Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray and Digital from director Carlos Saldanha and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the adventure of HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON.

Harold (Zachary Levi) is a colorful character with a purple crayon that lets him do amazing things. Along with his friends Moose (Lil Rey Howery) and Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds), there time is spent having adventures and drawing inside their world. They listen to the Old Man (voiced by Alfred Molina) until, one day, the Old Man stops speaking to them. Harold decides that its time to go into the Real World to find him.

Opening a portal, he goes through and is filled with childlike wonder at a world of color and people. He sees and old man but quickly realizes there might be more than one in this world. He quickly finds Moose and draws up a mode of transportation to begin their search for the Old Man. What they don’t expect is a swipe by a car driven by Terri (Zooey Deschanel) and son Mel (Benjamin Bottani). Mel is instantly taken with Harold and Moose and when he learns they have no place to stay, talks Terri into allowing them to stay in the garage attic.

Again, Harold and Moose are just amazed at their surroundings but back to the business of finding the OLD Man. Mel has an idea of going to the library seeking the help of Gary (Jermaine Clement), the librarian who writes fantastical stories that can’t seem to find a publisher. Using his powers of persuasion (i.e. his mom), Mel gets Gary to use the internet to possibly track down the Old Man. When it doesn’t work, Harold, Moose and Mel decide to look around for themselves. Gary looks out the window and sees Harold and his purple crayon going to work.

Doing a bit of investigating himself, he discovers that Harold is actually looking for Crockett Johnson, Harold’s creator. Gary decides he has finally found a way to bring his own dreams to life and goes after the purple crayon. Harold could never have imagined that the real world has its own set of adventures!

Levi as Harold is so lovely giving with his childlike attitude of this character. He gives Harold a brightness and light that just brings a smile whether you want to or not. Seeing the world as such a wonderful place, he refuses to see any bad. Levi does such a wonderful job in this role and my family just fell for him and the purple crayon.

Bottani as Mel is just as childlike as Harold with his imaginary friends that mom doesn’t see. He believes in Harold and will do anything to help as Bottani embraces Harold’s world. It is fun to watch the young actor mix in with the adults and doing such a wonderful job. Deschanel as mom Terri is trying to understand her son’s need for imaginary friends while dealing with his new friends. Yet it is Harold that reminds Terri that dreams can come true no matter what our age. Deschanel is charming, as she usually is, as Mel’s Mom.

Clement as Gary is a bit whacky as he sees his creative writing dreams not coming to pass. Frustrated that his work isn’t being recognized or that his affections for Terri also go unrecognized, he turns a bit toward the dark side. Clement is actually funny in a dark way and I really loved his characters story idea even if the name is a tad strange.

Howery as Moose is Harold’s sidekick in the real world trying to keep him out of trouble. He doesn’t openly admit to liking the real world but Howery offers up a childlike wonder of it all. Reynolds as Porcupine is a sassy animal that has no time for nonsense. I actually enjoyed her way of thinking in the real world.

Other cast include Elizabeth Becka as Ms. Barnaby, Seth Robbins as Oscar, Camille Guaty as Detective Silva, Pete Gardner as Detective Love and Ravi Patel as Prasad.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Special Features include How to Draw Harold, porcupine & Moose, “Colors” Sing Along, How Do You Spell Imagination? and Deleted & Extended Scenes.

HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON is so much fun to watch. Harold sees his own world as a place of wonder but when he doesn’t hear the Old Man anymore, that’s when another adventure begins. It is one that he could have never imagined and Levi gives us that childlike wonder from beginning to end. Even though the search is for one thing, Harold, Moose and Porcupine find a colorful adventure they could never have imagined.

Deschanel and Bottani are in the real world dealing with real life problems but that is all about to change for them. Mom has forgotten her dreams and Bottani has an imaginary life that he loves – both of these characters are relatable for us all in one way or another. So, this film is a way to reignite dull imaginations into blooming and colorful ones once again. There is nothing wrong with being reminded that dreams don’t have an age limit nor do they expire unless we let them.

The animation in the film is so vivid and adds the perfect touch to a story about color and life! The children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon began its own journey in 1955 being written and illustrated by Crocket Johnson. This is not his only book as Harold has nine other adventures finishing with Harold’s Treasure Hunt in 2020.Get the family together to enjoy the adventure of HAROLD AND THE PURPLE crayon on Bluray.

In the end – everything he draws is about to get real!

Comments

comments