User reviews

I cast my vote not only for a DVD release of The Point, but also for it to have (a) the soundtrack remastered with the respect it deserves and (b) Dustin Hoffman restored to the narration. I was lucky enough to see it once by accident on TV during the school holidays in the mid-seventies and, over the years, I have proclaimed its many virtues (e.g, the soundtrack, the moral, and the fine use of a real boy, instead of an actress, for the boy's voice).

The Point, a delightful animated film, is a joy for both children and their parents. The story line is a typical fable - how little Oblio was born in the Land of Point with a perfectly round head. After beating the evil Count's son in a game of triangle toss, he and his faithful dog Arrow are banished to the Pointless Forest. Here they encounter numerous strange creatures and have many adventures, where they learn that physical or not, everybody has a point. The music was written and performed by Harry Nilsson...after his hits with "Everybody's Talkin'" and the "Theme from the Courtship of Eddie's Father", but before his monumental Nilsson Schmillson album. A song from this feature, "Me and My Arrow" became a minor hit. George Tipton does wonderful but largely unrecognized arrangements of all the songs. The original movie was featured on ABC television in 1971 with Dustin Hoffman providing the narration. Harry Nilsson himself peforms the narration on the corresponding soundtrack album, which is a delight in itself. (It has recently been re-released with additional material.) When the film was shown in Great Britain, the original narration was wiped and replaced with one by Alan Barzman. Later the film was shown on the Disney Channel, with narration by Alan Thicke. The VHS home version is narrated by Ringo Starr, a drinking buddy and close friend of Harry Nilsson. Although the VHS version is no longer in print, I have seen versions with all 4 narrators lurking about on the internet. I have not heard personally heard the Alan Thicke or Alan Barzman versions. Ringo does a nice job on his narration, which I prefer over Hoffman's. However, if you're a Dustin Hoffman fan, his version is fine as well.

I saw this on ABC's Movie of the Week when it was first shown in 1971. I was in 8th grade then and just loved it.

I think it was only repeated once.

It should be repeated every year like Charlie Brown and Rudolph.

This generation would really benefit from it.It might make them think a little

The messages of tolerance and respecting others' differences never get old.

Plus the music was very uplifting and the characters are appealing

The fact that I still remember (and would like to see)this movie after 35 years must mean something.

I kept hearing about this movie a lot for quite some time, and when I saw the video at my local library, I decided to check it out to see if it was any good.

Little did I know what I was in for!

In other words, I loved every minute of it. I have this thing for semi-obscure non-Disney animated movies, and 'The Point' was just adorable. Never before have I seen a lead character quite as endearing as little Oblio, or a cuter dog than Arrow (I just loved his expressions). The Rock Man was just too cool... with that beatnik-like voice and wisdom.

I loved the songs, and there's a very strange one about death, which shows a whale decomposing... it's the weirdest part of the movie, and has to be seen to be believed. The sequences to a few other songs aren't much more normal, actually. But I mean all of this in the nicest way possible.

'The Point' will for sure have a place in my cartoon collection soon. Anyone who loves strange cartoons or Harry Nilsson should see it.

Any animated movie that comes out can not hold a straw to 1971's "The Point".

Harry Nillson wrote an incredible story, that comes along with excellent, singable songs that will live through the ages. The story is touching and the characters are wild.

The first time I saw it was the first time it came out, with Dustin Hoffman as the narrator. Now that it is on DVD, I wish that he was still the narrator, but Ringo does an incredible job as well and it does not detract from the story.

The point of this movie (no pun intended) is that everything has a point, and if everything has a point than thats rather pointless. You'll have to watch to understand. Every kid should watch it for a wonderful cartoon and every teenager/adult should watch it to learn a valuable, touching lesson.

This a charming movie. The animation is simple, but nice. It feels like picking up a children's book and reading it, which is also what bookends the whole story. The character design is mostly quite nice, and some of the characters are visually great fun. The same goes to some of the sequences, especially the imagery during the songs. While it's not ground breaking in any way, the look is sweet enough that the movie would probably appeal to fans of animation.

A big draw is Ringo Starr, who is the narrator/dad in the home media release of this movie. He does a good job, as does Harry Nilsson singing the soundtrack. But I do kind of wish that the same person would have done both.

The story itself is simple, but nice. It drags a bit at times. And while it mostly works, it might be a bit of a stretch to base a 60+ minutes story around a single pun. But the moral of the story is safe and probably understandable to the young target audience.

How wonderful that The Point is now available on DVD!

This 1971 TV special tells the story of Oblio, a round-headed child born into a world of pointy-headed people. He faces discrimination, is banished, and then returns at the end to teach an important lesson to the town.

The cartoon works on so many levels its a joy to watch and re-watch. The moral lessons come fast, furious and they're so enjoyably and subtle that it makes you feel good. "Everyone must have a point!"

A lot of the early '70s mentality is embedded in The Point, and the tone and lessons remind us that the '60s and '70s WERE an ideal time, filled with great ideals. The Harry Nielsson songs are outstanding, and the animation is a cross between Peter Max and the folks that did Rocky & Bullwinkle.

I snagged the Disney version on VHS more than 10 years ago, and let my small children watch it several times. I'm looking forward to enjoying it on crystal-clear DVD now.

I've been a fan of The Point since the album came out. The marker-drawn animation of the movie is a bit rough, some elements are somewhat clichéd, and there are a few differences between the movie and the album, but it's a good movie for kids and it teaches an important lesson about intolerance. I do prefer the album, however. I enjoyed Harry Nilsson's easy-going narration and the pace was more lively than the movie, with narration handling the story and the dialogue. I don't know why the sound track has stayed with me all these decades, but I still remember the lyrics to a number of the songs. I hadn't played the album since the mid 70's, but the story of Oblio stayed with me. When, as a graphic designer, I created a mascot for the company, it turned out to be inspired by Arrow. It is good these days to remind people that those who run around with points on their heads cannot overcome the forces of unity and oneness.

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.

The film can have its pacing issues, it can be quite boring at times with its limitedness, but still is charming with a bad time story type of charm, solid voice acting and some creative moments. Its far from one of the best and it isn't really a strong movie, especially with its limited animation, but I would recommend it to people and it definitely deserves some attention. I guess I can say, this film has a point.

My father would always talk about this movie growing up. He owns the record, which in time, found myself listening to his music.

But I'd never seen the film.

When I heard the DVD was available I quickly logged on, bought it and flew back home all the way from California to NY to surprise my dad. We made a night out of watching it, only for him to say that it was not the film he'd seen. But this wasn't because of the narration, as I've read from others reviews. He says it was animated differently.

IS THIS TRUE?? Has anyone ever seen a different LOOKING version?

I'm curious to see the "original" if that is the case.

Besides having a wonderful score written by Harry Nilson, including the song "Me and My Arrow" which was used in a car commercial, it had a great story and unique cartoons - very different for its day. I had seen it when it first came out with Dustin Hoffman as the father's voice, but the next time I saw it, Alan Thicke did the voice and I wondered if I had been mistaken. It is gratifying to know that I wasn't. I've never heard it with Ringo Starr in that part, but I think it would be interesting.

I have a fragmentary recollection of seeing this film when I was a kid and liking it back in the 1970's when it played on network TV. I recently re-watched it with my nephew Max, who is in 2nd grade and will be 8 years old in two months.

Probably the most important thing to say is that the movie held Max's attention very well, his eyes were riveted to the screen, and that he liked it very much, except for some of the musical interludes, which he thought were 'wierd,' especially the song where the whale dies and decomposes. (Of course, me being a sophisticated adult, I thought that song was probably the most profound and poetic, but I can see where Max was coming from.)

Based on the fact that Max appears to be a fairly typical real kid, who plays games on the Wii, who normally watches Adventure Time, the Ninja Turtles, and Sponge Bob, I would say that it is likely that other real world kids of today are likely to enjoy this movie as well.

As an adult, I find a number of reasons to recommend this movie for grown-ups and kids to watch together:

1. It's nice to find a kid-friendly film that isn't part of a mass merchandising campaign, which is now always the case regarding Disney and Pixar and Shreck movies, not to mention crap like GI Joe, Transformers, and My Little Pony. After watching this, it's unlikely your kid is going be asking for an Oblio action figure, and if he does ask, you won't find that action figure at the Target store.

2. Animation: This film has full-animation as opposed to the cheap-looking 'limited' animation that you see in the Hanna Barberra stuff from this period. Also, the drawing and coloring appears to have been done all by hand, giving the moving images a hand-made kind of quality, which is endearing to adults, and which might serve to inspire kids to pursue their own artistic endeavors. All in all, it's a refreshing change from computer animation and the other super-perfect stuff made today.

3. The narration and dialog is often clever and amusing, even insightful at times. The voice actors are all good, in particular, Mike Lookinland, who sounded so much like a real and natural kid, I did not recognize him as being one of the sickeningly saccharine Brady Bunch kids. A lot of the reviewers her on IMDb lament that Dustin Hoffman's original narration has been lost, and I of course always regret when a piece of art is not preserved intact, but Ringo Starr, besides being an old friend to the adults, tends to be popular with kids as well (hence his former gig as the narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine).

4. I'm dubious that all of the songs will appeal to kids, but at least they didn't cause Max to walk out. As an adult, and being ambivalent about a lot of Harry Nilson's music, I can say that most of the musical numbers I quite enjoyed. At least with the musical numbers, that is a good time for the kid to go the bathroom or to put some fruit or Ritz Bitz on a little plate for him.

5. The morals of the fable, regarding the somewhat arbitrary criteria we use to determine whether an activity has a 'point,' and regarding tolerance and acceptance of the differences between persons, are good morals for kids to learn.

On the whole, I found this to be a fun, sincere, unique, surprising and heartfelt piece of video that grown-ups and kids can watch together.

I was not around to witness the time when this animated TV movie first hit the airwaves (that was about fifteen years before I was born), but can recall hearing the album, featuring musical artist Harry Nilsson (who wrote the fable) as the narrator, as well as the songs he contributed to the story, perhaps as far back as I can remember, or close to it. I don't recall seeing this cartoon until I was around seven/eight years old, but after that, it soon became a favourite of mine, and I watched it a number of times for a while. Yesterday, I rented it on DVD to watch for the first time in a while. About fourteen years ago, I would definitely have been able to give it a 10/10, which isn't quite the case now, but I still found merits in the film.

In a town where everyone has a point on the top of their head, and everything is also pointed, something happens that it seems has never happened in the community before. A child is born without a pointed head. He is named Oblio, and during his childhood, he gets a dog with a pointed snout named Arrow and turns out to be quite popular, but one kid who doesn't like him is the nasty son of the evil count! One day, the two compete in a popular game in the town called triangle toss, where the players try to catch a triangle with the point on their head. With the help of Arrow, who can catch it with his snout, Oblio wins. The count wants his son to rule someday, and after hearing about his defeat in the game, he is outraged! He realizes that Oblio is a threat to his son ever ruling, so he tells the king how this boy is an outlaw, due to the fact that he doesn't have a pointed head. Although the king is good, and likes Oblio, he is weak-kneed and gives in to the count's demands. After a trail, the boy and his dog are banished to the Pointless Forest. While there, they find themselves on a psychedelic adventure, encountering unusual creatures they've never seen before, and this journey turns out to be quite educational!

"The Point" is a rather bizarre story, and Nilsson made it clear that it was inspired by an acid trip, but it's also a clever story with a moral. I know I'm not the first to point this out, but it's lesson in tolerance, which I may not have quite understood as a kid, but do now. The animation in this 1971 TV special is sketchy, and not completely coloured, which could disappoint some people, but I think I've always liked it. The story may be touching a times (during the sad farewell scene as Oblio leaves for the Pointless Forest, for example). Oblio meets some very interesting and memorable characters in the Pointless Forest, such as the three-headed Pointed Man (who is ironically quite pointless, though maybe not when he says, "A point in every direction is the same as having no point at all."), the Rock Man, the Leaf Man, etc. There's also humour in the cartoon, especially during Leaf Man sequence, in my opinion, with the first words he says to Oblio and Arrow. I most certainly can't forget the bunch of songs from Nilsson featured in the film and on the album, which are a big part of the both, and ones I've enjoyed many times.

I really don't know what I would have thought if I had just seen "The Point" for the first time at my age. It may have left me confused, though it also may have grown on me with more viewings. It definitely seems more bizarre and a bit less entertaining to me now than it did when I watched it when I was eight years old, but I definitely understand it more now than I did before, and I've never been a stoner, in case you were wondering. Also, I used to always see the TV version, taped off TV, with Dustin Hoffman as the narrator. Renting it on DVD, I finally got to see the home video version for the first time, featuring Ringo Starr as the narrator instead. This was a little different, but Ringo also did a good job, so it was worth hearing his voice in the cartoon. I'm sure kids today could really enjoy this psychedelic cartoon just like I did, and I'm sure many adults can as well, and can have a better understanding of the message. Perhaps the same goes with adolescents. If you like psychedelic cartoons from this era, like, let's say, "Yellow Submarine", there's probably a good chance you'd like this one.

