After the success of Yellow Submarine, there were several attempts to further incorporate Peter Max-style draftsmanship into animation. Most were in advertising or Saturday Morning cartoons (the short-lived Jackson Five and Brady Bunch series are good examples). However, a few longer-form pseudo-psychedelia relics remain, and of these, The Point is the most charming.
The Point was originally made for television and later released to video and cable. As such there are at least two different versions with different narrators. My copy has Dustin Hoffman narrating the fable of a boy with a round head trying to fit into a land where everyone has a pointed head. The music and story were written by Harry Nilsson, who provides his tuneful whimsy throughout. Nilsson's song structure and voice evokes both Paul McCartney and Billy Joel, making the soundtrack a good bet for fans of 70s pop. Nilsson's story is told in such a disarming and unpretentious manner that its message of tolerance of others' differences never seems preachy or obvious. In fact, the story is far stronger than that in Yellow Submarine, The Point's prototype.
The Point has a visual style which probably looks more unique now than when the film originally aired. While the characters may be primitively drawn, they seem far more fluid than the stiff, unrealistic heroes that are standard in today's TV animation. Furthermore, there is a close marriage between the graphics style of the characters and backgrounds; in The Point the backgrounds are often simple, sketchy watercolors. Again, this is not common in many of today's programs, where backdrops are far too realistic for their characters to exist in.
Straightforward yet multileveled, The Point is a great animated film for a family to enjoy together.
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Other NonAnime Reviews Prince of Egypt Review* Gotham Girls Review* Sleeping Beauty Review * Jackie Chan Adventures Review Return of the Joker Review* |
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