Inside his book, adventurous Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has much to learn about real life.
Based on the children’s book written by Crockett Johnson, “Harold and the Purple Crayon” focuses on the adventurous Harold who can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the books’ pages and into the physical world, he soon learns his trusty crayon can set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible. However, when the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of his creativity to save both the real world and his own.
Zachary Levi (NBC’s “Chuck,” Disney’s “Tangled”) plays the titular character, a man who makes things come to life whenever he draws with a magical purple crayon. The plot involves him trying to find his father, referred to as the “old man,” as he enters the real world after his story in the book has ended. Harold later meets a widowed Terri (Zooey Deschanel) and her son, Mel (Benjamin Bottani), in the real world, and they agree to help him find his father. Levi is joyful to watch since his character is a vital part of the storyline, and he never envies his ways of messing with the children’s genre of movies. He loves to do whatever it takes to not only entertain the kids but also bring joy, magic, and a sense of imagination to his acting co-stars and crew.
Oscar nominee Carlos Saldanha, known for directing several Blue Sky Studios films, sits in the director’s chair, making this his first live-action film since the animated “Ferdinand,” for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. The story tackles colorful adventures, imagination, and wonder for kids of all ages. The animation sequences are spectacular, reminiscent of Curious George. Saldanha wants to adapt this story to bring pure delight to the generation of many younger viewers and those who grew up with this book and loved reading many children’s books. The cinematography from Gabriel Beristain did what it was supposed to do, though the visuals look cheap and undefined. The story seems lifeless and emotionless as it does not feel long due to the pacing and the runtime being 90 minutes, which is understandable to avoid messier third acts. My main wish is to see more from the book instead of cutting things out of the film to save time and money.
The cast is having fun appearing in this fantasy film. The acting cast includes actors Lil Rel Howery (NBC’s “The Carmichael Show”) as Moose, Benjamin Bottani as Mel, Jermaine Clement (HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords”) as Gary Natwick, Tanya Reynolds (Netflix’s “Sex Education”) as Porcupine, and Zooey Deschanel (Fox’s “New Girl,” “Elf”) as Terri, along with Alfred Molina (“Spider-Man 2”) serving as the narrator of the film.
Although “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is a fun fantasy film for kids, it is colorless and lifeless for adults. The entire atmosphere of this movie reminded me of “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” “The Pagemaster,” The NeverEnding Story,” and other children’s fantasy films. I wanted to like this movie so much that if the filmmakers wanted it to be super good, it needed to respect the source material, which unfortunately misses the mark. The cast, however, are fun to watch, mostly Levi. It is not terrible, as if it were a one-star family fantasy movie, but I know it does not do well in the critics’ reviews and at the box office. Still, I think it is a fun 90-minute movie only for kids and maybe for some adults, but not all.
Now available on Blu-ray™, DVD, and Digital
10k
20k
1.5k
2.2k