The Dot and the Line

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
One upon a time, there was a sensible straight line who was hopelessly in love... with a dot.
Opening narration

The Dot and the Line: a Romance in Lower Mathematics is a short book written and illustrated in 1963 by Norton Juster (of The Phantom Tollbooth fame). Inspired by Flatland, it follows the story of a straight line who is hopelessly in love with a dot. The dot, however, is in love with a squiggle. The line learns how to manipulate himself and wins the heart of the dot.

In 1965, Juster wrote a screenplay and acclaimed animator Chuck Jones animated it. It won an Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

You can watch the cartoon in its entirety on You Tube here. (Ten minutes long.)

Tropes used in The Dot and the Line include: