How Harold and the Purple Crayon Betrays its Source Material

[@SparkpadArt]

Personally, I kinda wish the whole movie was animated. Maybe just make the real world more colorful/detailed than the book world. The animated scenes have a cozy vibe that reminds me of the Curious George movie. Also, Ollie's is a very real store chain. There are a few in my area, and I've seen and heard ads for them.

[@RoughestDrafts]

I didn’t think I would have to fact check the store used in the movie but here we are 😅 My bad, I’d never heard of Ollie’s. I wonder how the chain feels about its portrayal/inclusion in the movie

[@SparkpadArt]

They probably got a cut of the budget. As for what kind of store they are, you're not far off with Walmart. I'd say they're somewhere between Walmart and dollar store.

[@FoxTeachTutorials]

@@RoughestDrafts ive been to one before

[@turtle1658]

yeah, i was watching the trailer and loved the animation but then it turned live action and i lost all interest, it looked like one of those generic lifeless movies, ubt worse

[@Back_2_ur_Bl00d]

I read “animated” as “deleted”

[@Rinthony1]

The animated Harold and the Purple Crayon series had a really beautiful episode about Harold learning about death when his goldfish dies. Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss did so much for children's literature and lived such interesting lives. They, like a lot of children's authors and illustrators, had to deal with a lot of bs during the red scare. Its sad that their work is getting repackaged into mediocre cash grab nonsense.

[@nyanpirethecat2257]

For those curious, the episode is titled "I Remember Goldie".

[@tex56]

That goldfish episode made me so sad oml. The ending where he draws a picture of her and says “goodbye Goldie” got to me. I’m in tears just remembering it.

[@Gibbypastrami]

Loved the show dude…

[@HiHi-lt1cb]

That episode is the only one I vividly remember omg

[@woodfur00]

I can't put words to the betrayal I experienced over the duration of the trailer. "Oh wow what a fun idea for an adaptation, the animation is so cu-what are you. Uh. Oh no. Oh god. Oh god no" You know what? Here's MY essay on how they fucked up. Harold's adventure through his imaginary world, while inherently driven by his whims, also continually demonstrates conscientiousness of his impact on the world he inhabits. At the end he voluntarily goes to bed, symbolically bringing the fantasy to an end and returning to the world of physical needs and responsibilities. We are given no reason to believe Harold is isolated from reality or other people; if anything, he is shown to be mindful, polite, and responsible. The movie's portrayal of adult Harold as a maladjusted manchild therefore reflects the inexorable fate of all children who use their imagination, even in moderation. The personality traits on display are disregarded and replaced with a generic concept of a child, at once painting the book's Harold as a completely undeveloped mind and denying his capacity for growth. You know what I'm getting fucking mad I'm gonna stop

[@nyanpirethecat2257]

9:06 Funnily enough, the short-lived HBO animated series of "Harold and the Purple Crayon" actually had an entire episode called "I Remember Goldie" that dealt with Harold learning about the concept of "Death" better than the film. The episode focused on Harold learning how to cope with the death after the death his pet goldfish. After drawing a mermaid, the mermaid gives a heartfelt speech to Harold to help him properly cope with his pet's death.

[@brianawong312]

This comment just made me unlock a childhood memory. I watched this episode at school and it genuinely made 8 year old me reflect on life and unlock a fear of death that later evolved into accepting death.

[@peanut4668]

I had no clue they even made a movie based on the book

[@joefrew1614]

I saw the trailer… it really isn’t for me.

[@RoughestDrafts]

That’s funny; in an opposite way, many people didn’t know the movie was based on a book at all

[@Wendy_O._Koopa]

@@RoughestDrafts This is literally the first I'm hearing of it, and my initial reaction is... what kind of Fairly OddParents level decision making went into making the kid an adult?! Usually, when you age someone up for no discernable reason, in live action, it's to justify getting a certain movie star on board... but this guy? He's a nobody. Okay, okay... he's Eugene "Shazam" Fitzherbert, that's like two "someones" and he's the new Rocky (that Mel Gibson character in Chicken Run)... that's three... barely. That's not much of a star to completely upend the entire story, and entire premise. And this is assuming we're married to the idea that it has to be live action, despite animated movies always being better. They don't gross more, but they're usually better movies _on average,_ if for no other reason than because any idiot can point and shoot film. Any animated project has to at least be good enough to _justify_ the animation. Well, this is _both,_ lemme watch this video and see how it goes. *_It is SO much worse than I expected!!!1_*

[@abc.6223]

Yeah, literally hearing about this movie right now upon seeing this video's thumbnail lmao

[@chainmengaming]

I only found out about this and the book because of Chazington.

[@lasercraft32]

Wanna know what's worse than a bad movie? A bad movie that _could have been_ good. Wasted potential is one of the saddest things in media.

[@cruztastrophe]

I think this movie suffers from having Zachary Levi as Harold. The book protagonist is young enough to still be wearing a onesie, so most likely under 5 years old. That is also the target demographic of the book. The movie should appeal to that same demographic. Young children don't find a 40+ year old protagonist relatable for a story like this. It worked for Shazam because he only looked older, but inside he had the mind of a child. In Harold and the Purple Crayon, he's just a naive and immature adult man. If the protagonist was 16-25, they would still appear "adult" enough to young children, but it would give better opportunity for childish hi jinks and having the naivety of the protagonist taken advantage of by the villain without breaking willing suspension of disbelief. You could still hit all the same story beats, but the theme of "don't give up your creativity" hits harder if the character is straddling that line between child and adult. This would make the protagonist have better chemistry with both the child and the mom character. The child learns the lesson that it's okay to be yourself from an older mentor modeling that behavior. The mom learns the lesson that you can't let life dull your shine by seeing a Harold that's younger than her embracing his creativity despite going through the difficulties of being in a reverse isekai. Zachary Levi as Harold is the reason I didn't take my under 5 year old to see the movie in theaters. I can't read a book about a toddler to my also toddler then pay $25 to see a movie where that book toddler is now 11 years older than me. The book is good, but no one was asking for this movie, especially not *like this*. My spouse found a bootleg version online for free and they watched it that way. Our toddler has not asked for a second viewing, which means it must really suck. I chose not to watch it.

[@anne-zh2kd]

Tbh, the only person who could pull off a 40-year old protagonist that kids love was Robin Williams in "Hook".

[@viviennemorgan7217]

@@anne-zh2kd rest in peace robin willaims.

[@yzhkkhzy]

now they can write a novelization of this movie. and then turn that novelization into a netflix miniseries

[@karlismymiddlename]

Then a documentary on the series

[@RoughestDrafts]

We can only hope

[@CynthiaMcG]

That's what they did to Shrek by William Stieg.

[@RinLockhart]

Then cancel it.

[@AlbinoAxolotl]

I don’t think there was ever a book that traumatized me more as a child. The amount of existential dread I felt reading about a boy that existed in a blank void and had to create artificial constructs so there was at least something has stuck with me until this day. Fantastic analysis of the movie though! New to your channel and I was happy that I overcame my discomfort at seeing this book again to watch your video!

[@CrazyStoneTiger]

I know right?! I always felt so creeped out and isolated when I’d read the book as a kid.

[@lethalinjection145]

The fact that Harold’s a regular adult now and the moose and porcupine alone are just…humans tells you all you need to know about the budget and Care of this movie.

[@cartilagehead]

On the one hand it’s got to kinda suck that Zachary Levi hit the “DC Superhero” level of his career only to end up being typecast as “adult child”, but on the other hand if they ever remake the Tom Hanks movie BIG he’s gotta be first in line for casting.

[@shairabrownlee]

tbh i think the typecast came first. He landed Shazam because he always played the immature nerd. The only more serious role ive seen him in is in that amazon show

[@leephillips4402]

There's also a lot of Robin Williams roles he can play.

[@cartilagehead]

@@leephillips4402 absolutely not lol

[@Ashbrash1998]

Doesn't help he's a little wierd too.

[@rickkcir2]

@@Ashbrash1998Is he one of those Hollyweird type of folks?

[@sttmtm]

ollies is actually a real store! one popped up in my city a few years ago, they had a lot of dollar store quality stuff in huge quantities and almost everything looked like it fell off the back of a truck. the lack of effort that goes into telling well rounded cohesive stories in children’s media these days, it’s honestly insane. realizing more and more how good i had it when i was younger

[@pencerism]

there's one being opened on the 29th near where i live lol

[@RoughestDrafts]

Discovering the reality of Ollie’s is probably the greatest revelation this movie has given me. I think there were probably just as many bad pieces of children’s media back in the day, haha. But we have the benefit of hanging onto the truly great stuff and forgetting the mediocre stuff

[@amelialonelyfart8848]

@@RoughestDrafts It's my parents main grocery store. Like every grocery store, it has the benefit of not being Wal-Mart. Nostalgia is funny. You only tend to latch on to the things that made an impact on you, for better or worse, truly tend to forget how not everything was a banger growing up.

[@mediacavernmc]

There's an Ollie's in my area near a dying pool store, and the parking lot for both is always vacant. But im pretty sure the Ollie's is still open.

[@datekaname2246]

​@@RoughestDraftshonestly I recommend giving Ollie's a vist. It's an experience.

[@tex56]

Gary’s ending was super offputting to me. They basically trapped this guy in some fake version of his fantasy world and he’s most likely stuck there forever. His family will probably never see him again. Anyone that’s ever loved him will assume he either died or has gone missing. He’s gone forever from his home world and that’s supposed to be a good thing?

[@COSun25]

What family? Dude really wanted Zooey Deschanel throughout the film TOO much.

[@nothingrhymeswithorange5294]

He went off to become a giant crab

[@C-View1]

Harold is probably the closest we’ll ever get to a Scribblenauts movie, so I appreciate it for that.

[@AJ-xc4qe]

I want a Chalkzone sequel more than anything.

[@SunnLikesStuff]

@@AJ-xc4qe I also miss Chalkzone

[@brandonspain12345]

I grew up with the HBO Family show and when I heard they were making a movie, I hoped it was closer to that or even the book. For me, it should've been a movie where it's a 5 or 6 year old kid who goes to his world done in 2D drawn animation in different shades of purple with his dog and goes on a sail boat, the circus, up on the mountains, across a big city and a parade, or faces a dragon on a skyscraper. Go wild with a kid's imagination. I guess if you want to add stuff for conflict, maybe Harold has a sister or brother and maybe discovers what Harold can do in the middle of the night and gets jealous and naturally tries to take it over but in the process, ruins Harold's world. A fantasy adventure of siblings going at it. I think kids could relate because we all have arguments with our siblings. But in the end, the purple crayon is snapped in half and that's when you can have the classic moral of learning to share, share with others' creativity, and learning to love your siblings and admiring their art and blending them to something greater. And ends with them returning back to the live action world to go to sleep together. Simple, charming, timeless and sticks closer to the original book/cartoon's overall feel for all ages and captures the nostalgic trip of being a kid again. But nooooo, of course we can't get something like that because Shazam is hip for kids and Sony... well, just being Sony. 😞

[@PauTheDeo]

I think the movie could've been much better in a Spider-Verse-y animation style

[@brandonspain12345]

​@@PauTheDeo That too if you want an animated movie that matches the art style. But if I was forced to go live action, that's probably how I would do it. Especially with the lack of 2D animation now, it would be refreshing to have a movie that stands out from the rest. Even if it was a flop, you'd still gain a cult following from kids that did see it and animation fans that would admire the 2D animation characters and environments.

[@alexjewett7455]

I have vauge memories of watching the show when I was really little. Seeing it made into a movie was a little surreal, like like they plucked it right out of my memories and dumped it in a vat of cat vomit.

