Still on general release in UK cinemas is the family fantasy movie, Harold and the Purple Crayon. Based on a children’s book by Crockett Johnson, the movie stars Zachary Levi, Lil Rey Howery, Tanya Reynolds, Zooey Deschanel, and Jemaine Clement, and tells the story of the titular Harold and his magical crayon that can bring any drawing to life.
In the film, Harold lives in a cartoon world with his friends Moose (a moose), Porcupine (a porcupine), and ‘The Old Man’ – a faceless narrator, who is also Harold’s creator. Harold lives a happy existence, drawing anything his imagination can conjure up.
But one day, when ‘The Old Man’ goes missing, Harold, Moose, and Porcupine venture outside the confines of their cartoon world and head to the real world in search of his missing friend. Upon arrival they each take human form, and try to acclimatise themselves to their new surroundings.
From here, Harold and Co. explore the real world using Harold’s magical crayon to aid them when necessary. Their goal is to track down The Old Man and bring him home.
Directed by Carlos Saldanha, Harold and the Purple Crayon is a harmless if fairly toothless fantasy which you may wish to keep on your radar for a rainy day. The story is serviceable, the characters are acceptable, and the film’s general outlook is agreeable.
Is it a particularly great movie? No, but despite what you might have heard from some critics who have torn it apart, it’s not awful either.
Sure, adults will find Harold and the Purple Crayon fairly dull, and it did nothing for me, but young audiences should find it accommodating. The magical crayon has appeal, the fantasy-filled finale is decent, and it may prove to be an acceptable distraction over the remainder of the summer holidays.
The general thrust of the movie is that Harold and his pals come to our world, make some new friends, learn a bit about life, and then go home. Along the way, Harold creates a bit of magic with his pencil and does battle with a misguided fantasy author.
There’s not much more to the film than this, and it certainly isn’t taxing in any way, but the effects aren’t bad, and I expect young audiences will enjoy seeing Harold bring to life various things such as a plane, a dragon, and even a set of roller skates. The character of Porcupine – as played by Tanya Reynolds – is also suitably fun and should hit the spot for the right age demographic.
Could the film go bigger and be more imaginative? Without doubt, and it does feel very limited in its scope and scale, but it’s fine for what it is, and it’s arguably better than the recent fantasy mess, IF.
Many moons ago I worked in a video rental store where I quickly came to learn two things about children’s movies: They are sadly in short supply, and kids are far more likely to enjoy something adults sniff at. Harold and the Purple Crayon isn’t top tier stuff, but it’s OK and it would have done absolutely fine at our video shop.
Should you be rushing to see it before it leaves cinema screens? Heck no, but as mentioned before, the film is fine as a back-up option if the rain starts falling and doesn’t stop before the kids go back to school.
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