How The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ Inspired Batman’s The Joker

Because the band’s influence extends beyond music, The Beatles‘ Yellow Submarine influenced a portrayal of the Joker from the Batman franchise. An actor drew inspiration from a Yellow Submarine character to play the Clown Prince of Crime. Interestingly, the song “Yellow Submarine” became a hit multiple times in the United Kingdom.

Mark Hamill said his version of the Joker was inspired by The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’

Mark Hamill is most known for portraying Luke Skywalker, the hero at the heart of the Star Wars franchise. His second most famous role is the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. During a 2021 interview with ComicBook, Hamill discussed landing the latter role.

“I remember when I auditioned for the Joker, I wasn’t able to see any of the episodes, I wasn’t able to read the script, it was like a three- or four-page audition scene, but they had one, black-and-white drawing of the Joker, full size, not just a closeup,” he said. “And he had those teeth and, just based on that drawing, it really meant a lot, because I thought, ‘I’ve gotta make that, whatever voice I come up with, sound like it’s coming out of that character.’

“And I thought, ‘Teeth, teeth, teeth, he’s all teeth!'” he said. “I threw in a little, the Blue Meanies from Yellow Submarine, ‘Hello, lovey-dovey,’ I wanted to alter him so that he didn’t have just one sound. I lucked out.”

Mark Hamill went on to play a horror icon as part of his voice acting career

Hamill explained how the look of cartoon characters impacted him. “Visual representation is really important, especially in animation, because sometimes you do things where you don’t know what the character looks like,” he said. “When you see it, you say, ‘Oh, gosh, if I had known it was gonna look like that, I might’ve tried this or that.'” 

Hamill went on to become a respected voice actor. In 2019, he lent his voice to Chucky, the evil possessed doll in the Child’s Play franchise. He would be a perfect choice for a remake of Yellow Submarine.

How ‘Yellow Submarine’ and its title song performed on the pop charts

The soundtrack for the movie Yellow Submarine became a phenomenon. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 25 weeks. Yellow Submarine‘s title track reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for nine weeks.

The Official Charts Company reports the Yellow Submarine soundtrack was popular in the United Kingdom too. There, the album reached No. 3 and remained on the chart for 10 weeks. Yellow Submarine recharted at No. 60, spending another two weeks on the chart before reaching No. 8 and lasting on the chart for yet another seven weeks. Oh boy!

The song “Yellow Submarine” was released as a double A-side single in the U.K. alongside “Eleanor Rigby.” The tunes topped the U.K. chart for four of their initial 13 weeks on the chart. Upon rerelease, the two tracks reached No. 63, lasting two more weeks on the chart.

Yellow Submarine became a massive hit and it even had an impact on the Caped Crusader.