The Beatles inspired a range of animations during their heyday, including a television series and the legendary film Yellow Submarine. Now, more than 50 years after the latter, the Fab Four are still the subject of captivating animation. Two new music clips have been produced for the reissue of the classic Revolver album, and they're a testament to the timelessness of a band that feels eternal.
Longtime Beatlemaniacs are enthralled by the new releases, and they're also winning over new fans. For more inspiration, see our guide to Disney's principles of animation and our pick of the best animated music videos. You might also want to make sure you have the best animation software.
The Beatles may have disbanded five decades ago, but they're still releasing material. An expanded reissue of the 1966 album Revolver has just been released, and the band have released two new animated music videos to celebrate, with new takes on the two classic songs.
The songs chosen were album opener Taxman and I'm Only Sleeping, and they've each been given very different treatment. For the first, Danny Sangra goes type-heavy with retro blown-up letters and animations that play on the lyrics of the song. He says on his website that he was influenced by that classic Beatles animation Yellow Submarine as well as comics and Saturday morning cartoon shows.
Meanwhile, Em Cooper’s take on I’m Only Sleeping, is a sumptuous, swirling fluid animation comprising 1,300 hand-painted oil artworks. It creates a dreamy, slightly surreal stream of consciousness on the edges of slumber, evoking John Lennon's thoughts in the song but also memories of the Beatles.
Both pieces perfectly capture the mood and energy of each song, and they're a testament to the Beatles' eternal appeal and to music that incredibly sounds just as fresh today as it did in the 1960s.
"A band is over 60 years old and it’s still having music videos. That’s when you know they did something legendary," one person commented on the I'm Only Sleeping video on the Beatles YouTube channel. "This was one of the most beautiful, mind-blowing pieces of art I've seen in decades. I was glued to the screen," someone else wrote. "I can't believe how beautiful this turned out! Love the homage to a more 60s/70s animation aesthetic," someone wrote about the Taxman video.
The Beatles Revolver Special Edition is available on Amazon now.
Read more:
