‘Harold And The Purple Crayon’ Review: Imagination Bursts With Colour

Have you ever felt like your imagination recently has been lacking? There’s been many points in my teenage life and adulthood where I’ve felt that way. Growing up in the real world has sort of made us forget that we are capable of dreaming big. Or maybe the world has taught us to think small? That fear of losing your childlike wonder and hopes drives the foundation behind our nostalgia. We look towards our past, heartbroken by our fading innocence and romanticise the joy that these memories give us all these years later.

Perhaps there’s something to rekindle the spark that left us. 2024 has been a year in abundance with films about the very essence of imagination. Films like ‘IF’, ‘The Imaginary’, even ‘Megalopolis’ and ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ dare us to dream big and embrace the creative freedom that our mind is capable of. Harold and the Purple Crayon (directed by Carlos Saldanha) continues that trend as it hopes to inspire both the adults and the children to pursue those fleeting ambitions, giving imagination permanence to our ephemeral lives.

A seemingly inspired adaptation and sequel of a children’s classic by author Crockett Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon attempts to revive the childlike wonder in us and showcase the power of imagination. Inside a book we see a world of animation where Harold (Zachary Levi) has the power to make anything come to life when he draws with his purple crayon, narrated by Alfred Molina who plays the author of the book. He enjoys the vast wonders of life but eventually grows up and seeks for something beyond the horizon. He decides to look beyond the pages and open up his book as he sets his sights on meeting his father who created him.

There he finds himself accompanied by trusted friend Moose (Lil Rel Howery) and Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds) who seems to have ended up somewhere else. What follows is Harold, Moose and Porcupine learning how the real world works as the journey to finding Harold’s father (author of the book) begins.

What is enjoyable about this film is how it explores the persistence that defines the incorruptible yet never ending curiosity of the youth. We see Harold, Moose and Porcupine transform from their animated selves to real life people and soon enough, one incident leads to another as they struggle to keep up with an unfamiliar world so eager to shut the unknown down yet their excitement doesn’t waver. Harold and Moose get hit by a car as they are lost and all over the place. This encounter causes them to instantly connect with a boy called Mel (Benjamin Bottani) who is with his mum Terri (Zooey Deschanel), gradually giving into her son’s wishes to let our heroes tag along and stay over since she was the one responsible for crashing into them.

The gang continue to look for Harold’s father but only seem to reach dead ends. So they visit the library to search for him yet they don’t have anything to go by, as the real kicker is that they don’t even know who the father is. This is when they meet failing author Gary (Jemaine Clement) who is reading out his book that no one seems to care for. Gary expresses his interest in Terri, which clearly isn’t for the first time and acts hostile towards Harold for being able to hang out with her. Meanwhile, Porcupine is running away from 2 detectives for wandering around causing mayhem.

A cool aspect of the film is the various uses of the purple crayon, we see it show the true extent of creating what your mind desires. From vehicles to decorating houses to pie and ice cream or even a combination of animals and insects. There’s a point where we see a final battle between Gary and Harold that reminds me of Revenge of the Sith or Spy Kids. The ridiculousness gives it a similar appeal to the many children stories we grew up on. Suspension of disbelief is why these stories have such an effect on us. The reminder that the child in us all always stays within no matter how much we age is an appreciative sentiment. Even when Harold finally meets his supposed maker we realise the journey was never about that, rather to bring back colour to our lives when it’s so easily taken from us.

The core part of this film is how Harold and Moose supports Mel in believing in his invisible dragon friend being real (until it actually becomes real), while helping him make friends despite struggling in school as a bullied child, but the emotional undercurrent that gives this film so much promise is the mum’s struggle to move on from her dead husband. Managing as a single mother working a lowly retail job, Terri aspired to be a pianist but one of the sacrifices parents make to raise their children always ends up being their own dreams, only worsened by the loss of a father. This is the kind of storytelling that should set this apart from the standard.

One of the main problems is how it introduces many conflicts but fails to resolve the ones that could synthesise the strongest emotions. The mom stricken with grief over her former husband doesn’t really go anywhere which is frustrating because she feels sidelined for half the movie. She ends up feeling like an obstacle rather than a character with genuine problems that deserve to be explored, having as much importance as the other characters. At least they show Harold messing up her workplace and essentially getting her fired and then Harold saving the day by making her a purple piano for her to play in public. Failing to capitalise on the potential of her arc limits the family dynamics and themes from ever leaving a strong impression.

Zooey Deschanel is a great actor but unfortunately she didn’t seem like she knew what movie she was in. Her demeanour didn’t quite capture the emotional dexterities of a mother struggling with grief and loneliness, burdened by the empty void in her heart that so desperately needs someone to fill. She just had one face and went with it.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is a mishmash of crayons that hopes to inspire changing lives but falls short of being meaningful. Ending up feeling one note in what it sets out to do. It tackles ideas we all care about with promise yet never capitalises. For a film encouraging imagination, you’d think it would have some imagination of its own. Ultimately, it is decent family fun that leaves much to be desired yet I can’t help but appreciate a simple, endearing message that encourages us to be the creators of our own stories in a time when others are so eager to script our lives for us. It would have been better if the entire film was animated like the opening scene. Purple is a great colour choice at the very least.

Harold And The Purple Crayon releases in theaters on August 2.