Harold and the Purple Crayon

"Everything he draws is about to get real."

2024 1h 30m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🥫

28%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.7

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 392🥫28%Rotten Tomatoes●34Metacritic★5.7IMDB · 9,696

FamilyComedyAdventureFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Everything he draws is about to get real.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Zachary Levi
Harold
Lil Rel Howery
Moose
Zooey Deschanel
Terry
Benjamin Bottani
Mel
Tanya Reynolds
Porcupine
Jemaine Clement
Gary
Alfred Molina
Narrator (voice)
Pete Gardner
Detective Love

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Writers: David Guion, Michael Handelman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 81% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Carlos Saldanha, shot by Gabriel Beristain. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Batu Sener. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mark Helfrich shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Zachary Levi and Lil Rel Howery and Zooey Deschanel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Everything he draws is about to get real.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Carlos Saldanha directs. Gabriel Beristain behind the camera. Batu Sener scores. Mark Helfrich cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 81% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 2 years ago.
4Directed by Carlos Saldanha, shot by Gabriel Beristain. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Batu Sener. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mark Helfrich shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Zachary Levi and Lil Rel Howery and Zooey Deschanel carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Everything he draws is about to get real.".
9IMDB entry: tt1609486 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gabriel Beristain
Original score: Batu Sener
Editing: Mark Helfrich
Production design: Shepherd Frankel
Costume design: Molly Maginnis
VFX supervisor: Keith Adams
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $32,227,855
Return: 81% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 28% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 34/100
IMDB rating: 5.7/10 · 9,696 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

2 nominations total

Also by

Carlos Saldanha

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-08-06
★ 6/10
There's something about Zachary Levi that I quite like. Like in "Shazam" (2019), he has a boyish charm to him that is engaging to watch. In this, admittedly the story is all pretty thin, but his characterisation has a friendliness to it that I found quite enjoyable. "Harold" is the human manifestation of a fellow who lives quite happily in the land of fiction, but who arrives in the real world to try and find his creator "the old man". Together with his more reluctant pal "Moose" (Lil Rel Howery) he starts approaching old gents in the park - and yes, well that just causes pain. Then he encounters the young "Mel" (Benjamin Bottani) and his mum "Terry" (Zooey Deschanel) after she hits him with her car. An overnight at their home sees the start of a rather daft bonding exercise that's completely devoid of jeopardy but thanks to the odd intervention from fantasy-obsessed librarian "Gary" (Jermaine Clement) and his straggling pal "Porcupine" (Tanya Reynolds) is quite fun. There's an innocence to the whole thing that is quite touchingly simple and honest. People with invisible friends - didn't we all? The animation is perfectly adequate and the purple crayon could teach a 3D printer a thing or two about creating an aeroplane or a car tyre. Sure, it's all forgettable fayre and I'm not too sure if it's in any way sophisticated enough for today's kids - but it's generally quite an entertaining vehicle for a star who looks every inch in his element. It's a summer movie that's as good as any of the more hyped animation's I've seen so far in 2024.

Production companies