Blu-ray Review: The Point

The Point is a wonderful animated film that originally aired on ABC in 1971, featuring music written and performed by Harry Nilsson, who also provided the film’s story. It was directed and animated by Fred Wolf and featured the vocal talents of Mike Lookinland (Bobby on The Brady Bunch) as Oblio and Dustin Hoffman as his father, the narrator. Because Dustin’s contract stipulated his performance could be used only for the original airing, subsequent airings have featured three other actors in that role: Alan Barzman, Alan Thicke and Ringo Starr. The video releases have featured Ringo Starr, and such is the case with the new Blu-ray edition of the film released by MVD Visual as part of its MVD Rewind Collection. This new edition contains a whole lot of bonus material, including lots of interviews and even a small poster of the Blu-ray cover.

At the beginning of the film, a child wishes to watch his favorite television program, while his father waxes nostalgic about how children used to love to have stories read to them by their fathers. The father then chooses a book and begins to read to his son, and that story is the story we too are then told, a fable about a land where everything had points. “In fact, it was so full of points that even the people had points,” we are told. However, when Oblio is born without a point, some of the village’s people are bothered. His parents give him a pointed cap to help him look like everyone else, and that seems to work, for the child is an amiable and sweet lad. However, the son of the village’s count is rather mean to Oblio, seeming to inherit some of his father’s lesser qualities, calling him “round head” at one point, which of course calls to mind Bertolt Brecht’s play Round Heads And Pointed Heads. The count pressures the king to have Oblio banished, since Oblio by his very presence is violating the law. “Without the law, there would be no lawyers,” the King says. And so Oblio is banished to the Pointless Forest. Once he reaches the forest, he meets some interesting characters, including a multi-faced man who tells him, “A point in every direction is the same as no point at all.” And Mr. Rockman, who says: “You’ve got to open your mind as well as your eyes. But first you’ve got to get it together. You know, be cool. Dig yourself.” The three dancing women are particularly memorable.

The film’s music is – as you would expect – excellent. The song that most of us recall from our childhood is “Me And My Arrow,” the song about Oblio and his dog, his companion throughout his adventures. It was released as a single, and became a hit. However, my personal favorite is “Think About Your Troubles,” which plays as Oblio leaves home. It’s also one of my favorite sequences in the film. The animation, by the way, is absolutely delightful, with many humorous touches that have appeal for both children and adults.

Special Features

This Blu-ray contains a lot of special features, most of it not included on previous editions. Nilsson On Screen features interviews with biographer Alyn Shipton and several of Harry Nilsson’s friends, who discuss Harry’s work on various film and television projects. Perry Botkin, Jr. talks about meeting Harry and writing with him. Those interviewed also include Lee Newman, Amanda Reyes, Frank Stallone, Stanley Dorfman and Norm Lenzer. There is a bit of information on Harry’s work for The Monkees, and how a song in an episode of the television program allowed him to quit his job at the bank and focus on songwriting full time. And of course his “Daddy’s Song” is featured prominently in the Monkees’ film, Head. The biographer says: “Head is a dreadful movie.” That is just not true at all; in fact, Head is one of my favorite films. Anyway, this feature gets into the reasons behind The Point having had four different narrators, and also touches on The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father. There is surprisingly little material on his work for Popeye. Nilsson On Screen is all interviews. It contains no snippets from any of the projects being discussed, which is a shame. It is just over an hour long.

The Kid’s Got A Point is an interview with Mike Lookinland, who talks about his memories of the film (as well as things his mother has told him about it, since he was only nine years old at the time). And for you fellow Grateful Dead fans, check out the Steal Your Face behind him during the interview. This feature is approximately seventeen minutes. That Old Guy Wrote The Point is an interview with screenwriter Norm Lenzer, who talks about how he and Fred Wolf worked together. He says he didn’t like the character of the Rockman, feeling it was already out-of-date. This interview is approximately fifteen minutes. Everybody’s Got A Point is an interview with Kiefo Nilsson and Bobby Halvorson, about performing Kiefo’s father’s music. They perform “Think About Your Troubles” on piano. This special feature is approximately sixteen minutes. Making The Point is an interview with director/animator Fred Wolf, who talks about how the project came about, and also about the original writer. This is approximately thirteen minutes.

Who Is Harry Nilsson? is a short piece that hits on some of the highlights of Harry’s career, and includes interviews with Terry Gilliam, Micky Dolenz, Perry Botkin and Una Nilsson. Pitching The Point recounts the wild anecdote about how Harry Nilsson was finally able to pitch his film idea to the head of ABC. Legacy Of The Point contains interviews with Terry Gilliam (who says he loves the song “Me And My Arrow”), Annie Nilsson (who talks about “Think About Your Troubles”) and Fred Wolf (who talks about the film’s lessons of tolerance and understanding). The special features also include the original Claymation animation sequence for my favorite song, “Think About Your Troubles.”

The Point was directed by Fred Wolf, and was released on Blu-ray on February 18, 2020 through MVD Visual.