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Oblio and his dog Arrow are exiled
to the Pointless Forest, where their adventures are chronicled against
a backdrop of Nilsson’s top 40 hit from 1971, “Me And
My Arrow”.
In another coincidental Beatles parallel, one
of their adventures in the woods is the discovery of a concert being
performed by the inhabitants of the forest. This premise was mirrored
eerily in Paul McCartney’s 1984 animated short, Rupert and
The Frog Song. The pairs other adventures put them in contact with
the Rock Man and a multi-headed creature reminiscent of the 4-headed
dog in the Beatles’ own Yellow Submarine. While the animation
here is more primitive, the imagery is very Beatle-esque, if less
psychedelic. The wordplay in the film’s underlying theme, “just
because something doesn’t have a point doesn’t make it
pointless”, is one that youngsters will have no problem relating
to.
Despite this primitive quality, the colors have
been restored here and are very vibrant. As far as special features,
the DVD features both song and scene selection (somewhat rare for
animated releases). The newly reissued CD boasts several additional
tracks and a deluxe expanded booklet.
Interestingly, in one of the story’s turning
points (pun intended), it is duly noted that “without laws
… we’d have no lawyers”. This premise might have
been for the better in this case, as the set’s producers originally
intended to include the unfinished and unreleased Ringo & Harry’s
Night Out, the 1974 half action / half animation 2 minute reel that
was to be the basis for a movie about the duo’s adventures
in Los Angeles at the time. While this would have been a real treat
for Beatles fans, various legal and contractual issues prevented
its inclusion here.
Together with the collection of animated shorts
from Paul McCartney due next month, it’s a good time to stock
up on these releases (for the kids … yeah right).
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