Harold And The Purple Crayon

Much of our fondness for media consumed in childhood is a product of selective memory. We forget the bits that didn't work, choose not to recall that our enjoyment of anything at a young age is unalloyed by adult concerns like job interviews or nutrition. We also have significantly less to judge works against. The first film I saw in the cinema was Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, which meant for a brief period it was also the best film I had seen in the cinema. I'm fortunate that I was sufficiently experienced as a watcher of television and reader of books to recognise that, tunes aside, it was bobbins.

It wouldn't be until later that I got to enjoy Joe Pesci as an actor capable of conveying evil in ways more subtle than rubbing his hands in front of a rusted metal globe covered in tarantulas while muttering about getting kids addicted to drugs. Home Alone probably counts, but it's one of the films that tests my opening assertion. To be clear though I said 'much', not 'all'.

Harold And The Purple Crayon is charming, and in sufficient quantities that I feel it will be remembered by its target audience with genuine fondness. The book upon which it is based was first published in 1955, it's been adapted as a cartoon before, but as cynical as bringing a 70 year old work to the screen for seven-year-olds might seem it does work. It was apparently due a release in January, but it makes sense that it was pushed back to the school holidays. As counter-programming to Despicable Me 4 it has some degree of novelty on its side, at least for UK audiences.

Zachary Levi is not playing much against type as a charismatic ingenue who is experiencing the world from a new perspective. That was his turn in TV series Chuck and as frequently repeated as the title was in Shazam!. Nor is Zooey Deschanel as a slightly harassed and somewhat more responsible person putting up with quirky newcomers. Heck, even Jemaine Clement as sleazy librarian Gary and Alfred Molina as the reassuringly mellifluous narrator are firmly in their comfort zone. So to should audiences be. While many of the jokes are predictable they're still funny.

The fish out of water include Moose (Lil Rel Howery) and Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds), and they're all befriended by newcomer Benjamin Bottani. This is a début feature, and while he's got an experienced adult cast to work with he's still got to do a lot of reacting to things that are being added after the fact. Harold's purple crayon, you see, can be used to draw things that become real. That's feat enough in his own stories, but even more impressive in our world. That's also a temptation to those whose stories aren't that impressive anywhere.

The effects are well integrated, and I did appreciate that a supermarket ride was given co-axial counter-rotating lift rotors to account for the lack of one on the tail. It's one of several places where there's been an effort made. Director Carlos Saldanha has a live action feature début here. Though he has extensive animation experience, he's done a bit of live action before, some TV in there, but there's a world of difference between Rio and a segment in Rio, I Love You. Writing team David Guion and Michael Handleman have previously adapted works, including the English language remake of Le Diner De Cons. They're no stranger to effects heavy work either, Night At The Museum sequel Secret Of The Tomb was theirs as well.

In typical children's film fashion the soundtrack varies wildly, from dance act Apollo 440 to Beethoven. There's definitely enough to keep adults interested. Since that first cinema trip to I have now seen several other movies, and the use of Western tropes in the final showdown made me laugh a few times. There are some moments that are surprisingly sad, and while there's not as many fourth-wall moments as Deadpool & Wolverine there is a joke that's thematically identical to The Simpsons Movie, and similarly timed. The sadness is in part because the film is willing to explore themes around bereavement and failure. While these are pretty big emotions they are well navigated. A flying tarantula thing (no Joe Pesci though) is about as close as things come to getting scary, though there are other creatures that pose peril if not threat.

It is a function of my cynicism that I was surprised to be as pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again, but I also wouldn't actively avoid it if one of the innumerable juvenile humans of my acquaintance wanted to watch it. I've even recommended it to several keepers of such creatures, and if you're one of those yourself I'll recommend it to you. If you're not, don't let me dissuade you, you may well enjoy it. Though you'd probably enjoy something else more.