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Those with kids (or anyone who was once a kid for that matter) are most likely familiar with the classic children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon. Now, the literary gem is getting the inevitable big-screen treatment in a new live-action adventure-comedy starring Zachary Levi. The first trailer just dropped for the summer release Sony film, and you can draw your own conclusions about its merits as an adaptation.
Suffice it to say this isn't your grandma's Harold and the Purple Crayon. The simplicity of the drawings and story of the original book, written by Crockett Johnson and first published in 1955, have been spruced up with some major Hollywood special effects and set pieces designed to update the material for a new generation.
The screenplay is written by David Guion & Michael Handelman, the same team behind Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and the tone here definitely seems to go going for a similar blend of humor and action-adventure. The director is Carlos Saldanha, the Oscar-nominated helmer of Ice Age and Rio.
“With the crayon, anything is possible!” boasts Levi, playing an adult version of the titular Harold (who was a 4-year-old in the book).
Sounds like the movie adaptation takes a bit of a meta-approach to incorporating its source material, with the film appearing to open on “The Crockett Johnson House” museum, which features an elaborate display for the Harold and the Purple Crayon book, that then seems to become a portal to the real world.
The logline accompanying the trailer drop further explaining, “Inside of his book, adventurous Harold (Zachary Levi) can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life—and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible.”
“When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands,” the description continues, “it will take all of Harold and his friends’ creativity to save both the real world and his own. Harold and the Purple Crayon is the first film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic that has captivated young readers for decades.”
A fictional character who's grown accustomed to the confines of his/her imaginary world forced to confront the harsh realities of the real world should sound familiar to viewers of Enchanted, the Lego Movie, Barbie, and countless other blockbusters.
What Harold and the Purple Crayon brings that's fresh to the genre remains to be seen, but the trailer certainly takes great pangs to showcase the impressive array of set pieces, sight gags and life-or-death stakes the magical purple crayon carries with it into the real world.
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“When someone tells a story, they create an entire world…” the trailer's voice over narration begins, “and usually the characters stay there…” The musical score then crescendos for the narrator's mike drop declaration: “But there are legends of characters so real that they step right into this world.”
Cue Harold and his animated friends turning into Zachary Levi, Lil Rey Howery, and Tanya Reynolds.
“Do you know what brought you to life?” asks an almost unrecognizable Jemaine Clement, of Flight of the Conchords fame. “It's what your crayon is made of. The most mysterious, powerful, extraordinary stuff on Earth.”
“Wax?” guesses Harold amusingly.
“Pure imagination,” Clement corrects him.
Harold proceeds to use his purple crayon for endeavors big and small, though it's too bad the crayon didn't come with an eraser for a drawn-out, far-too-lengthy bit in which he creates a real propellor for a toy helicopter that leads it to fly around a big-box store.
“Let's see how this baby works in the real world,” says Levi before drawing yet another airplane. The same quote could have been uttered by a Sony or Columbia Pictures executive while developing the beloved Harold and the Purple Crayon into a film. We'll get our answer when the film hits theaters August 2.
