The Point, a “modern” fable – CliqueClack Flashback

Ringo Starr (preferred narrator of choice for this review, see notations below) opens The Point with the following:

“Once upon a time … a long way from here and a long way from now …”

… but the film was actually conceived “once upon a time … a long way from now” in the confines of Harry Nilsson’s drug-induced mind:

“I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points,
and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point.
I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn’t, then there’s a point to it.'”

Yep. Apparently, even acid has a point in this particular case.

Now, let me make one thing absolutely clear: I don’t advocate the use of recreational pharmaceuticals in the least. However, if not for Nilsson’s exploitation of his drug of choice at the time, we wouldn’t be the benefactors of this spiffy little modern fable.

If you don’t know the story, here it is in a nutshell (Yes, a “nutshell” can come in the form of 600+ words. Get off me):

Oblio (Mike Lookinland, Bobby on The Brady Bunch) is born to parents of the Pointed Village, a kingdom where everybody and everything has a point. Points reside on the tops of their heads … the people live in pointed houses … trees and plants and vehicles all have points. Even the main activity of the kingdom is making points. But Oblio? Oblio has no point … no point at all. (He wears a hat his mother made him to cover his pointlessness.)

And that’s a problem. You see, the law of the land states everyone must have a point. And because Oblio doesn’t have one, it rubs the very powerful Village Count the wrong way. The Count convinces The King their kingdom’s most precious law is in violation. A public tribunal is convened. “He’s a freak! A viper!” the Count declares of our young protagonist … and Oblio is vanquished far, far away to The Pointless Forest. The law — after all — is the law.

Oblio, while sad to be leaving, is looking forward to the adventure ahead of him (Note: no one has ever been to The Pointless Forest before), and off he goes with his trusty dog Arrow.

His venture into the forest yields some interesting encounters with some very strange folk, many appearing not to have any point themselves. But there is a lesson in each and every chance meeting Oblio has with these folk. He is introduced to a three-headed Pointed Man who not only gestures continuously at every conceivable bearing (“A point in any direction is the same as no point at all”) but seems to have nary a point in his own ramblings; a run-in with giant bees; an interesting discussion with a “Rock Man” who imparts some of the most important information Oblio receives while in The Pointless Forest (“You see what you want to see. And you hear what you want to hear,” he tells Oblio); a bottomless hole which doesn’t seem to have any point at all (“Point in fact, it never pays to submerge your thoughts too deeply,” notes The Pointed Man); three very plump and happy singing women who don’t answer any of Oblio’s questions (“Their point was laughter and happiness,” Oblio tells The Pointed Man who continues to pop in and out after each of his and Arrow’s adventures); a Leaf Man whose sole mission is to hock leaves to potential patrons (“Timing and honesty, that’s the name of the game,” the Leaf Man explains); an inconceivably and pointlessly giant egg that hatches a tiny bird; and — last but not least — a “Vanishing Point” holding no purpose whatsoever.

Regardless of the fact that The Pointed Man continues coaching Oblio about everyone he meets being pointless or offering pointless advice, the boy realizes something all together different: It’s not that the people he engages (along with the things and situations) have to have points, but it’s what’s inside their heads — as well as his — which are the far more important considerations.

Finally, Oblio falls asleep after his incredibly long adventure … only to awaken at his “Destination Point,” which he comes to realize is back home in the land of Point.

Arriving to joyous fanfare, he tells The King and all the people: “The Pointless Forest isn’t pointless at all.” It turns out the forest and its denizens do have points. “I figure if everything has a point, then I must have one, too,” he explains. The Village Count, enraged at this revelation from Oblio, snatches off his pointed hat only to discover Oblio’s head now contains a point. Interestingly, the points atop everyone else’s heads disappear, leaving Oblio with the lone and only point.

Airing as an ABC television Movie of the Week in 1971, The Point had the singular distinction at that time of being the first animated piece to get a U.S. prime time broadcast, rather unique for a cartoon to receive such a slot in the schedule.

So … what is the point of The Point? Simple: It’s tolerance, an altruism each and every one of us should take into consideration day in and day out, especially so during our busy schedules and selfish “me” times. We’re quick to give “whinery” more priority than benevolence. Admit it … we all do it.

And it’s not lost on yours truly that the culmination of Nilsson’s selfish desire resulted in a fable we can all learn from.

Notes:

• When the kids start selecting players for the triangle toss early in the film, they call for “Harry,” “Fred,” and “Richard” who are references to Harry Nilsson (writer and songster of the movie), Fred Wolf (director), and Ringo Starr (narrator, AKA Richard Starkey).
• The soundtrack to The Point was released by RCA Records. On the cover of the album Nipper, the RCA dog, has a “pointed” head.
• In the series of television commercials aired during the mid-1980s, Oblio was reinvented as “Sprout” … the small companion of the iconic Jolly Green Giant, the mascot of the General Mills company.
• Depending on the version, there were numerous narrator/father voice-overs for The Point. Dustin Hoffman sat in for the premiere telecast, with Alan Barzman and Alan Thicke taking control for the second and third versions. Ringo Starr took the home video release to task, one of the most popular versions of the tale.
• All songs for the film were composed, written, and recorded by Harry Nilsson.

But wait! There’s more! The Point yielded some pretty fine tunes along with the tale. A few are provided below for your dining and dancing pleasure, the first two with rather 70’s-esque imagery. (The last video is simply a superior recording of one of the signature songs in the film.)

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Aug 10, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT