Whenever there is a movie based on a book, we always wonder what will be kept in the movie and what will be removed. With a book like Harold and the Purple Crayon you start to wonder are they going to combine all six books into one movie? Will they make a movie based on each book and is there enough material to even make a movie? Also, isn’t Harold a little boy and not a grown man played by Zachary Levi? Harold and the Purple Crayon shows us that while we may have a million questions about the making of it, we just have to use our imagination to understand and enjoy the world that is being presented to us.
I will say that Harold being an adult is explained at the beginning of the movie. Not since Up, has there been a beginning that not only introduced you to innocence that you are about to witness but also gently hit you in the feels about what has happened. Yes, that might be a little confusing but I kind of already knew what happened to the voice before we got to that part in the movie. The voice in question is the narrator of Harold’s adventures, Alfred Molina. He talks to Harold about his world and why he was created and as Harold gets older the voice stops talking to him. Harold decides he wants to go into the real world to find the voice or “old man” as he calls him and this is how he appears in the real world.
Harold does not go into the world alone. Harold’s best friends, Moose and Porcupine, voiced by Lil Rel Howery and Tanya Reynolds, accompany him into the real world. Seeing Harold and Moose interact with what is around them is reminiscent of Tom Hanks walking around FAO Schwartz in Big. There is something about the smiles on their faces and the wonderment in their eyes that makes you feel like a little kid while you watch them. Yes at moments the acting feels a little cheesy but it works because this is the first time Harold and Moose have ever interacted with the real world.
Being in the real world Harold runs into Mel and Terry, played by Benjamin Bottani and Zooey Deschanel. They help out the family with a small incident and end up staying with them while they try to find the house of the Old Man/Narrator. The dynamics between Terry and Mel show us that Mel is heavily into his imagination and his invisible friends, but she wants him to forget about those childish things. There are other moments in the movie where we see adults suppressing the imagination of children and we see how that can be harmful to them. The few adults who believe in being creative come from characters you would not think of. Jemaine Clement’s Gary, a librarian who is in love with Terry and has written books of fantasy, is a trusted adult that Mel goes to for help with Harold but that plan soon goes array.
Harold and the Purple Crayon has some great messages about creativity, imagination, and how power corrupts people. Using our imagination is what created books like Harold and the Purple Crayon and this movie. We have to tap into our imagination to not only have interesting lives but also to create new things for our children and the world. There is a line in the movie that states “Life is something you create. The trick is in the imagining.” I think if more people would live this quote our world would be an extraordinary place!
Final Thoughts: Not since Tom Hanks in Big have I seen childlike wonderment in movie characters. Zachary Levi and Lil Rel Howery as Harold and Moose show that innocent childlike wonder during a few moments in Harold and the Purple Crayon. This movie starts off feeling cheesy but grabs your heart as you see the importance of being creative and letting your imagination flow freely. Harold and the Purple Crayon is the family movie of the summer that will hopefully get kids to stay off their screens and enjoy the world outside their doors.
Kid-Friendly: Harold and the Purple Crayon is a great movie to remind kids to be creative. Seeing this movie might make them put down their screens for a while and enjoy creating things and letting their imagination flow.
Violence: The is an inventive fight between Harold and Gary that involves fire and created creatures. It is a pretty tame fight and not too violent.
Inside of his book, adventurous Harold (Zachary Levi) 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 a lot to learn about real life—and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible. When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of Harold and his friends’ creativity to save both the real world and his own. Harold and the Purple Crayon is the first film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic that has captivated young readers for decades.