Spoiler Alert
Zachary Levi may well be typecast, because the character he plays in Harold and the Purple Crayon is no different from Billy in Shazam. There’s a youthful exuberance that this actor loves to amp up, but I’d like to see him expand his range.
When I realised Alfred Molina is also involved in this film, I had to give this film a chance, and found myself enjoying this movie more because of his voice than Levi. He’s like that grandfather I want to spend my time with, but when his presence suddenly disappears, I’m like Harold and have to wonder why. After a few hours alone, he’s comes up with the idea to draw a portal to the real world with his magical crayon, where (like in Disney’s Enchanted) what he discovers is pure culture shock!
Everyone calls him a wacko, and even amusingly a Smurf. The only two people who are sympathetic are Mel (Benjamin Bottani) and Terry (Zooey Deschanel) to this child-like individual who needs to find “The Old Man,” the name he gave to the narrator.
The story doesn’t have a lot of grounding until he gets his first clue to this storyteller’s whereabouts. It’s only through the help of Gary Natwick (Jemaine Clement) who eventually figures out who Harold is. He wants to steal the crayon to reshape his life because he’s an unsuccessful author. It’s easy to see why. Natwick doesn’t have the knack to tell an engaging story like the narrator.
And when he realises Harold came from the books, he thinks stealing his magic crayon can fix everything! And when this tale also considers how Mel is dealing with the loss of his father and Terri is trying to keep this family afloat, just which subplot is important gets bounced around a lot–I was unsure which which secondary narrative is important. When considering how quickly the child bonded with Harold, I thought it would have been an excellent opportunity to show the cartoon character becoming an adult, to become more like a parent to Mel. That can make for a lead-up to a sequel, where he forgets his roots and has to learn how to be a kid again, much like in Steven Spielberg’s Hook.
Although this film takes inspiration from the children’s book of the same name, it can’t compare because the screenplay had no idea in how to bring to life the various tales that original author, Crockett Johnson, crafted. No adaptation is ever faithful but after another watch, I got an idea! Even though 3D movies are a thing of the past, I have to say someone missed an enormous opportunity to bring that back to the theatres; had the pictures Harold drawn flew off the screen, that’d bring a sense of awe to why this format is a marvel to enjoy.
Unfortunately, the manufacturers and public never fully embraced this technology. Even for those with custom built home theatres, it wasn’t worth the upgrade. If there were more, or even a 3D Blu-ray release, I’d gladly pick up that edition and don my Playstation’s Virtual Reality visor to watch this movie. Those moments would’ve come alive in more ways than one!
3 Stars out of 5
Harold and the Purple Crayon Movie Trailer
