Movie Description

The Point, an animated adaptation of the story, first aired February 2, 1971, and was the first animated feature ever to air in prime time on US television; it appeared on the ABC television network as an ABC Movie of the Week. The film was directed by Fred Wolf and produced by Murakami-Wolf Films in association with Nilsson House Music. In this version, there is a framing device of a father telling his son the fable as a bedtime story. In its initial airing, the voice of the father was provided by a friend of Nilsson's, Dustin Hoffman, who agreed to take $20,000 for his narration to be used on one broadcast, so for later airings of the film, the narration had to be re-recorded. The initial re-recording was done by actor Alan Barzman. The VHS and DVD releases feature another of Nilsson's friends, Ringo Starr, as the father. Another version, seen on cable television in the '80s and '90s, featured narration by Alan Thicke. The voices of Oblio and the narrator's son were provided by Mike Lookinland, best known for playing Bobby Brady on the television series The Brady Bunch.