Harold and the Purple Crayon

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.

What a fabulous story. It's quite unique, I can't think of another story like it. It's utterly engaging, perfect for people of all ages, and will especially resonate with those who have fervent imaginations.

Apart from the awful Zooey Deschanel all the cast is great and dare I say it...believable! I actually need a piece of purple crayon now to make my dreams come true!

Sadly it's not going to be a blockbuster, but I think this film will be extremely popular and remain a family favourite for a long time. I gave it a very solid 6, which would easily have been a 7 without Deschanel.

What a fantastic, unassuming piece of pure entertainment, and so unexpected. HATPC is good, clean-hearted and spirited fun for children and adults alike. It almost makes me think about how people would have received The Wizard Of Oz back in the day, it's that happy and awe-inspiring with its visuals and comedy. I've heard of 'Zooey Deschanel' a few times but never actively seen her in anything, and I have to say what a fantastic, endearing portrayal she does of the mom. Also the boy is incredible. And as Harold, wielding his purple crayon of justice, Zachary Levi is incredible. The imagination in this is beyond what I thought cinema had given up. It's so small-scale cute that I assumed had long been given up to the TV channels. It's an amazing film.

LIKES:

Cute

Charmingly Funny

Good Lessons

Loved the Imagination

Feels Like a Kids Book Coming to Life

Fun Music

Zachary Levi

DISLIKES:

A Little Too Kiddy

Odd At Times

Zooey Deschanel

Trying To Be Something Wow and Coming Off Bland

Moved Too Quickly

Summary

Harold and the Purple Crayon is a sequel to the beloved book that somehow is just as charming as the piece of literature. A fantastic and fun movie for families, it holds charming comedy, innocent jokes, and a few adult jokes that are easily G-rated to make this enjoyable for all ages. This sequel takes all of the innocence of the movie and unleashes it onto the real world and in doing so provides plenty of lessons for the world to review and hopefully learn. That heartfelt presentation adds this quaint and enjoyable tone, only amplified by the feel-good music that accompanies many of the "epic" bouts of crayon catastrophe. The imagination of the film is intense in terms of that elaborate wildness of youth and I loved how much they mirrored the inner spirit of a child in the way the drawings transitioned into the items they "semi-resembled". For me, Levi is the star of the show though. Like so many of his roles, he just has a way of unleashing his full potential into the role, giving it this odd man-child that is enjoyable rather than sad or annoying. When combined with the others, he manages to bring a dynamic portrayal of the character without seeming to try too hard.

If only the full imagination was unleashed in this film. A magical purple crayon can create a lot of magic, but it didn't quite craft the masterpiece I think they were shooting for. The innocent humor stays a little too juvenile in tone, lacking the finesse, breaks, and planning that I like in my PG-rated films. The odd humor and awkward styles are perfect for laughs, but in terms of the perfect movie are missing some of the composure that I've seen in other films. Deschanel didn't do much for me outside of a few laughs and some sparkling piano work but feels very underutilized as the source of sarcastic jokes and antagonism to Harold's optimism. And with a short run time and presenting so many things, I think the movie fell flat in terms of standing out as that awesome movie of the year. And though there are some great finishes and a narrative that holds a few heart-tugging lines... it still falls short of the gold for me.

Thus, with all the factors coming in, my recommendation is to catch this one at home with the family to optimize your time and money. As for the scores, here they are:

Adventure/Animation/Comedy/Family/Fantasy: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0.

I took my 9 year old nephew, he has adhd, can be hard to please, fidgeted all the way through, then when the credits rolled, hugged me and told me he loved it.

As a rule, I avoid kids films like the plague. I didn't hate it, at all.

The acting, animation, script and cinematography were pretty decent, as was the plot. It made me laugh at least three times (very hard to do) - it has some excellent morals/themes around loss, self worth, forgiveness and friendship. It's a traditional heroic journey/quest. It's a format well known, so we knew what we were getting. The crayon is used in some really creative ways, getting the characters out of some sticky situations.

I think a lot of films these days, especially in the few kids films I've endured, are very busy, loud, and complex when they don't need to be. This was simple and fun. There's also some in jokes for the grown ups, that was appreciated.

It definitely got laughs, and it seemed like the kids leaving this movie were happy.

Would love an 18+ Harold and his purple crayon. Just putting that into the universe.

This is a fantasy movie based on a popular book. The movie starts with just line drawing animation. Harold and his two imaginary friends, a Moose and a Porcupine. Whatever Harold can imagine, then draw an outline with his purple crayon, becomes reality. Then Harold draws a door with his magical purple crayon, opens it, and finds himself in the real world of Providence, Rhode Island.

Zachary Levi has been a favorite of ours for a number of years, he is the real world Harold. He knows nothing about the real world so he immediately has to learn how it works and how people communicate.

Next the Moose and the Porcupine make their way through the door, each takes on a human form.

The movie is just made for entertainment, however there is a good message embedded - to never quit dreaming and never limit yourself. The good person that befriends them is Zooey Deschanel as Terry and her young son. The bad guy that creates problems is Jemaine Clement as Gary who desperately wants Terry but she wants no part of him.

My wife and I watched it at home, on DVD from our public library. Just pleasant, quirky entertainment after Saturday evening steak and wine dinner, with chocolate cake of course!