[@applebonker141]

Thank you for telling me the author for "Harold and the Purple Crayon" was also a painter. I'm not super into abstract painting but damn

[@project-gladiator]

They could have made an interesting parallel between Harold and his creator. In the same way the creator made Harold, Harold made his world. Then explore that.

[@yourgoodfriend276]

Lovely video. I think, and this certainly could have remedied a qualm you had with the movie's message (Or lack thereof), that a very nice part of the book is that Harold at the end just wants to go to bed. He can make anything he wants, go on any adventure he likes, but he is content with a simple bedroom and a warm blanket. Not only content, but happy with it. That could tie in pretty well I feel with the whole "Quit your job and be a writer/pianist/whatever" thing. That mentioned comment is correct, monetizing a passion can kill it quick, and further, we all have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Maybe if the film had interpreted the ending of the book to be a little more about contentment and desire for simple stability in life, these things could have been addressed in a much more entertaining way, one that is also more realistic where a balance is found between surviving and living.

[@sahelhappenstance8992]

The "fake Walmart" in this movie is actually a real bargain store chain that started in Pennsylvania! I know this because I love Ollie's, I have the store's mascot as my discord pfp lmao. I didn't know this movie existed until today. The animated Harold and the Purple Crayon was a childhood favorite though

[@RappingNinja]

Yeah, we have one of those not far from me.

[@megacrippled]

Very very minor complaint, but this drove me crazy throughout the video. Ollie's isn't really anything like walmart. They're a store that buys up things from places that went out of business or products that just didn't sell and then resells them relatively cheaply. I've found some decent things there for like half the price or less. I'm not shilling for ollie's, I swear.

[@TZER0]

I’m laughing that this guy never heard of Ollies.

[@cartilagehead]

Maurice Sendak’s production company held the film rights to Harold for many years (Crockett Johnson was a mentor to Sendak), and after the production of the 2009 Where the Wild Things Are film (awesome movie, super underrated and kind of forgotten) they were set to make a Harold movie with Spike Jonze and David O Russell of all people working on it. Apparently Jonze worked on it for a year before TriStar killed the project right before principal photography was supposed to start. Then the film languished in development hell for a bit, it got bid on numerous times, Sendak died, etc. And now we have this. I’m not saying that the Spike Jonze/David O Russell version of this movie would’ve been a grand slam, but it probably would’ve been a lot more interesting than what we got.

[@joywagner979]

The Spike Jonze Wild Things movie was a lot of fun! My local independent theater screened it a few months ago, and I found it eminently watchable even for adults. I wish more kids' movies were made like that today.

[@cartilagehead]

@@joywagner979 I don't mean to fluff up a project or the people who worked on it more than is deserved, but WTWTA to me is like the best possible outcome when it comes to Hollywood adapting kids' books to cinema. You have the original author, who is 1) an actual artist and 2) somebody who knows production, working closely on the project throughout with people that he clearly respects. Changes and additions/expansions made to the bare bones of the original book are done thoughtfully and with the goal of serving and enriching the film rather than to satisfy some nepobaby marketer's whims. I'm glad it at least broke even, or else we'd see even fewer projects like it.

[@SamSherr-Nelson-n9e]

@@joywagner979 I would imagine it would be, with how strange it is and non-kiddy, which was also probably the appeal to kids. Kids like "gross" things

[@jabisdumb]

The original books (or more accurately the animated shorts) hold a very very dear place in my heart, as I grew up on them. When I heard what the plot of the movie was I was… disappointed, because the shorts that I watched as a kid were so soft and calm, with a main character who didn’t even speak with any voice besides the narrator’s, the animated shorts just felt like someone reading you a story. I feel like this could have been a softer, quieter, more comfortable movie but they wanted it to be Big and Blockbuster and Barbie… I feel like a theme they could have gone with (if they wanted to make a movie that MAYBE says SOMETHING) would be something about Perspective? The original stories are always presenting the audience with literal perspective in the scenes Harold draws, like he draws a town very small because it’s in the background, and then he moves closer to it and becomes a giant in the tiny town. The story about the walk in the moonlight has the drawing he made of the moon following him for every scene (this is more notable in animation because the rest of the drawings don’t normally move with Harold), because in real life your view of the moon from earth is that it follows you, and it ends with him finding his way ‘home’ because he knows he can always see the moon from his bedroom window, so he draws the window around the moon and the bedroom around the window and goes to bed. There’s a moment in one story where Harold accidentally (via walking to the wrong spot in the perspective of his drawing) becomes tiny, and gets upset because he’s previously drawn a huge sea and a bunch of mountains, and now he’s too small to get home through all of that, and then he thinks for a while and goes “This is just a drawing!” and he crosses out the huge (in perspective) plants and animals he’s just drawn and says “I am my normal size”, and he draws the mirror in his bedroom because he knows how big he’s supposed to be in that. Maybe as a movie plot you could have a little boy as the main character and he’s having some kind of real world problem that is maybe not actually that dangerous or big, but because he is very young and inexperienced it _feels_ scary, from his *perspective*. And then over the course of the movie he learns and grows and understands that things aren’t as bad as they seem, that he has more control than he realizes. Idk, I think something like that would have been fun and nuanced, but maybe that’s a bit too much to ask for from Hollywood… It makes me pretty sad that this film seems to be more about the general concept of ‘books’ and ‘fiction’ than really anything unique to Harold and The Purple Crayon, it feels like you could have swapped it out for a different children’s book and had the same lacklustre ideas and themes playing out almost identically, even if the actual plot was different. Love your content btw, man! Your voice is very calming, your scripts are always impeccable, and your ideas are so very well articulated!!

[@emilyrln]

You just brought back a core memory for me about a picture book called "Happy Birthday, Moon" 🥰 it's a cute little story about a bear who wants to give the moon a birthday present and thinks the echo of his own voice is the moon talking to him.

[@michaellauritano5252]

‘Harold’ is a really groundbreaking work of children’s literature. The editor was initially unconvinced the concept could even work, back in the day. I’m not saying that adapting this book well or in some inventive way is impossible, but some stories are just meant to exist in their original format and they really don’t work as well outside of it. The non-literal white space of the pages being interpreted as some other dimension is really dumb to me. Turning Harold into a grown man and having his drawings be CGI monstrosities feels so soulless and utterly distant from the book. This is not purple Green Lantern. Avoiding this movie at all costs!

[@kristianisreal8689]

Since I haven't seen it mentioned here yet: There's an unrelated Broadway adaptation of the book currently in development that's *also* a quasi-sequel, about a young adult Harold realizing he can't use the purple crayon to fix his grown-up problems. There haven't been any updates recently but I think that's because the band writing the songs has been on tour for their new album. At the concert I went to, one of them mentioned they were in the process of writing a musical.

[@AlexisBabayan]

It would be funny if, when Harold drew the piano, he put the wrong number and arrangement of keys on it (he's not a musician- he doesn't know how they're supposed to be) then the follow up joke could be that she still produces improbably beautiful music when she sits down to try and play...

[@wolfherojohnson2766]

Amazing

[@eatatjoes6751]

It could have been “Where the Wild Things Are” but with crayon doodles. Instead, it’s fucking this.

[@tell-me-a-story-]

Aging up the character and making it live-action just seems like it’s not made for children, but adults who loved Harold when they where little. That would be fine if it wasn’t such a trend. Every film that should be a kid’s movie these days is instead nostalgia bait for adults. Kids don’t get movies made with them in mind anymore. Not that this isn’t a movie kids can watch, of course they can. But it just depends on nostalgia that children haven’t developed yet. Nostalgia is great, but I think it’s best when it isn’t intentional on the movie-maker’s part. It’s just a regular kid’s film that happens to be nostalgic for you. And the movies that are made for kids are really dumb. Seriously, why do kids have to be stuck with things like the Minecraft movie? And that’s not animated, either. Why don’t we have many fully animated movies anymore?

[@Ehibika]

I think publishers and producers these days just see kids as broke and stupid, not worth catering to on a meaningful level. doesn't help that we've been in a trend of media analysis that gawks as past children's works for being too heady or dramatic, so now kids media has to be as shallow as a puddle.

[@someidiotmetalhead]

​​@@EhibikaI think you're on to something. Kids' entertainment today just reeks of contempt for its target audience. It's like they forget kids are still people. And while yeah, adults are the ones buying movie tickets, adapting something older and using nostalgia to market it just feels like a cheap and lazy way to guarantee a profit.

[@birdenthusiast5421]

I know that this type of film wouldn't be the ideal space for it, but Terri's fictionalization within Gary's "dream woman" story makes me wish for a film about the character of a heavily typecast actor (in this case, Zoe Deschanel as the manic pixie dream girl who shows up to save disillusioned men from themselves) being portrayed as the subject of an existential horror: how it would feel to realize your entire life is a two-dimensional portrait of an omniscient narrator's desires, and the dawning fear that all you are is a device in someone else's story, over and over. I'm sure something like that has been done, I just haven't seen it myself.

[@grumpysphinx4911]

There's a short film here on YT called Written By that's sort of similar to that, it's about people learning they're actually fictional characters come to life and some were just written as caricatures or plot devices (like wife who gets cancer and dies so the detective husband has a sad backstory, etc)

[@sacrificiallamb4568]

I know there are certainly video games like that. And a Doctor Who episode.

[@Grellibe]

OP doesn't have an Ollie's near him. Damn. It's a bargain store. Ollie's takes unsold overstock and sells it at a discount.

[@BugsyFoga]

It reminded me of how the fat Albert film adaptation was handled, which makes sense considering they had the same producer

[@crouchingidiot]

I saw an ad for this movie and was hit with so much déjà vu because it genuinely felt like it was made in 2014

[@operation_turtle]

the most unbelievable part of the movie is that, when presented with a way to infinitely distribute books and knowledge, i librarian chooses to be selfish.

[@lyrichardeman5779]

I would wish that the whole movie would be animated mixing with 2D and 3D effects just like when it does with Klaus and Curious George film, it would be wonderful!!

[@williamhanekom9882]

I think if this movie wanted to show the value of imagination and sincerity, it should have been a metatextual commentary on the nature on movie adaptations. Like what if Zachary Levi's Harold was actually brought into existence by a film studio? One which had little regards for the original book but created a real world version of "their" character completely by accident. Not only could it be a funny lambasting on Hollywood's lack of creativity, but you could have Harold trying to define himself in spite of being derivative of a much more meaningful creation.

[@BlisaBLisa]

like the newest matrix movie but for kids lolol

[@AxelLivesForever]

Ohhhhh so Ollie’s paid for placement?? I’ve never heard of the store described as a fake Walmart before lol they definitely seem like more of a discount outlet than like a target/Walmart

[@RoughestDrafts]

I genuinely thought the store was fictitious 😂 I’d never heard of Ollie’s haha. I wonder how they feel with the way their store was portrayed

[@cgduude]

@@RoughestDrafts I can tell you that none of their stores are laid out so nicely. The real Ollies functions more on a "pile" basis and not with displays so neatly arranged.

[@AxelLivesForever]

@@RoughestDraftsin the nicest way possible it’s the easiest store to trash for a “mess up the store” scene, like the way it’s laid out they’re already halfway there 😂

[@shinyrayquaza9]

@@RoughestDrafts I have some in my area, they are like biglots. You can sometimes find gems in there from really old merchandise left in warehouses

[@QueenKunta]

@@cgduudetheir tagline is literally “Get Good Stuff Cheap.” And they usually have a signs in the store like: “confusion is our most important product” and “Pardon our mess, but it's the price you pay for a bargain!" and "Excuse the mess. Our employees are busy finding you bargains!"