Classic, memorable songs and simple lessons in life, 'The Point' makes a good story for children. The animation itself is very minimal, but this is not bad because the story is very strong and more prominent without the interruptions that animation can sometimes bring. 'The Point' is all about fitting in and the importance of differences in individuals. It is a touching story with many classic and memorable songs. I saw this film when I was about ten, and seventeen years on, I still remember this film because of its unique animation style, the touching story about outcasts and individuality (which I could feel for), and the memorable songs ('Just Me and My Arrow'). This film should be watched by all children, especially those that feel bullied or like outcasts and by those that do bully others. It's simply a wonderful little story. This film shows that a good animated story does not need to be wonderfully animated.

I was twelve when I saw this movie and was feeling very out of place, not fitting in with the other kids.

I was amazed to see such a wonderful story of hope. It made me feel so good to know others felt like I did.

This movie had a profound impact on me.

If you or your child is feeling detached, out of place, I can think of no happier way to show them they are not alone then to introduce this movie to them.

Why this treasure is so under circulated is disappointing, but kind of poignant to its message.

I must add the very end of the story did leave me feeling confused, but the power of the message overpowered this flaw.

Heard about this via the Nilsson biopic. Saw it for the first time. I couldn't relate, but thanks to the incredible voice work done for Oblio by Mike Lookinland, I wasn't alone. Like Alice in Wonderland, Oblio doesn't fit in, and isn't welcome where he finds himself. Lookinland kept the movie moving forward with his stunning innocence and acceptance of the bizarre characters throughout the movie. I didn't know whose voice was Oblio until the end, and it blew me away. For a while, I thought it was an actress, not a real kid.

The animation reminds me of Yellow Submarine and Peter Max. The music was incredible, amazing originality. This was quite the vanity project for Nilsson. His album bombed and this movie was forgotten. Hope it finds a new audience.

I first saw this quirky gem on TV as a child and fell in love with everything about it. The message of tolerance definitely spoke to me and the music was great. Found myself singing "Me and My Arrow" many times over the years and still love that song. I later saw it on the Disney channel with Alan Thicke as the narrator and prefer that version over the Ringo Starr one that got released on video. Sorry Ringo. Wish that version was the one that got released though I'd like to hear the one with Dustin Hoffman.

Oblio, the only round headed boy in a world of pointed head people and his dog, Arrow, are banished to the "pointless forest" by the local court. They meet all sorts of unusual characters along the way and keep getting visited by one in particular, the Pointed Man, who keeps popping in and out and trying to make his "point".

Everyone should see this starting at a young age as the message is one to remember throughout ones life.

I am a babysit often and recently I babysat for a family who had this movie. I watched it with the 5 and 3 year old kids and I was thoroughly creeped out.It was actually quite disturbing. The art art was odd and shaky, the plot was confusing and it was all made worse by strange music. The entire time i was watching it I kept thinking that the writers must have been high, and then I became sure they were high when the three headed man and the three bouncing, fat plum ladies came on screen; and lets not forget the dream that kid had, the air must be made of meth there.

Yes, the movie does have good message about the point of life and self worth, but you can give your kid the same message by reading the Starbelly Sneeches by Doctor Seuss, or putting on My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, or Sesame Street. Something that won't give them nightmares. So maybe forty years ago this movie was cream of the crop, but nowadays if you want to put on a movie for your kids, you can do better than "The Point."

I also watched this movie as a kid in the early 1970's. I think I first saw it at home (around '72 or '73) and a couple of years later saw it at school.

I imagine it was used to promote peace and harmony not only among the races, but also among conservatives/liberals, and the like. Oblio was a kid who was born (the only one) without a point on his head. He goes into exile and is determined to find "his point" with his dog Arrow. Eventually, he returns to town to see if they will accept him along with his differences and is stunned to find out he now DOES have a point on his head. The only problem is that the town now has round heads, but they take him in warmly. Excellent movie to teach about racism or how we are all different, but we must all be accepted.

I remember myself and friends gathering in the living room to watch this "special" on TV. In 1971 I was not yet 20. I recall thinking whoever created that movie must of been "smokin" a bit of the good stuff. Nevertheless, the whole point of THE POINT was pointless and I never forgot that. The song "Me and My Arrow" has been in the back of my head forever and ever. Especially when I find myself cruising unknown territory. Tonight I had the occasion to re-watch "You've Got Mail" in which a lot of Harry Nillson's songs are played. Which prompted me to sign up for the Netflix free trial offer just so I can watch this priceless movie one more time...I think I'll invite all my friends to come watch it with me. This movie is timeless.