The Point

Rating:
Summary: best movie of all time!
Review: This movie has been passed down to me from 2 generations. My entire family owns a copy! As a kid- this was the movie we watched to keep us entertained.. and I still love it now as an adult! Great movie... you'll never forget it's lessons or music tracks.

Rating:
Summary: Missing Dustin Hoffman's narration
Review: This move is and will remain one of my all-time's favourites. I first saw it when I was a little kid and I didn't quite enjoyed it, I was more concerned about the look at that time and it surely didn't match any of the Disney's cartoons I was used with.
I then had the opportunity to review it a few years later... and I realised there's more to the story than just the drawings. We didn't have a VCR at that time, so me and my sister recorded it onto an audio tape from the TV. And that's what we grew up with, getting to know the narration and lyrics by heart, every word of it, with Dustin Hoffman's calm voice, as the story was going on. I used to lose the memory of the images, but the words were still in my mind.

I have a kid now and I've recently purchased the DVD (not quite sure if for my son or for myself :) ). The narration is Ringo Starr's and it's like the story isn't flowing the same... my kid really enjoys it, though. As for myself, I listen to Ringo but I still hear Hoffman. Does anybody happen to know if the "Hoffman narration" edition was ever released on VHS or DVD?

Rating:
Summary: Classic allegory about conformism
Review: Harry Nilsson had a point and knew exactly what it was. This allegorical classic had a simple but direct message--accept everyone for who they are and not force them to fit into a preconceived notion of who they should be. Oblio and Arrow his dog are banned from the town they live in. Why? Because the Evil Count decides that anyone that can beat his son at a game (misuse of power) and looks different (Oblio's the only child with a round head not a pointed head) shouldn't be allowed in the town. He's called pointless by the Count and others. But Oblio in Nilsson's extended allegory finds that nothing is pointless least of all himself.

A charming film full of colorful imagery, "The Point" remains a classic to this day regardless of which one of the narrators you heard when you saw it. For the record, Dustin Hoffman was the original narrator. He was replaced by Ringo Starr and, then, finally Alan Thicke (of "Growing Pains" fame). The narrator on the original album was, of course, Nilsson himself. He would have done a delightful job of narrating this animated classic but elected to go with a professional "actor" in each case.

There's not much in the way of extras. We can go directly to each song which is a nice touch although including Nilsson's original album (with his narration) would have been nice. Also, what about deleted scenes, a gallery of character designs and, perhaps, some footage of Nilsson himself? Ah well, perhaps next time.

The picture quality is quite good although there's some minor analog imperfections such as dirt and debris but, on the whole, the film looks remarkably good. The soundtrack recorded in mono has more presence than the videotape version. I would have liked a surround mix of the original songs but that would have required remixing the original album mastertapes and that's probably not going to happen anytime soon. Also pick up Harry's album of the same name. The reissue of Harry's classic album supervised by Curtis Armstrong (yes, THE Curtis Armstrong of "Moonlighting Fame" and who gave a marvelous performance as the owner Ahmet Ertegunof Atlantic Records in "Ray")includes two early versions of songs that ended up on the album as well as a replica of the original booklet that came with the album.

Rating:
Summary: Long-Lasting Impression
Review: My parents hired this on video for my brother and myself to watch way back in the late 80's. While we had it the video store burnt down, so the video was added to our personal collection. I must have watched this film a hundred times from ages 6 to 12, and I never got sick of it. The narrator on our version was Ringo Starr, and he did a brilliant job of it. Wow... Thomas the Tank Engine flashbacks...
Anyway, the film is great. The story is great. The music is great. I love the name Oblio. Every now and then a song or an image from this film will pop into my head and i always smile and tell myself i must remember to track down my copy.

Rating:
Summary: The Point
Review: The Point is a timless story about overcoming discrimination and learning how to deal with the obstacles thrown at us by life. Bullies really have no idea of what it's like to just be a non-aggressive, normal (though different looking or thinking) individual. The class structure that is presented in The Point clearly defines much of what is taking place in America today - rich and poor, conformity or rejection. And, like Oblio, sometimes being banished is not such a band thing to have happen to you.
After having seen The Point (twice I think) during the very early 70's I continued to remember the message from this great little film. Now, 24 years later and having searched for some time, I am adding the film to my library to share not only with my daughter, but also with the managers working at my corporation.
There is a lot to be learned from The Point - most notably is to avoid a situation that many of us find ourselves in too frequently and learning that "A point in too many directions is like having no point at all!"
Great film, great message!
Though this not a critical review of the film, it is more of an endorsement that the film will make most people better people with greater understanding and to that I simply say - Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: "It Isn't Pointless At All"
Review: The Point, an animation written by singer Harry Nilsson, is a story of a place where everyone and everything has a point, literally! The buildings are pointed, the artwork is pointed, even people have points on their heads. Everything and everyone must have a point in this place, it's the law and the way of things. Then one day Oblio is born, a baby who has no point at all. He grows up all right, he get a pointed hat to cover up his round head, and a pointed dog, and growing up makes many a friend in the town. Still, a mean old Count and his bratty son want him out. They manipulate the king and the people, send Oblio to court and have him banished to the pointless forest, where the adventures really begin...

