The Beatles Cartoon Finale.

Beatles Cartoon Finale.

I used to like The Beatles. I mean, I guess they made good music? I had also collected some Beatles-themed merchandise over the years.  When I was more young I enjoyed watching the poorly animated cartoon centered around them that was made some time in the 60's I believe.

Some time last year I dropped the fixation of sorts all together, I had just found something that kind of ruined the entire thing for me. I feel sick writing this even, but I figured people would find this entertaining to read. 

Some time in 2020 I had walked to a thrift store a few blocks from my house. Originally I was looking for clothes or something, but at the time I was also looking for this movie titled "VIDEODROME", which was categorized as an "Intense Adult Film", AKA rated R.

When I was searching I found this bland, black VHS tape with "The Beatles Cartoon Finale 2016" scrawled on the side of it with silver Sharpie. I found this interesting due to the fact that it was categorized with other R-Rated films on the shelf, and that The Beatles Cartoon had really never featured content that would be rated as such, only Cartoon violence sometimes, but even that wasn't all that bad.

I figured that this was going to be one of those things where I'd just toss it on the shelf and forget about it for a few years until I pick it back up to look at it for some nostalgia points.  I had bought that VHS with some clothes, the Cashier commented on the tape saying that it looked all spooky. (I agreed, it was kinda spooky I guess.)

When I got back home I kind of tossed it on my desk and went to go set up the shit needed to play something that archaic and useless. Once I had suffered a near asthma attack dusting off my VHS player I plugged it into the TV and switched it to the right source. 

I pushed the VHS into the player and waited for a solid minute before it crackled to life, showing a bright blue intro with it titled "The Finale".  I sat back on my bed, watching the screen as a sense of comfort sort of made its way through my body. 

The 4 seemed to be arguing in the studio about Ringo not getting the beat right for a song or something. The style was just as incoherent as the rest of the episodes watched in my time, so the less saturated colors on screen was really nothing too new for me.

I think that the first thing I noticed when watching the tape was the fact that the voice actors were not the original voice actors for the series. This would ultimately make sense because according to the VHS tape this was created sometime in 2016 and the original actors died between 1990 and 2015. 

As I continued to watch the quality went down, almost like an animatic or colored story board. It was limited to almost no movement and it got kind of tiring to look at. The Beatles were visiting a friend to help Ringo fix his drum set, during this segment John seemed really frustrated at Ringo, constantly glaring at him and giving him the side eye. 

John blurted out something about him and the others leaving, which George protested by staying with Ringo.  This made John grab Paul's hand in anger, forcing him out of the friend's house with him.

Paul was shocked at John, and clearly in pain at the fact that his friend had practically broke his hand in a fit of rage.  Paul told John to simply "Fuck Off" Before leaving the scene crying. 

I kind of raised an eyebrow, sitting up as the use of language sparked my attention. It was funny to see that exchange go through in a kids show.

The camera slowly zoomed into John, gritting his teeth in anger before the screen faded to black.  In the next segment, Ringo and George were practicing some songs with each other and a sing-along played for "Don't Pass Me By" which featured Ringo dealing with the rest of The Beatles leaving him in the recording studio all alone. 

After the sing-along, Ringo was snapped out of his daydream by the sound of a door being forced open, followed by yelling from Paul and John. When the camera panned over it showed the two brawling. John looked cartoonishly drunk, waving a bottle around before promptly smashing it over Pauls head. 

Paul was knocked out and bleeding, leaving George and Ringo in shock and terror.  The animation quality quickly picked back up as a fight scene broke out between the three. John left Ringo and George wounded with the sharp, broken bottleneck.

Ringo and George fled the studio, leaving John and Paul's unconscious body.  John let out a very non cartoonish scream that sounded like a grown man in genuine rage. I was honestly caught off guard, it even made me jump. 

The scene cut to John, bloodied from the fight prior. His eyes were looking down at Paul, John looked like he was in grief, before he left the building. 

Meanwhile, Ringo and George made it back to their flat, calling an ambulance for the both of them, including Paul over at the recording studio.  The screen cut to black again, and I remember getting up to turn it down or something when a high pitch ringing came from the stereo. Several realistic photos of The Beatles mutilated bodies flashed on the screen before it went silent again and the scene skipped. 

 John was in his room, staring down at a photo that was covered in something resembling  candle wax covering other materials. Around him were candles that illuminated the dark room, revealing eyes scrawled in white and red. John was muttering to himself, something over and over again but to this day I still can't figure out what he was saying. 

Before I could get a grasp on what the hell was going on the scene skipped to John glaring into the camera I guess, being followed by old music, or slowed down Beatles songs that just sounded old time-y. A low monotone voice said something that I can actually remember

"I Could Have Changed. It was all my fault. I could have controlled myself. What is Wrong with Me. What is Wrong with me. What is Wrong with m-"

And that's where the film ended. The VHS player ejected the film, slightly poking it out of the player telling me that it was done being played.  I was still analyzing everything that I had seen. The imagery was something that I never thought I would see, or ever want to see. 

I had a headache from the flashing scenes and the way John glared through the screen made me very uncomfortable.  I remember silently taking that VHS out of the player and putting it back on one of my highest shelves. 

I still have it to this day and I think about it a lot. The only thing that I can't stand about it is the constant nightmares and hallucinations I see when I'm in dim lighting.  It just always feels like there's something watching me, and I've talked to my therapist about it. I think I just need to sleep, I have a headache typing all of this.