BEST !! June 22, 2009
Dejah Thoris (Los Angeles, CA)
The Beatles Cartoons were funny, capitalizing on the wit of the Fab Four.
The animators really captured each character, and put them in
entertaining situations. Of course there was plenty of Beatles music,
including album cuts not heard much on the radio, and these are some
of my favorites.
I hope this DVD gets released soon so I can get rid of the old VHS
tapes that are taking up space in my library. (yes, when they were
re-run we all taped them every week !)
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