The sheer existence of this live-action adaptation of the classic children’s book “Harold and the Purple Crayon” inspires a number of questions on a purely basic level. Who is this for? The book by Crockett Jensen, published in 1955, is aimed at ages 3 and up, but the film, starring an almost entirely adult cast, skews older. But the premise still feels too thin and juvenile to grab audiences of any age. So, where, when and specifically what algorithm decided this film would be a lucrative endeavor? Mostly, why is this happening and how are we supposed to reckon with it, critically?
So here I am taking out my own purple crayon, attempting to magic a coherent review of this profoundly odd and off-putting film into existence. Hopefully something worthwhile will emerge from these scribblings.
Directed by “Ice Age,” “Rio” and “Ferdinand” director Carlos Saldanha, written by David Guion and Michael Handelman, the approach here to adapting the beloved book is a somewhat curious one. We know the story, and the iconography: a toddler in a onesie who uses his imagination and a purple crayon to make his world more exciting. In the film, our protagonist is now an adult Harold (Zachary Levi), who still lives in his 2D world with his friends that he drew, Moose (Lil Rel Howery) and Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds). Despite being in his mid-40s, he’s still quite childlike, and overly attached to his only parental figure, “the narrator” (voiced by Alfred Molina) whom he calls the “Old Man.” When one day the Old Man’s voice goes away, Harold draws himself a door to the real world in order to find him.
Why the decision was made to feature a 40-something Harold is beyond my pay grade, though it likely has to do with Levi’s willingness — or desire — to star as a childlike man, as he has done previously in both “Shazam” films. His version of Harold is a cross between Tom Hanks in “Big,” and another children’s book icon, Amelia Bedelia. Harold obviously knows nothing of “the real world,” including irony, idioms or brands, and like Amelia, he takes everything literally, which is a problem when he’s wielding a crayon that can draw anything into existence.