Trailer Review: Harold and the Purple Crayon

Harold and The Purple Crayon Is A Baffling Choice

The fact this is being made into a movie doesn’t bode super well for things. Remakes are a contentious topic under normal circumstances. This doesn’t seem like normal circumstances. Harold and the Purple Crayon being chosen feels like there’s a list somewhere of any property that might cause nostalgia—and that list might be running out of entries.

That’s honestly why this trailer is getting a review at all: grim curiosity. What do you even do with this character? Harold has technically godlike powers. I don’t want this to be the plot, but it seems like some government organization would need to investigate this. He’s phenomenally dangerous.

More likely, and going off the plot description, this will be a movie where Harold is the cause and solution to every problem. Somehow, going off that one scene with the lava, there appears to be some sort of villain. And, considering the predictability of these kinds of movies, the villain’s goal will probably be to steal the crayon. What else could it honestly be about?

The only saving grace for Harold and the Purple Crayon I can see is Zachary Levi. The first Shazam movie (haven’t seen the second one yet) proved that he could play this sort of character. It would not surprise me if he was basically typecast. He understands how to deliver this sort of comedy and is naturally likable in most of the roles I’ve seen him in.

Does that mean you should watch this movie? No, of course not. This’ll be a train wreck. The special effects are middling, the plot will be paint-by-numbers, and most, if not all, of the jokes will be terrible. Yes, stuff like She-Ra and The Lego Movie(s) proves that there are people trying to do something interesting with nostalgic properties, but this isn’t going to be that.

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