The Point!
One of the stories we are considering for this year's theme is The Point!
(for other stories beng considered go to: http://www.witchlets.org/#!Potential-Stories-for-2016-Camp/c22ml/56c3c99a0cf2fe0269b3828b)
It's an animated movie, which you can watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjfKteUBa_s
an here is a transcription, provided by our own delightful Laura Belk:
THE POINT By Harry Nilsson
THE TOWN Years ago . . . there was a place called the Land of Point. And that is because everything in the Land of Point had one. The barns, the houses, the carts, everything, even the people. Everyone in the Land of Point had a point on the top of their head. Everyone, that is . . . with the exception of Oblio.
Now, although Oblio was born to a set of normally pointed parents – and although he was born physically perfect in every other respect – he was born without a point. He was round headed. And as time past, Oblio became increasingly aware of his uniqueness, and so did everyone else, which made life in the Land of Point rather uncomfortable for him and his parents.
You see, Oblio became sort of an involuntary celebrity and he was subject to the sometimes cruel and unusual harassment from his schoolmates. It wasn't easy being the only pointless person in the whole Land of Point. And in an effort to make life easier his mother knitted a pointed cap for him to wear . . . it was to conceal his
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pointless condition. But it didn't do much good because everyone knew he didn't have a point. So it only managed to make Oblio a little lonelier. In fact, the only real friend that he had was his dog - Arrow.
THE GAME The national past time in the Land of Point was a game called Triangle Toss. And Triangle Toss was a game for people with pointed heads. The object of the game was to toss a triangle as far as you could and then run to the opposite end of the field and catch it on the point of your head. But since Oblio had no point, he would throw a triangle and Arrow would jump up on his shoulders and the two of them would run to the opposite end of the field, Arrow making the catch using the point on the top of his head.
Now most of the kids in the town thought it was alright for Oblio and Arrow to compete as a team. But there was this one kid, who was the son of the evil Count who was the aid to the King, and this Count's kid insisted that since Triangle Toss was a game for people with pointed heads - and Oblio obviously didn't fall into this category - he should not be allowed to play.
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Well, to settle the dispute it was decided to have a contest . . . the best of two out of three tosses and catches. If Oblio won, he would get to play, but if the Count’s kid won, Oblio wouldn't be allowed to play.
THE TRIAL & BANISHMENT At the end of the game, Oblio had beaten the Count’s kid two out of three. And when the Count heard of his son’s disgraceful defeat at the hands of this pointless Oblio, he was outraged. So he went to the King and reminded him of the law of the land which was that 'all things and all people in the Land of Point must have one'. And since Oblio didn't have one, he was in violation of that law which called for his banishment.
Now the King, who was a good King, was painfully aware of his duty . . . which was to convene the tribunal. And upon the Count's insistence, that's exactly what he did. And when the tribunal reviewed the case, they could only arrive at one conclusion - Oblio had no point and was therefore guilty of being in violation of the law.
And so it was that he and Arrow ... for Arrow was found guilty of complicity ... be banished from the Land of Point to the Pointless Forest.
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The next day, Oblio's mother and father and all the town's people gathered to bid a sad farewell to Oblio and Arrow. Now everyone thought that banishment to the Pointless Forest was a bit excessive but the law was the law and the people were all good, law-abiding citizens and – w ell, it was the first time anything like this had ever happened and no one knew quite what else to do. So Oblio and Arrow set off for the Pointless Forest . . . where all things are pointless and nothing is pointed.
And by the way, the distance between the Land of Point and the Pointless Forest is directly proportional to the amount of time it takes . . . to sing a song.
THE POINTED MAN Finally, the two travellers reached what appeared to be the entrance to the Pointless Forest. It was a huge stony barrier with a small sign at its base which read ‘THIS WAY’. Once on the other side of the barrier, Oblio and Arrow had their first encounter . . . with the Pointless Man or the Pointed Man . . . depending on your point of view.
You see, the Pointless Man did have a point. In fact, he had hundreds
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of them, all pointing in different directions. But as he so quickly pointed out . . . a point in every direction is the same as no point at all.
And, speaking of points, I don't know if you've ever been to the Pointless Forest but a forest is a forest and one of the first things Oblio and Arrow noticed about the Pointless Forest was that all the leaves on the trees had points and all the trees had points. In fact, even the branches on the trees pointed in different directions, which seemed a little strange for a Pointless Forest.
And when the Pointed Man disappeared, Oblio and Arrow were left alone wondering what to do next when suddenly, they were aware of a strange sound coming in from the north. And when they looked up they saw a giant swarm of bees headed straight for them. So, to seek cover, they jumped inside a hollow log. But when the bees attacked, the log was jarred loose and it tumbled down a steep hill and careened and crashed into the base of an unusual rock pile. In fact, the Rock Man.
