The Dot and the Line
Encyclopedia
The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (ISBN 1-58717-066-3) is a book written and illustrated by Norton Juster
, first published by Random House
in 1963. The story was inspired by Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
. In The Dot and the Line, the protagonist visits a one-dimensional universe called Lineland, where women are dots and men are lines.
In 1965, famed animator Chuck Jones
and the MGM Animation/Visual Arts
studio adapted The Dot and the Line into a 10-minute animated short film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, narrated by Robert Morley
. The Dot and the Line won the 1965 Academy Award for Animated Short Film
. It was entered into the Short Film Palme d'Or
competition at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
.
The cartoon was released as a special feature on the The Glass Bottom Boat
DVD in 2005. The cartoon is also featured on the 2008 release of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection and the 2011 release of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Blu-ray box-set on the third disc as a special feature.
who falls in love with a dot
. The dot, finding the line to be stiff, dull, and conventional, turns her affections toward a wild and unkempt squiggle. The line, unable to fall out of love and willing to do whatever it takes to win the dot's affection, manages to bend himself, giving rise to shapes so complex he has to letter his sides and angles to keep his place. The dot realizes that she has made a mistake: what she had seen in the squiggle to be freedom and joy was nothing more than chaos and sloth. The line, on the other hand, has much more to offer her. In the end she decides to accompany the line, instead.
Norton Juster
Norton Juster is an American architect and author. He is best known as an author of children's books, including The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and the Line.- Biography :...
, first published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in 1963. The story was inspired by Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
Flatland
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott. Writing pseudonymously as "A Square", Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture...
. In The Dot and the Line, the protagonist visits a one-dimensional universe called Lineland, where women are dots and men are lines.
In 1965, famed animator Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and the MGM Animation/Visual Arts
MGM Animation/Visual Arts
MGM Animation/Visual Arts was an animation studio established in 1962 by animation director/producer Chuck Jones and producer Les Goldman as Sib Tower 12 Productions...
studio adapted The Dot and the Line into a 10-minute animated short film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, narrated by Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
. The Dot and the Line won the 1965 Academy Award for Animated Short Film
Academy Award for Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
. It was entered into the Short Film Palme d'Or
Short Film Palme d'Or
The Short Film Palme d'Or is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the same jury of the Cinéfondation....
competition at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
1966 Cannes Film Festival
The 19th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 5-20, 1966. To honour the festival's 20th anniversary, a special prize was given.-Jury:*Sophia Loren *Marcel Achard *Vinicius de Moraes *Tetsuro Furukaki...
.
The cartoon was released as a special feature on the The Glass Bottom Boat
The Glass Bottom Boat
The Glass Bottom Boat is an 1966 American romantic comedy movie directed by Frank Tashlin; it is also considered by some people to be musical entertainment. This movie features Doris Day and Rod Taylor as the main entertainers, with assistance from actors Arthur Godfrey and Paul Lynde...
DVD in 2005. The cartoon is also featured on the 2008 release of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection and the 2011 release of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 is a Blu-ray box set announced by Warner Home Video. It was released on November 15, 2011. It contains 50 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements.-Disc 1:-Behind the Tunes:...
Blu-ray box-set on the third disc as a special feature.
Story
The story details a straight lineLine (mathematics)
The notion of line or straight line was introduced by the ancient mathematicians to represent straight objects with negligible width and depth. Lines are an idealization of such objects...
who falls in love with a dot
Point (geometry)
In geometry, topology and related branches of mathematics a spatial point is a primitive notion upon which other concepts may be defined. In geometry, points are zero-dimensional; i.e., they do not have volume, area, length, or any other higher-dimensional analogue. In branches of mathematics...
. The dot, finding the line to be stiff, dull, and conventional, turns her affections toward a wild and unkempt squiggle. The line, unable to fall out of love and willing to do whatever it takes to win the dot's affection, manages to bend himself, giving rise to shapes so complex he has to letter his sides and angles to keep his place. The dot realizes that she has made a mistake: what she had seen in the squiggle to be freedom and joy was nothing more than chaos and sloth. The line, on the other hand, has much more to offer her. In the end she decides to accompany the line, instead.