Robert Zemeckis and Disney have struck a deal to remake the psychedelic Beatles cartoon, Yellow Submarine as a 3-D version.

Variety reports that the deal has been months in the making, with lawyers trying to sort out the complicated rights clearances that will be necessary to remake the cartoon.

The biggest hurdle is going to be getting access to the 16 Beatles songs featured in the movie.

The original Yellow Submarine attracted a fair bit of controversy when it was released in 1968. The Beatles had distanced themselves from the movie and didn’t even make an appearance until the closing credits where they only made a brief live-action cameo. Actors provided voices for the animated incarnation of the band. You also had the not-so-subtle references to drugs. Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds, was said to be about the psychedelic drug LSD.

The motives behind the remake of this film seem largely to cash in. Merchandising is being planned as we speak, as well as a Broadway musical spinoff and a Cirque du Soleil production. But I guess they’ll need the extra cash to cover the huge royalties bill they’re going to have to pay.

I have faith that Zemeckis will do a good job of this, but I also think he’s just eager to show off the 3D performance capture technique again that’s been used recently used in the upcoming Christmas Carol animation due out later this year.

The storyline of the original “Yellow Submarine,” directed by George Dunning, was set in Pepperland, an undersea paradise protected by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. When the band is captured by the music-hating Blue Meanies, a soldier is sent to Liverpool to fetch the Fab Four, who hop in the submarine and save the day.

Disney hopes to have the film ready in time to premier around the 2012 Summer Olympics.