Harold and the Purple Crayon

Story

Harold (Zachary Levi) is a character in a storybook. Imaginative and adventurous, Harold can create anything he likes, simply by imagining it and drawing it with his purple crayon.

Harold is determined to find his ‘old man’ – the author who created him. When Harold draws himself into the real world, taking with him his close friends Moose (Lil Rel Howery), who turns into a man, and Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds) who turns into a woman, he sets out on an adventure he couldn’t have imagined.

While riding along on a tandem bicycle, Harold and Moose are hit by a car driven by Terry (Zooey Deschanel). Terry’s son Mel (Benjamin Bottani) is a passenger and insists on taking Harold and Moose in until they can find their ‘old man’.

Finding the ‘old man’ proves to be a much more difficult task than Harold had realised. He and his friends ask for help from a librarian called Gary (Jemaine Clement), a would-be fantasy writer who’s in love with Terry. When Gary realises the power of the purple crayon, he’s determined to get his dastardly hands on it and use it for selfish reasons.

Themes

Fantasy; power of imagination; good versus evil

Violence

Harold and the Purple Crayon has some violence. For example:

An old man hits Harold with his walking stick.
Harold rides his bicycle in traffic and causes a crash. Harold and Moose fall off the bicycle.
Mel draws a spider with the crayon. The spider is aggressive and eats a butterfly.
Another old man throws Harold over his shoulders.
Some bullies threaten Mel, who hits back. One of the boys gets a bloody nose.
Mayhem breaks out in a store. Things get knocked off shelves, and a puma appears to be attacking something in its paws. A fire starts, and the store is evacuated.
Porcupine runs amok in a café and is trapped by staff. She runs away and is knocked down by a police officer.
The bullies threaten Mel again, steal his whistle and lock him in a cupboard.
Carl, a small flying dragon, knocks down the school principal.
Porcupine drives a 4-seat motorbike all over the road. Gary nearly crashes his car.
Gary chains Harold and Mel to a wall. Gary then draws a large circle on the ground, causing it to disintegrate. Gary takes off on a horse-drawn carriage but gets knocked off the horse by ropes. He draws an axe and throws it at Harold, who stops its momentum with a log. Gary and Harold throw a huge rock at each other, which knocks out Gary.
Gary makes a huge spear, which he thrusts into the ground, turning it purple and then into fire.
Carl burns Gary by breathing on him. Gary throws a chain at Carl, knocking him to the ground.
Moose, as a moose, smashes into Gary.

Sexual references

Harold and the Purple Crayon has some sexual references. For example:

There’s a reference to ‘masculine nipples’.
Harold tells Gary he stayed the night at Terry’s house.
Gary suggestively says he’ll be Harold’s ‘old man’ if Terry will be his ‘old lady’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in Harold and the Purple Crayon – Coca Cola and Twisters.

Coarse language

There’s some mild coarse language in Harold and the Purple Crayon, including ‘Oh my God’ and ‘pooped my pants’. There’s also some name-calling, including ‘morons’ and ‘dumb’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Harold and the Purple Crayon is based on the classic book of the same name by Crockett Johnson.

The movie is a fantasy adventure story with a lot of good messages, but some of the scenes are quite scary. This makes it unsuitable for children aged under 7 years. We also recommend parental guidance for children aged 7-8 years.

These are the main messages from Harold and the Purple Crayon:

Believe in yourself.
With imagination you can make your life whatever you want it to be.

Values in Harold and the Purple Crayon that you could reinforce with your children include courage, curiosity, loyalty, teamwork, friendship, empathy and kindness to strangers.

Harold and the Purple Crayon could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the difference between real life and fantasy. Imagination is important, but it must be balanced with possibility.