For a while, many people were upset at the prospect of Robert Zemeckis creating an updated, 3D-animated version of The Beatles’ animated film, “Yellow Submarine”. Well, now that his “Mars Needs Moms” bombed at the box office, making less than $7 million while it took $150 million to make the film, Disney has decided not to take any chances and has effectively severed all ties with the “Yellow Submarine” remake, according to ScreenCrave and The Hollywood Reporter.
The film, which had already been cast with Dean Lennox Kelly as John Lennon, Cary Elwes as George Harrison, Peter Serafinowicz as Paul McCartney and Adam Campbell as Ringo Starr, was going to be filmed using motion-capture, something that has now become Zemeckis’ hallmark. As ScreenCrave points out, the first use of Zemeckis’ motion capture in “The Polar Express” was the most successful use of it, whereas later projects, like “Beowulf” and “A Christmas Carol” were less monetarily successful. Also, the films (even “The Polar Express”) have had the major criticism of having characters that looked creepy and dead, a sign that shows when realistic animation has gone a step too far in the direction of The Uncanny Valley.
Even though Disney doesn’t want the film, however, doesn’t mean that the movie is gone for good. Zemeckis still has the option of shopping the idea around to other studios. However, there are still loose ends to tie up with heirs and remaining members of The Beatles–Starr and McCartney–as to whether they will sign off on the film.
