Synopsis: Harold and the Purple Cranyon (2024)

 

Harold, who was a lonely boy with a magical purple crayon, expressed his imagination within the pages of his book. He, along with his faithful companions, Moose and Porcupine, explored endless adventures. Harold at his teenage begins to doubt about his own identity when he hears the voice of the creator – his creator from the “real world.” Obliged not to enter, Harold ignores the rules and uses his crayon to step into reality.

Moose and Porcupine were to become real, while Harold acquired human form. He comes across Mel, a creative young boy, and his suspicious mother, Terri. The magic of Harold’s works helps them a lot but, nonetheless, most of the time the things he playfully draws result in some chaotic situations. Despite the trouble, Harold and Mel stick close to each other, and Harold passes a piece of his crayon to Mel, who then, in turn, could materialize his imagination.

At the same time, Gary Natwick, a disapproving librarian and frustrated author, detects the power of the crayon. He becomes envious and gets Harold to give it to him by deceiving him. In as much as he is pleased with the results, he also traps the pair in an upside-down world of his own making. They show courage which results in their getting out of there as a team and then they challenge Gary to a magical duel. After Gary had swallowed the crayon, he acquired monstrous power, however, Harold and his friends drove him off. Instead of destroying him, Harold plumbs Gary a passageway to a world in which his literary daydreams can prevail in all innocence.

As he visits the museum, Harold commemorates his creator, Crockett Johnson, and acknowledges himself as the very imagination. Grasping his roots, Harold chooses to go back to his world along with Moose and Porcupine. Just before saying goodbye, Mel gives Harold a set of crayons in assorted colors, and through these, his adventures will continue in a more vibrant way than ever had before.

Character Details:

Harold (Zachary Levi): He is the man with a very magical purple crayon that can bring everything he draws to life. Harold is a very creative, kind, and curious soul, however, his quest is riddled with self-doubt and a need to know where he comes from.

Moose (Lil Rel Howery): The one that is Harold’s best friend and a moose, but after a while becoming a human in the real world. Moose is brave, funny, and protective, always the one to bring about a funny moment or two in tense times.

Porcupine (Tanya Reynolds): One more of Harold's childhood creations, Porcupine, becomes a punk-styled young woman in the real world. She is a wild, resourceful, and a very loyal friend to Harold, where she is indeed a good friend.

Mel (Benjamin Bottani): A creative and curious young boy who befriends Harold. Mel is inspired by Harold’s abilities and becomes an integral part of the team, using his piece of the crayon to aid their adventures.

Terri (Zooey Deschanel): A mother of a widowed Mel, who is from the start more of a disbeliever in the magical abilities of Harold. Terri's life lessons are more about rekindling her dormant dreams and learning to believe in the magical possibilities of human capabilities.

Gary Natwick (Jemaine Clement): A librarian and an author who is frustrated and at some point becomes the antagonist of the magical boy. Full of jealousy, Gary goes after the crayon of Harold, in fact, his goal is to use the magic tool of Harold to make the fairy-tail idea true, but it does not happen the way he wished for and creates chaos instead.

Crockett Johnson / Narrator (Alfred Molina):Harold's mysterious creator comes in the form of a wise and caring narrator. His work represents the diversely latent energy of our imaginations.

Detectives Silva and Love (Camille Guaty and Pete Gardner): Two bumbling detectives investigating the chaos caused by Harold and his friends.

Ms. Barnaby (Elizabeth Becka): Harold's former babysitter, Crockett Johnson, who provides him with answers to his genesis.

 

Harold and the Purple Crayon is an inspiring and magical story of inventions, friendship, and the strength of self-awareness to new levels of consciousness, and thus, it makes a safe decision for the main character to form and fulfill spiritual goals by dreaming and creating.