Harold and the Purple Crayon follows Harold (Zachary Levi), who, after many years, has grown up with the two friends he created, Moose (Lil Rel Howery) and Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds). Harold manages to take himself and his friends to the real world, where they go on a journey to look for the man who created Harold. During this journey, they must learn how to fit in with the real world.
If I had a nickel for every time a film about imaginary friends was released this year, I’d have 4 nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it has happened four times. This feels like Deja Vu. There have been several films focusing on the concept of imagination that have been released this year, with one of them being based on a British children’s book. Now we have an adaptation of an American children’s book of the same name.
Plenty of Imaginary Friends
Harold and the Purple Crayon starts off in a very unique way to start the story. Harold was only a little boy when he was created, but he was given all the power in the world: a purple crayon that allowed him to draw whatever he could imagine and bring it to life. This acts as a direct sequel to the original book, and we finally get to see Harold age into an adult with his two friends, who soar around this city that they’ve seemingly drawn for themselves. What makes this sequence unique is that it’s all animated, and the animation was quite smooth and beautiful to look at, but unfortunately, it doesn’t last long.
Harold soon discovers that someone must’ve created him, and after some realisation that his creator is from the real world, he decides to venture while his friends hesitate, but still join along. This starts Harold’s journey of self-discovery, learning about who he truly is, the responsibility that he holds with the purple crayon, and adjusting to a life that he’s not used to. It all sounds extremely compelling in retrospect, but the execution falls flat.
‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’s Characters
We get introduced to our characters, who are from the real world: Mel (Benjamin Bettani), Terri (Zooey Deschanel), and Gary (Jemaine Clement). These are the primary three humans in Harold and the Purple Crayon that are heavily involved with the story, but there are a few others, such as the detectives who go on the hunt for Harold, Moose, and Porcupine throughout the film, but it’s a storyline that doesn’t lead anywhere worthwhile and is truly a storyline that should’ve been left out of the script if it wasn’t going to be more meaningful.
Mel’s character is where the film starts to focus on its core theme of imagination. When we first meet him, he has an imaginary friend who’s a lizard dragon. Terri is clearly trying hard to be there for her son, but is struggling to make the necessary time. With Harold and Moose in the picture now, things begin to look brighter for the household. The family dynamic was well thought out, as Terri and Mel have both lost someone important in their lives, which has changed the dynamic within the household. Terri has given up on her passion of being a pianist, and Mel doesn’t have someone to be a father figure for him and teach him how to defend himself. These are moments in the film where it should’ve been explored more slightly, as it’s not the first time that grief has been touched in a film about imagination, and if this film took the time to delve into further, it could’ve been the best look at grief within one of these films.
Gary is currently a failed author who has a massive crush on Terri. The only upside to this character is that he’s played by Jemaine Clement, who brings a lot of life and energy into this role. Due to Gary having a huge crush on Terri, it means that there has to be someone he’s essentially fighting with to get her, and that someone is Harold. There are a few set-ups in the film to solidify Harold as a love interest, and I’m not a fan of them. It’s good to note that some films are truly better without any romance in them because it feels extremely forced with how Terri develops a crush over him and how he slowly becomes Mel’s father figure, which doesn’t essentially mean he’s trying to take that spot in his life, but the film makes it hard to see it any other way.
As Harold and the Purple Crayon marketing shows, Gary gets hold of the purple crayon and uses it to be the man from his books—the man he dreams of being. As a villain, he doesn’t bring much to the table, and the stakes really don’t ever feel like they’re too high. We do get an epic battle surrounded by lava in the style of early 2000s action kid films, but what does any of that mean when it still somehow lacks substance?
Zachary Levi… Is Well Cast?
On the topic of castings, Zachary Levi is another one that I felt was well cast, but the performance sometimes felt like he was taking his line deliveries too far, which quickly became an annoyance to watch. Lil Rel Howery, on the other hand, does a great job playing Moose and brings quite a bit of comedic relief to the film. I unfortunately didn’t find this film extremely funny, but there’s one scene where Harold and Moose must work a shift at a retail job, and after only 5 minutes, they want to quit it all. This let out the loudest laugh from me simply because of how well delivered it was and how relatable that feeling is.
We can’t forget about Porcupine, who is played by the energetic Tanya Reynolds. This is a character who arrives after Harold and Moose and is separated from them until the end of the second act. This decision in the story hurts the character a lot, as I feel she would’ve been better paired with Zachary Levi and Lil Rel Howery throughout the film. The separation ties into the detective subplot, which gives further reasoning into why that subplot should’ve been removed from the script; it adds nothing to the film and instead ruins it in two aspects. Once again, a perfectly cast role, but the script doesn’t once allow Tanya Reynolds to tap into her full potential.
Final Thoughts
Harold and the Purple Crayon is another film set around the themes of imagination and grief that has good concepts on both ideals, but fails to explore them any further, leaving the story without any real structure. They have the ingredients, but unfortunately don’t have the recipe to make a film that’s worthwhile and says something new on the topic.
The performances are inconsistent, and it sadly feels like a film where they accept the first take of any shot to move on as quickly as they can. The potential is there, and I can see what they were trying to achieve, but unfortunately, they ultimately failed.
Harold and the Purple Crayon releases in theaters on August 2, 2024. Check out the trailer below.
