Harold and the Purple Crayon movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Harold and the Purple Crayon

This family-friendly, hybrid animation is now playing in theaters.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 21 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

SPONSOR of Today’s movie review: https://amzn.to/4fxo5Jw

If you have kids, you need the book!

IN A NUTSHELL:

This is the first movie adaptation of the popular children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon where Harold draws anything from his imagination with a purple crayon to have adventures with his friends, Moose and Porcupine. When he grows up (in this movie), he enters the real world and realizes he has a lot to learn about life and the power of imagination.

The film was directed by Carlos Saldanha. Writing credits go to David Guion and Michael Handelman.

Many film critics are giving very low scores for this movie; however, families are loving it.

THINGS I LIKED:

I adore the talented Zachary Levi. He’s perfect in this as a sweet Man Child.
Zooey Deschanel is also so talented. It was great seeing her in a feature film again. It has been a while. I wish cute actresses wouldn’t mess with their beautiful faces. She looked different and I kept trying to figure out what work she had done. It looked like filler and Botox. I was distracted by her lips every time she was on screen.
I instantly recognized Alfred Molina’s classic voice as the narrator. Nice choice.
Lil Rel Howery has been showing up in all kinds of movies recently. Congrats to him. He always adds a fun touch. This is his 5^th time using his voice talents in an animation. In this hybrid film, he is both a voice and live action character.
Jermaine Clement makes an amusing villain. He’s not too scary, so young kids should be able to watch this movie without fear. He previously worked with the director as the voice of a cockatoo in the animation franchise called Rio.
The young actor, Benjamin Bottani, did a fine job.
In the film, some of the characters travel to the real Crockett Johnson house, which has been turned into a museum in Rowayton, Connecticut.
The draw-battle was cute and entertaining.
Many of the scenes looked like cartoon sequences come to life…in a good way.
The film will definitely spark the imagination of your kids!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

How can you have a movie with talented singers like Zachary Levi and Zooey Deschanel and NOT have them sing together? So disappointing! What a missed opportunity. There is even a piano scene that could have easily turned into a singing moment. Drats.
I was fully expecting the moose and porcupine to turn into live-action animals, not humans, in the real world.
Spider fly. Ick and eww.
Several plot points don’t make any sense. (No spoilers.)
Dead parent. Cliched.
There are some story threads that are just completely dropped. (No spoilers.)

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

No profanity. Yay!
This is truly family-friendly for all ages, but I think young kids will enjoy it the most.
Bullies are portrayed as adults and kids
People evade the police
Lots of destruction
Be sure to point out the themes and lessons learned in the story to your kids. Some of the movie quotes I share below list them well.

THEMES:

Imagination
Innocence
Believing in yourself
Power and control
Friendship
Creating your life and your world.

FUNNY LINES:

“I’m glad you guys are okay and not litigious.” – Terry (Zooey Deschanel)
“Just don’t get too excited, okay.” – Terry (Zooey) “That’s what people say when it’s really exciting.” – Harold (Zachary Levi)
“I need to get some crayons.” – Criminal who just watched Harold do something amazing to break out of jail
“Friends are overrated…so I’ve been told.” – Gary (Jemaine Clement)

INTERESTING LINES:

“With a crayon, anything’s possible.” – Harold (Zachary Levi)
“When people need help, we help.” – Mel (Benjamin Bottani)
“When you’re young, you have all kinds of dreams and then the world kicks it out of you.” – Terry (Zooey Deschanel)
“Some people have no vision.” – Harold (Zachary Levi)
“Dreams do come true but you have to work for them.” – Prasad (Ravi Patel)
“I just wanted a place where I belonged.” – Gary (Jemaine Clement)
“We only have so much time in this world. We leave our mark in the lives we change.” – Narrator (Alfred Molina)
“Life isn’t just something that happens to you; it’s something you create. The trick is in the imagining.” – Narrator (Alfred Molina)