The Point!

The Point! is a 1971 animated cartoon movie, written by singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson and Carole Beers, and directed by Fred Wolf. It first appeared on ABC television, in the United States. It starred the voices of Mike Lookinland ("Bobby" of The Brady Bunch fame), and actor Dustin Hoffman. (Later editions replaced Hoffman's voice with that of Alan Thicke, then musician Ringo Starr.)

Storyline

The Point! tells a story about a boy named Oblio (Mike Lookinland), who is the only round-headed person in a land full of people and animals with pointed heads. Banished to the Pointless Forest for not conforming to what is "normal", Oblio and his dog Arrow (Don Messick) (whose head was pointed, but he was still loyal to Oblio) meet many different people, and come to learn that everything and everyone indeed has a "point"; a purpose for being what they are. Oblio and Arrow return home, bringing back what they have learned to share with everyone.

Harry Nilsson said later the inspiration for The Point! was an LSD experience. Resting on the ground, he noticed everything (trees, buildings) that reached into the sky from the ground came to a "point", leading Nilsson to believe that "everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to that". Nilsson developed this idea into a story about tolerance, and acceptance of uniqueness in others.

Cast

• Dustin Hoffman as Narrator and Father (1st version)
• Alan Barzman as Narrator and Father (2nd version)
• Alan Thicke as Narrator and Father (3rd version)
• Ringo Starr as Narrator and Father (Direct-to-video releases)
• Paul Frees as Oblio's Father, Pointed Man's Right Head, King, Leaf Man and Villagers
• June Foray as Pointed Man's Middle Head
• Mel Blanc as Pointed Man's Left Head
• Lennie Weinrib as Count
• Bill Martin as Rock Man
• Buddy Foster as Count's Son
• Joan Gerber as Oblio's Mother
• Don Messick as Arrow
• Mike Lookinland as Oblio

Music

Nilsson devoted a whole album to music from The Point!, alternating songs from the show with his own narration of the story. "Me And My Arrow" became the breakout hit from the album, with a single reaching the Top 20 in the American music charts. (The song was later used in a commercial, for the Plymouth Arrow automobile.)

Nilsson later adapted The Point! into a musical stage play, that featured more of his own songs. A London production of the play reunited former Monkees Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones, who were also friends of Nilsson's.