The Point (1971)

A father tells his son a bedtime story about young Oblio, who believes that having no point in the fantastical kingdom of pointed heads and things, still has a point.

Director:

Fred Wolf

Writers:

Harry Nilsson (story), Carole Beers (story) (as Carole A. Beers)

Stars:

Ringo Starr, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Frees

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ringo Starr	...	Narrator / Father (home video release) (voice)
Paul Frees	...	Oblio's Father / Pointed Man's Right Head / King / Leaf Man / Villagers (voice)
Lennie Weinrib	...	Count (voice) (as Lenny Weinrib)
Bill Martin	...	Rock Man (voice)
Buddy Foster	...	Count's Son (voice)
Joan Gerber	...	Oblio's Mother (voice)
Mike Lookinland	...	Oblio (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alan Barzman	...	Narrator / Father (second telecast)
Dustin Hoffman	...	Narrator / Father (First Telecast)
Alan Thicke	...	Narrator / Father (third telecast)

Storyline

An animated story of an unusual kingdom in which everything and everybody is pointed - except for a young boy named Oblio. Despite his round head, Oblio has many friends. But an evil count, jealous that Oblio is more popular than his own son, says that without a pointed head, Oblio is an outlaw. Along with his faithful dog Arrow, Oblio is exiled to the Pointless Forest. There, he has many fantastic experiences (including encounters with a 3-headed man, giant bees, a tree in the leaf-selling business, and a good-humored old rock). From his adventures, Oblio learns that it is not at all necessary to be pointed to have a point in life. Music composed and performed by Harry Nilsson ("Me and My Arrow"), who also wrote the story.

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Plot Keywords:

point | kingdom | boy | giant bee | bedtime story | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Fred Wolf Films

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 February 1971 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Murakami-Wolf Productions,Nilsson House Music Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ringo Starr was asked to re-dub the narration for the home video release because of his close friendship with Harry Nilsson.

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Alternate Versions

The TV version features a narration by Dustin Hoffman; the Video Tape and Laser Disc releases are narrated by Ringo Starr.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: To Cur with Love (2012)

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Soundtracks

Everything's Got 'Em
Written and Sung by Harry Nilsson

User Reviews

Great movie about diversity and acceptance

Growing up, my parents used to rent this movie for my sister and I all the time. Along with "Free To Be You & Me", these movies made me really open-minded and I learned a lot.

It's the story of a young boy who lives in a town with all of these people whose heads are pointy. His head is not. So he treks around on a "psychedelic journey" with his dog. I don't remember much else, but I remember Ringo narrating it :-) and the ending which I'm not going to write about here.

I can't seem to find this film anywhere now. I think I'd enjoy seeing it, especially since in retrospect I realize that it was probably made by hippies and had a lot of the 60s/70s drug culture in it.