Harry Nilsson’s Animated Film ‘The Point!’ Gets 50th Anniversary Digital Release
A year before Harry Nilsson achieved commercial success with 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson, the late singer-songwriter released The Point!, a whimsical concept album that tells the story of a round-headed boy named Oblio who lives in a Pointed Village. As you may have guessed, the rest of the residents have conical heads.
In honor of the album’s 50th anniversary, the animated film of the same name will get its first HD digital release on February 11th, 2020, with narration by Ringo Starr.
The animated film originally premiered in February 1971 on ABC, featuring narration by Dustin Hoffman and Mike Lookinland as Oblio (best known as Bobby Brady on The Brady Brunch). “I looked at the trees and realized all the leaves came to points and even the branches came to points,” Nilsson once said of the concept album. “I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and even if it doesn’t, there’s a point to it.'”
A collaboration between the Nilsson estate and MVD Rewind Collection, the process proved difficult when they couldn’t locate the original negatives. However, after a collector named Kier-La Janisse lent them a 16mm print, the team ran a 2K HD scan that improved coloring and reduced fading.
“Considering the condition of the elements we had while a complete restoration proved to be unfeasible, the end result is the best the film has ever looked and we are proud to give fans and collectors the best edition on disc and digital that has ever been created for this classic animated film,” MVD’s Eric D. Wilkinson said in a statement.
The Point! will also be released on Blu-Ray on 5.1 surround sound, with additional bonus material that includes exclusive interviews with Lookinland, Nilsson’s son Kiefo and a mini-poster. On November 22nd, Nilsson’s posthumous album Losst and Founnd will be released via Omnivore Recordings. The record, which Nilsson was recording at the time of his death in 1994 at the age of 52, marks his first new material in 40 years.