Harold and the Purple Crayon is probably a great movie, if you’re a pre-teen. I’m not sure kids much older than that will enjoy it too much. The characters and plot are all obvious and I didn’t get the feeling that the moral of the story really had any impact.

It’s difficult to really tell what the moral of the story is. There’s the “don’t be evil” aspect, but that’s fairly obvious. And there’s a little of the “believe in yourself” story, but that again isn’t well done in the movie. The main character only looses faith in himself for about two minutes of the story.

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There’s a little bit of the “parent’s should believe/support their children’s needs” but that too doesn’t really land. I think the story tries to have a few moral lessons and the result is that none of them really stand out.

Maybe the moral of the story is: writers should stick to only one moral of the story.

All of that aside, the antics and imagination of Harold’s drawing adventures are probably appealing to a very young five-to-ten year old children. The movie does have a 92% by the audience at RottenTomatoes, so someone enjoyed it. The critics however did not enjoy it.

Grade: B

About The Peetimes: This is a short movie, only about 80 minutes without the end credits. I would recommend the first Peetime. It’s the easiest to summarize. Neither of the Peetimes has any crazy antics that kids enjoy.

There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Plot
Inside of his book, adventurous Harold 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.

Nanban Oruvan Vantha Piragu Movie Review: As if Anand (Meesaya Murukku fame Anant Ram) has recorded daily vlogs of his life or has written a personal journal, noting intricate details, Nanban Oruvan Vantha Piragu captures every stage of his journey with the utmost patience (the viewer too is expected to stay patient to reap the joy of watching this film). He unpacks the events right from 1992, which marks the debut of two people: Anand’s birth and AR Rahman’s entry into Tamil cinema. So, like a twin, Rahman’s songs always tag along with him.

Peppered with the 90s magic of Colony Friends, games like Seven Stones and WWE trump cards, Superstar and Thala references, CSK vs MI street fights and more, the delightful template of Tamil cinema’s coming-of-age film is brightly apparent. There isn’t much innovation either. Instead, Anant trusts the story of this man and the nostalgia it evokes – seeing someone wrestle with life’s obstacles and finally accomplish is any day audience’s favorite. The only trick is to get the emotions right, and with a dedicated cast and sincerity in writing, Anant smartly makes us root for him. He also has a knack for humour and isn’t hesitant to use memes in a film to convey the character’s thoughts. Sample this: When a scared young man enters the premises of his engineering college and is taken aback by the half-built premises, stone-like food, and other disappointing events, it’s compared to a scene from Chandramukhi where they detect the presence of evil. As if on cue, you’re in splits, reminiscing all your college memories. This sequence also plays right after an emotional conversation he has with his father and the shift in mood is so seamless. With Elango Kumaravel passionately playing the role of Anand’s father and VJ Vijay breathing life into the role of a cherished best friend, we are just drawn to empathise and relate to this world that’s formulaic but sweetly familiar.

The viewing experience of the film feels like reading a personal journal within two hours – intriguing but tiring – because of the film’s pace and detailing. You understand the need to show each stage of Anand’s life and how the people around him shape it – every time he falls, someone helps him get up; when he financially faces troubles, his best friend is always ready to pitch in; his parents don’t have the power to get him a job but are willing to spend all their life’s earnings to ensure he gets the best education possible. However, even with so many people trusting and supporting him, Anand fights and flounders. For most of the second half, Anand is seen crying, unable to iron out all the kinks and probably, we all see a little of us in him. We’re also reminded of too many films, thanks to the countless stories in this genre and Anant’s determination not to try anything different. But because we see a semblance of ourselves, our friends, and our own lives on screen, we are ready to overlook the slow pace, the unnecessarily dragged-out sequences, the overfed montages of memories, and the film’s several other flaws.

Anand yearns to get back home, relish the simplest of joys, and be around his friends and family, and at the end of the day, that’s what we wish for too. So, having taken a trip down memory lane, we walk out of the theatre happy and hopeful, and like Venkat Prabhu (in a cameo) tells Anand, “Isn’t life all about these little moments?”

Written By: Harshini SV

Harold and the Purple Crayon, the new film, isn’t terribly impressive or imaginative as its title character. But it is a harmless story that will delight young children, and its the rare title that would make for a great first visit to the movies.

There are dozens of modern children’s films that are cheap, crass and annoying. Harold’s best quality is that despite its simplicity, the story and its presentation is wholesome and appropriately exciting for its target market.

Inspired by the now 70-year-old picture book series of the same name by Crockett Johnson, this (mostly) live interpretation of the book series a now adult Harold (Zachary Levi) jump out of the picture books and into the real world in a quest to find the author and meet the man who first drew him.

This doesn’t follow any specific plot from any of Johnson’s barely plotted books, but it is an interesting premise for a G-rated, 80-minute, big screen adventure. It also provides some morality and wisdom to justify a sufficient enough story to justify Harold’s leap into reality.

Cute and cuddly is the best way to describe Harold’s antics with his friends and new child he’s inspiring named Mel (a warm debut from Benjamin Bottani). The danger is never really dangerous, but the effects (and especially the crayon drawing!) are passable for a movie of this scale.

This film is the live action debut of former Blue Sky Animation director Carlos Saldanha, and his whimsy makes Harold a suitable project. He’s best known for the Rio franchise and 2017’s career high Ferdinand. A highlight here is the film’s hand-drawn animated prologue, where Saldanha’s animation experience gets to shine.

Much of the supporting cast delivers its weird, magic crayon premise with gusto, with sometimes surprisingly funny turns from Lil Rel Howery and Jermaine Clement. The scene stealer, however, is English theatre vet Tanya Reynolds as Porcupine, who’s fully committed, sweet, honest and hilarious across every scene she’s in.

Adults should be warned while Harold is warm, forgettable fun for those aged 4-10, the plot is shamelessly predictable and obvious. It’s still far more palatable than other recent family films, such as the recent Despicable Me 4.

I really enjoyed hearing the giggles and seeing the wide-eyed wonder of a Kindergarten aged audience member seated near me watching Harold and the Purple Crayon. That optimistic imagination is exactly the spirit to see the movie with, even if there’s nothing else on the page.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

5 out of 10

Rated G, 1hr 30mins. Family Fantasy Comedy.

Directed by Carlos Saldanha.

Starring Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Benjamin Bottani, Lil Rel Howery, Tanya Reynolds and Jermaine Clement.