'Yellow Submarine' won't set sail at Disney
“Yellow Submarine” is going to need a new port of call.
A day after “Mars Needs Moms,” a computer-animated comedy produced by “Yellow Submarine” director Robert Zemeckis, bombed at the box office, Disney confirmed that it was not planning on making the remake of the Beatles musical.
A person close to the production who was not authorized to speak publicly said Disney made the decision to scuttle the project several months ago, not after the $150-million “Mars Needs Moms” grossed a disastrous $6.9 million in its first weekend of release. News of “Yellow Submarine” being shut down was first reported Monday by the Hollywood Reporter.
Disney last year closed Zemeckis and producing partner Jack Rapke’s ImageMovers Digital, the outfit that made both “Mars Needs Moms” and “A Christmas Carol.” But even after the closure, Zemeckis was developing the remake of the iconic 1968 animated movie at Disney. Cary Elwes, who was set to voice the role of George Harrison, said late last year that he expected filming to begin in April.
Like “Mars Needs Moms” and “Avatar,” the remake of “Yellow Submarine” was going to be made using motion-capture technology, which takes the physical and facial performances of live actors and maps them onto an animated character. A spokesman for Zemeckis could not immediately be reached.
— John Horn
Photo of orignal production of "Yellow Submarine": MGM Home Entertainment Inc.
Remake the Beatles animated classic "Yellow Submarine??? Can't anyone come up with something original instead of dipping into the Remake Bin???
Posted by: LostGurl66 | 03/15/2011 at 10:34 AM
Disney will regret this decision. Yellow Submarine updated will make hundreds of millions world wide. Disney is too cautious. Walt is turning.
Posted by: dbeard | 03/15/2011 at 12:12 PM
GOOD. what sort of idiot would remake Al Brodax's classic hand drawn "yellow Submarine"?
omg. you all are not as smart as you think you are. you allow too much repetition and lack of originality in business, the media and politics.
don'tcha all EVER want a change or to frickin migrate to something different every now and then? i enjoy comfort and routines, but must you all ALWAYS resist new ideas? yall caught in a loop or something.
Posted by: james johnston | 03/15/2011 at 12:19 PM
I had a pitch a few years back for Yellow Submarine II based on the line, "Once upon a time, or maybe twice..." That was back when Ringo Star turned 64. Bush was president so I wanted red meanies. I'm glad their project sunk. Mine would have made sense.
Posted by: Mister Wu | 03/15/2011 at 01:05 PM
I have loving memories of "Yellow Submarine." When it played at the second-run theater when I was in high school, I rode my bike to the theater every day after school, paid my fifty cents, and watched it until dinner time.
It was perfect in drawn animation. A motion-capture remake could only be awful.
Posted by: Marina Stern | 03/15/2011 at 01:08 PM
Remaking Yellow Submarine? Sounds like the height of hubris to me. YS was a beautifully drawn animated film. It should remain as the definitive version.
Posted by: Nova yos Galen | 03/15/2011 at 01:52 PM
It's a free country.
Posted by: Big Cadillac | 03/15/2011 at 02:07 PM
This movie should be left alone.
Why would anyone remake it?
It is perfect as it is.
Posted by: Stella | 03/17/2011 at 10:37 PM