And the Rock Man said, "Say - what's happening with you boys . . . it looks like you're pretty shook up, been goofing with the bees?” And Oblio told the Rock Man that they had been banished and asked him
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if this was the Pointless Forest. And the Rock Man said, "Say there's nothing pointless about this gig ... the thing is . . . you see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear - dig. Did you ever see Paris?" Oblio said, "No.” “Did you ever see New Dehli?” Oblio said "Well, no.” “Well that's it. You see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear,” said the Rock Man and with that the Rock Man fell soundly asleep leaving Oblio and Arrow once again all alone.
So they continued on through the Pointless Forest until suddenly, Arrow - who was running a few yards ahead of Oblio - disappeared into a bottomless pit . . . to the point of no return.
THE BIRDS After the incident at the bottomless pit, the two adventurers continued along the winding path which led them through the Pointless Forest and along the way the met the three Fat Sisters who giggled and laughed and danced and whose point . . . was fun and merriment. They also met the Leaf Man who told them to plant their roots in the Pointless Forest and by springtime they could harvest the green and gold leaves which the forest had to offer. Well, needless to say, Oblio and Arrow were not interested in planting roots in the
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Pointless Forest . . . in fact, they had no roots to plant. So they thanked the Leaf Man and continued on their way.
Little by little, Oblio was learning a great deal about the Pointless Forest and its inhabitants but unfortunately for him and Arrow his knowledge couldn't possibly have helped him anticipate what was hovering directly above them until - suddenly, the whole area in which they were standing grew dark from the shadow of a giant prehistoric pterodactyl who swooped down and lifted Oblio and Arrow high above the Pointless Forest.
THE CLEARING IN THE WOODS The giant bird flew Oblio and Arrow high above the canopy of the forest and along towards its final destination - a huge dome shaped object which rested high on a plateau overlooking the entire forest. And as the bird landed, it released Oblio and Arrow and the two of them slid down the side of a huge dome . . . which in reality turned out to be a giant egg. Well at last, it finally appeared as though they had found something in the Pointless Forest which was obviously quite pointless . . . an egg.
At that moment, the egg began to crack and from inside the egg came
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the strangest noise followed by the appearance of a large point attached to the head of the strangest bird – with the exception of the giant pterodactyl – that either of them had ever seen. After the exchange of a few astonished glances, the bird flew away, off in pursuit of the larger bird who was apparently its parent. Once again leaving Oblio and Arrow quite alone and as lost as ever.
So the two travellers set off again hoping to find a place to rest before nightfall when finally they came to a clearing in the woods where they paused to rest beneath a tremendous boulder. And no sooner had they sat down at the base of the boulder when both travellers fell quickly and deeply into sleep.
OBLIO’S RETURN The next morning Oblio noticed that the boulder under which they had slept was in the shape of a giant pointing hand. And there on the side of the boulder was and inscription which read: DESTINATION POINT. So they set off in the direction indicated by the hand and before long found themselves on a road which led them out of the Pointless Forest and on and on through the pointed hills and valleys until finally they paused. And in the distance they could see the spires and the steeples of the Land of Point.
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Now, when the town’s people heard that Oblio and Arrow had returned, they ran out to the edge of town to give them a hero's welcome. For you see, not only were the people glad to see them but Oblio and Arrow were the first to have ever been to the Pointless Forest. And when word of Oblio's return reached the Count he was so mad that he ran to the courtyard, grabbed Oblio and said, “What are you doing here, you pointless twerp?!? You were banished to the Pointless Forest!!!” And Oblio said, “We went to the Pointless Forest, Count, and not only that but it’s not pointless at all.” “WHAT...!?!” was the huge gasp from the crowd. “Nonsense,” said the Count, “You're in big trouble, Oblio.” And just then the King arrived and he said, “Not so fast, Count. What do you mean, not pointless Oblio?” said the King and Oblio said, “Well, we did go to the Pointless Forest and, well, it’s not pointless at all, King. In fact - all the trees were pointed.” “NO...!!” came the gasp from the crowd. “And all the leaves on all the branches are pointed,” said Oblio. “NO...!!” came the gasp from the crowd. “In fact, even the branches on the trees are pointed and not only that but everyone we met in the entire Pointless Forest had a point. And it’s just that, I figure, that since everything has a point ... then I must have one, too,” said Oblio. And just then someone in the crowd yelled out, “He's got a point there.”
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And at that point, the bell in the pointed steeple sounded. And as it did so, all the points on tops of all the buildings in the whole of the Land of Point began to melt. And at that point, all the points on the tops of the heads of all the people in the whole of the Land of Point began to melt. All of them, that is ... with the exception of the Count, whose point sort of flopped over on its side. And with that, the Count split ... presumably for the Pointless Forest. But before he did, he reached over and he grabbed Oblio and pulled off Oblio's cap. And you know what? There on top of Oblio's head . . . was a point.
Well, that's about it . . . that's the end of the story.
So what was the point? Well, probably pretty pointless me telling you if you get my point. So instead, I will just point you above and let you figure it out ... all by yourself.
So, thank you . . . and it’s Good Night from me . . . and it’s Good Night from him.
GOOD NIGHT
