The Point is one of my favorite animated films of all time. I first saw it on the Disney Channel in the early-to-mid 80’s. I remember that distinctly because the narrator for the film was Alan Thicke, not the more commonly known narrators of Ringo Starr (VHS release) or Dustin Hoffman (special TV presentation, NBC I think).
I discovered later in life that this melodic fable began its life as the musings of a man on acid. I purchased the album version of The Point! and in the booklet contains the backstory on how Nilsson had a revelation in the wee hours of the morning. To explain what exactly occured to him would spoil watching the film, and the last thing I wish to do is ruin the experience by allowing any of you gentle readers to allow presuppositions to cloud your minds.
I think that all folks young and old should get a chance to see this film, as the message within is one that applies to all of us. Not to mention the rich-yet-rough, hand crafted nature of this gently watercolored piece of animated cinema is so engaging that it appeals to all kinds of visual tastes, not just fans of animation. (Read: It’ll make you look like an important, artsy person if you watch it.)
For you to get a taste of this delightful film, I have put together a block of four selections of music from the film, and one extra Nilsson song that just so happens to rock pretty hard.
kuro5hin.org posted a story yesterday that at first made me laugh, then made a minor amount of sense, then made me cluck my tongue in irritation with this country's rampant paranoia.
To paraphrase, TRON contains scenes of a former government testing facility. The scenes they're talking about are the “real world” ones with all the intense lab equipment strewn about. Showing this lab equipment, which is apparently the actual lab equipment that was used at that facility, is a potential security breach.
In a move that I can only describe as “shutting the barn door after the horse has run out”, the DHS is going on a crusade to sieze all copies of the movie. In addition to writing Disney a huge nasty-gram, they have also been sending nasty-grams out to film retailers large and small.
Thankfully, there was some dissent among the working class, even if Disney officials were scared to say anything.
Government conspiracy to undermine our morale in subtle ways? Disney plot to move a copies of TRON?
YOU DECIDE!
Some kids play in the sandbox. We play in the.... litterbox??? The RKNet staff is pleased that you decided to stop by. Currently this is a multi-author project, with a rotating cast of totally kooky characters. Contact giania [at symbol] gmail [dot] com if you'd like to play here too.
