The Point! is a fable by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson about a boy named Oblio, the only round-headed person in The Pointed Village, where by law everyone and everything had to have a point.
“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.’” — Harry Nilsson
Delightful animated fable about a land where all things and people have points, except for young Oblio. Because of his “pointlessness,” he and his dog, Arrow, are banished to the Pointless Forest, but once there Oblio learns that things need not be pointed to have a “point.”
The Point(1971) Narrated by Ringo Starr; music by Harry Nilsson. Songs include “Me and My Arrow.” 74 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1.
Category: Family / Animation Director: Fred Wolf
Cast: Ringo Starr
The Point: Seven-Step Outline
Step 1: The set-up
The round-headed Oblio has had to wear a cap since birth to conceal his “pointless” condition from his pointy-headed peers. However, Oblio is accepted in the town despite his nonconformity until one day when the son of an evil Count in the land is unwittingly dishonored by Oblio.
Step 2: The inciting incident
The Count’s son challenges Oblio to a one-on-one game of Triangle Toss (where participants catch the triangle on their heads), which Oblio wins. In a fit of rage, the Count (who wants his son to rule the land one day) confronts the king to reaffirm the law of the land, which states that those who are pointless must be banished from the kingdom and into The Pointless Forest.
Step 3: Act one turning point
A jury reluctantly convicts both Oblio and his dog Arrow (who helped him win the Triangle Toss), leaving the king no choice but to send the pair away.
Step 4: Mid-point
Oblio and Arrow are sent to The Pointless Forest, but soon discover that even The Pointless Forest has a point. They meet curious creatures like giant bees, a “pointed man” pointing in all directions who proclaims “A point in every direction is the same as no point at all”, a man made of rock who helps Oblio see that everyone has a point (as in reason) though it might not be readily displayed.
Step 5: Act two turning point
Oblio and Arrow spend the night in The Pointless Forest, then awaken to a large stone hand with the finger pointing to their “destination”. They take the road indicated by the hand and make their way back to The Land of Point, where they receive a heroes’ welcome from the land’s citizens, and the king. Oblio begins to tell his story but is interrupted by the furious count, who is then silenced by the king.
Step 6: The climax-act three turning point
Oblio tells the king and the people of the land that everything has a point, including the pointless forest, and himself. Unable to stand hearing what he believes is nonsense any longer, the Count pulls off his cap, but is taken aback when he sees a point on top of Oblio’s bare head.
Step 7: The resolution
Upon this revelation, the points of everyone else in the land disappeared, and pointed buildings became round.
