Harold and the Purple Crayon: An Adaptation Lacking in Imagination (Blu-ray)

The Film:

When considering children's books to adapt into another medium, Crockett Johnson's classic "Harold and the Purple Crayon" series probably isn't one of the very first that would come to mind for most. However, it may surprise some to learn that it has indeed been adapted a few times, including a short film, animations, and even a short-lived series for HBO in the early 2000s. As far as a feature film goes, attempts have been made going back to at least the '90s, but it took until now to finally bring it too fruition. This is a series filled with interesting bits of imagination, but could such a thing be captured properly in a feature-length film, or was this an endeavor best left in its various shorter formats?

As the film starts, we meet young Harold, a boy living in a book who has the ability to create anything he wants with the help of a magical purple crayon, including his two friends Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds) and Moose (Lil Rel Howery). When Harold (Zachary Levi) grows up, his "Old Man" (The Narrator, Voice of Alfred Molina) mysteriously disappears, causing Harold to venture into the real world to find him. Moose immediately joins him (Porcupine comes later), with the two quickly getting tangled up in the lives of Terri (Zooey Deschanel) and her young son Mel (Benjamin Bottani). Things become a bit chaotic as Harold uses his purple crayon in the real world, creating things out of thin air as he continues the search for his "Old Man," a quest that quickly proves to be a little more difficult than originally thought.

One of the very first things someone would ask themselves in regards to a feature film adaptation of material like this is how in the world you could form a narrative out of something as simple as a boy creating things with his magical crayon, a question that no doubt explains why it took decades for it to finally happen. With "Harold and the Purple Crayon," screenwriters David Guion and Michael Handelman have tried their best to give us something that captures the imaginative spirit of the books while providing a sufficient narrative framework that would have the audience caring about Harold & his friends, as well as his personal quest to find his "Old Man." The question is, did they do enough?

These two undeniably had something of a Herculean task in trying to give the material enough substance for a full-length feature film, but unfortunately, even at a relatively brief 80 minutes, "Harold and the Purple Crayon" simply doesn't have a whole lot to it in that regard. Having Harold come into the real world with his pals (who get to experience being human) in order to find his father figure was an interesting idea, but it more so ends up feeling like a template for the episodic escapades that they get into along the way, escapades that end up providing much of the padding for the film's feature length. They even go so far as to throw in a rather random antagonist later who has a somewhat weak motive for his actions, leading his part in the story to be just as weak as the overall narrative.

There are some things to like about it, including the intriguing effects for the various designs the characters make throughout the film, and Zachary Levi does a decent job providing the necessary child-like wonder to pull off his character, but it's just not nearly enough to make up for the film's narrative shortcomings. What we ultimately have is a film that wants to ignite the imagination as much as Johnson's classic books, but which sadly ended up needing more imagination of its own.

Video/Audio:

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" comes to Blu-ray in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality. The image looks marvelously bright & vibrant throughout the entire duration, beautifully highlighting its intriguing visual effects. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Sony has done a wonderful job in both departments for the film's debut physical release.

Special Features:

How to Draw Harold, Porcupine & Moose (6 Minutes)

"Colors" Sing Along (2 Minutes)

How Do You Spell Imagination? (2 Minutes)

Deleted & Extended Scenes (7 Minutes)

Unfortunately there isn't much in the way of extras included on the disc, but at the very least you do get a decent selection of deleted material.

Conclusion:

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" contains some intriguing visual effects and a fine turn from Zachary Levi, who provides all the child-like wonder needed for his character, but sadly the film falls short when it comes to its narrative, which simply doesn't have a whole lot to it, ultimately leaving us with a film that lacks the imagination required to truly engage the audience and do justice to the classic books.

Score: 2.5/5

Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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