The animation is kind of basic, especially when you compare it to cartoons of today. It seems to be mostly done in pen, and colored in with markers (when some characters move, the shading all wobbles about). Yet somehow, this creates a really fascinating atmosphere. The characters are quite unique. The stoned "rock" man, the festive bouncy dancing ladies, the leaf-obsessed tree, the cynical pointed man are all fascinating to watch.

Interdispersed through the film are songs from Harry Nilsson's album The Point. It's fine music, kind of Beatle-esque in terms of melody. Some of the songs are a little awkward in the lyrics department though (there's one song about crying into a teacup, which leads to the ocean, leading back to the teacup, which was a little odd). I love the song "Me and My Arrow", which apparently was something of a hit for Nilsson.

For me, the overall message of this film was a little hard to grasp. Maybe I'm looking in it too deeply, just as Oblio looked too deeply in that endless hole of intellect he discovers. I understand that people who talk big, or who look like they know something, may not actually have a real opinion at all (like the rambling Count, the indifferent King, and the pointed man), and that everyone has a point of view, even if it doesn't look like it on the surface (like Oblio and the bouncy dancing ladies), and I see that some people may have a point, but hold back for fear of rocking the boat (like many of the point-people in the courtroom, who sit back and watch while sentences they don't agree with are passed). I understand all that, I just get the feeling that there's something else that I missed. There's so many plays on the word "point", its hard to tell. Kind of confusing if you haven't got your wits about you. This colorful film made me think, that's for sure.

"The Point" has be broadcast and shown with many different narrators. Thanks to the magic of DVD, you can pick whichever narrator you want. Ringo, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Thicke, Alan Barzman. They're all here. No matter the dub, keep an ear out for Michael Lookinland (Bobby from the Brady Bunch) as the voice of Oblio and the boy listening to the story.

If you liked Yellow Submarine, you'll probably like this, I'd say. It's similar, but unique.

Rating:
Summary: Not the original but still a superb animated film
Review: As there are already plenty of reviews on here, I figured I'd just add my two-cents regarding the narrator and other character voices.

I have a version on video tape recorded off the Disney Channel back in about 1987-88. The narrator is Alan Thicke, not Ringo Starr. And it DOES make a difference. But then, in my experience, however you hear it or see it the first time is usually what you consider to be "the best." So... even with Ringo and Dustin adding their voices to this animated classic, it's still a fantastic movie. I'm just glad I've got the version that I remember so fondly from the 70s... and I hope that one day it will be released in that format again.

And as a further aside, I also have this on record with accompanying comic book. The narrator on the record is also Alan Thicke... so as far as I'm concerned, Alan Thicke is the original narrator.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie.
Review: My dad has the VHS one. Now on DVD. I like the music.

Rating:
Summary: This is great, but the original was greater!`
Review: If I hadn't taped the original off my tv a million years ago (well, early 80s, when I got my first vcr), I'd think I was remembering wrong! DUSTIN HOFFMAN WAS THE ORIGINAL NARRATOR, and IMHO, he far surpassed Ringo! I guess they had Ringo dub it because it's of the same genre as Yellow Submarine. Anyway, still a great allegory for kids and us aging hippies alike!

Rating:
Summary: A Stoner Film for those over 40
Review: If you watched this in the 1970s, buy it and re-live your jaded youth... I watched this film my freshman year of college, 1972, with my stoner friends who are now upstanding contributing members of society and in 2004, I'm watching it with my 87 year old mother today. Amazing... it's true when "they" say "they" don't make them like this any more. Reminiscent of Yellow Submarine in color and sound. Marvelous movie. Buy it for the next generation. It's not just about the Point, it's about Ringo Starr, Harry N. and more. It's the anti-thesis of modern cartoons with big eyes and stupid faces and no plot. Maybe having this movie out again will make people create better cartoons -- maybe they'll try to live up to this standard.