Yellow Submarine (2015 film)

Yellow Submarine is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure film and a remake of the 1968 British animated film of the same name. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and is inspired by the music of the Beatles, an English rock band that is now considered to be one of the most influential bands of all time. The film follows the same storyline as the original film and is fully animated using motion capture technology, a format used in many other films directed by Zemeckis, such as The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol.

The film was first reported to be in development in August 2009 and was officially announced in September of the same year. Several cast members were announced, including Peter Serafinowicz as Paul McCartney, Dean Lennox Kelly as John Lennon, Cary Elwes as George Harrison and Adam Campbell as Ringo Starr. Additionally, The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute band, was to perform the performance capture animation for the film. However, in 2010, Zemeckis' company ImageMovers Digital was shut down by Disney, with the company citing the poor performance of A Christmas Carol, which lost the studio $50-100 million. The remake was then cancelled by Disney after another motion capture animated film under the company, Mars Needs Moms, lost a reported $100 million for the studio, with the cancellation forcing a write-down of $96 million for Disney. However, the project was revived by Warner Bros. Pictures, and production started immediately.

Released theatrically on November 11, 2016, the film received polarized reviews, with the animation either being praised or criticized, although the voice performances received near unanimous praise. The film was produced on a budget of $140 million, with the original budget being $170 million before it was lowered due to the critical and commercial success of The Adventures of Tintin, a motion capture animated film which was produced on a lower-than-usual $135 million budget. Yellow Submarine only grossed $95 million worldwide, resulting in a write-down of $70 million.