In the Merry Old Land of Pepper

yellowsubmarine_barContributed by Brendan S.

Two of my all-time favorite movies, 1939′s The Wizard of Oz and 1968′s Yellow Submarine, have several things in common besides being musical fantasies- they’re practically parallel in a number of ways:

The Wizard of Oz Yellow Submarine
Colorful, peace-loving kingdom under siege by evil despots and their minions:
The Wicked Witch of the West
The flying monkeys
Colorful, peace-loving kingdom under siege by evil despots and their minions:
The Chief Blue Meanie
The Dreadful Flying Glove
The Mayor of Munchkin City The Lord Mayor of Pepperland
A sepia-toned Kansas A bleak, grey Liverpool, England
Dorothy wanting more than her drab surroundings Ringo: “Nothing ever ‘appens to me.”
The song “Over the Rainbow” The rainbow gate to Pepperland
The Kansas farmhands each having counterparts in Oz The Beatles meet their Pepperlandian doubles- namely Sgt. Pepper’s band
Evil talking trees throw apples at Dorothy and the Scarecrow The Apple Bonkers drop large apples on the heads of innocent victims
The Yellow Brick Road served as the path to Oz The Yellow Submarine brought the Beatles on a perilous journey
Highly intellectual albeit slightly befuddled individual who befriends the main characters:
The Wizard
Highly intellectual albeit slightly befuddled individual who befriends the main characters:
Jeremy Hilary Boob, Ph.d.
The Emerald City, which led to the Wizard’s palace The Sea of Green, which led to Pepperland
The Wizard, in his hot-air balloon, accidentally leaves Dorothy stranded in Emerald City Old Fred, on board the submarine, Old Fred, on board the submarine, stranded in the Sea of Phrenology at one point
Brief but effective use of classical music:
“Night On Bald Mountain” by Mussorgsky
Brief but effective use of classical music:
“Air On a G String” by Bach and “Peer Gynt Morning Suite” by Grieg
On her broom, the Wicked Witch skywrites “Surrender Dorothy” over Oz in hideous black smoke The Flying Glove left behind a trail of smoke jetting the skies of Pepperland while terrorizing the populace
The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion successfully infiltrate the Witch’s army to rescue Dorothy The Beatles crudely disguise themselves as an Apple Bonker to infiltrate the Meanie army and bring Pepperland back to its glory
Act of kindness used to defeat the bad guys:
a bucket of water thrown at the Wicked Witch
Act of kindness used to defeat the bad guys:
music was used as a weapon against the Meanies & completely restored Pepperland
With the Witch having been killed, the flying monkeys and army are free from her control The Blue Meanies decided to give up their evil ways and join in the eternal celebration/happiness
In spite of it all being a dream, Dorothy spoke fondly of her adventure in Oz, the good and the bad Back in our world, the flesh and blood Beatles speak of the great time they had in Pepperland-even with more Blue Meanies lurking in theaters

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7 Responses to In the Merry Old Land of Pepper

  1. Steven says:

    Good parallels you draw here. Will be back.

  2. Veola Nockai says:

    Hey-o, just found your site on yahoo. You have some good posts :)

  3. dfsqd says:

    Good stuff you got there, bro.
    but Really though, the beatles just wanted to get high.

  4. Mr. On says:

    Yeah, yeah, yeah, Brendan!
    I was looking for more Beatles/Oz stuff
    and would like to mention that apart from
    the more obvious there’s a lot hidden that
    I’m still trying to get at, such as the
    yellow spiral on Ringo’s orange drumhead
    used only in “Magical Mystery Tour”, looking
    like the “yellow-brick road”, Shirley Temple
    is thrice on the cover on “Sgt. Pepper’s”,
    which if you recall your “Wizard Of Oz” movie
    lore she was the first choice to portray
    Dorothy Gale before her singing skills were
    found lacking then being (wisely) replaced by
    Judy.
    “Oz” is not only the land, but abbreviation
    for “ounce” or “ounces” too, which certainly
    the Beatles’ drug courier (No Ives) would’ve
    used when scoring smokables here in the U.S.,
    as well as in a pinch utilize a Prince Albert
    tobacco lid to measure if scale not available.
    Prince Albert, as were the Beatles, British,
    and Judy Garland died in the U.K. of an O.D.
    on or about a month before the first man on
    the Moon.
    There’s much more, but YOU know that…<l;D
    Mr. On

  5. Rosabel says:

    It’s great to read something that’s both enjoyable and prvioeds pragmatisdc solutions.

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