[@ryan7032]

Why does the plot feel like if Nostalgia Critic was doing a Paddington parody?

[@marissarae]

As someone who had the book read to me as a child and read the book to my children, I always took the message of H&tPC as "no matter how far you roam and what adventures you get into, you can always find your way home." A message that probably resonated more for the "free range" kids of the Boomer generation than today's overprotected children, to be honest.

[@CrazyStoneTiger]

Don’t kid yourself. Gen X were far more independent than boomers were. Mostly because the majority of boomers sucked as parents. My parent’s generation (gen x) had to make it on their own, and I have for more respect for them than the greedy self obsessed boomers.

[@kevinscovers7171]

Actually, Ollie’s isn’t a fake Walmart made for the film. They are a real store. They sell surplus stuff that doesn’t normally fly of the shelves at major retailers, so they sell it for a large discount compared to their stores. Found some great old ghostbusters frozen empire stuff at one.

[@kevinscovers7171]

Oh and I just saw a little too late I was beaten to it.

[@darkninjafirefox]

I used to watch the hbo family series. I dont remember much, except an episode where he took care to watch out for porcupine's quills to give her a hug and i thought it was sweet. Nothing about this movie's trailer made me want to go see it

[@JojokimVT]

Zachary Levi is never going to beat the ”acting like a man child” allegations anytime soon xD

[@piotyrholbion]

I think the fact he only started thinking about existence after he found out his creator died because One: he thought of his creator as a father figure that could answer his questions, now he has no answers and must think on it himself. And two: maybe he was focused on the quest to meet his creator, and at that quests end, there was now nothing to stop him from thinking. Dunno Haven't watched the movie lol

[@terpsidance.]

They could have done something like the Little Prince movie but they decided to go with the most generic premise possible

[@monroe7532]

That’s what I was thinking! Like a hybrid animatics movie where Harold was 2-D and the “real world was 3-D animated.They could’ve kept the story be about Harold going into the ‘real world’ to look for the author, only to find out he died and have Harold deal with that grief as well as finding out he isn’t real. The story was there it’s just the presentation and outcome was so mishandled

[@shroomy__rxcks]

i don't know how there could be any kind of conflict since harold could just draw a guillotine and chop any villains before they can do anything

[@ellestubbs4678]

I always love listening to your children’s book videos. I found you through the shel Silverstein books and I was so happy to see someone who cared about these poems as much as I did and to hear someone else’s perspective on the stories I’ve been reading to myself since kindergarten. Keep up the good work and have a great day!

[@TekTheNinja]

He keeps calling it a fake Walmart. Bro Ollie's is a real store that exists lol.

[@amarie_2]

I was getting ready to say that 😅 lmao

[@jbsgk55]

I loved Harold as a kid (the animated short) but I absolutely didn't want that memory touched by whatever Mr.Levi was going to get up to, so I passed on the film.

[@racksfield]

wasnt ready for a serious deep dive and break down of the themes of "harold and the purple crayon" but by golly am i glad im here.

[@SoloJona]

My dyslexia first read the thumbnail as “Garbage bin Barbie”, then it changed to “Garbain bin Barbie” and I was so confused trying to decipherwhat garbain meant until my dyslexia finally let me read “Bargain bin Barbie”…. My brain is weird

[@BlisaBLisa]

17:38 this is so much of what i loved about the barbie movie, ik a lot of people have problems with the feminism of the movie and feeling like its too shallow but the movie is fundamentally about humanity and existientialism and the way the movie framed that through a womans eyes and not the "default" of a man, felt special to me. it was so earnest with this and felt incredibly real and just not something ive seen a lot before, the movies main focus is on exploring humanity and existiential themes and gender and gender issues are some of the tools it uses to do that.

[@meow1178]

Where I come from, it’s not a purple crayon. They switched it to red for some reason.

[@RoughestDrafts]

Interesting! How strange

[@globblin1734]

Your videos are great and real comforting ❤

[@Ecliptic-P]

Ollie's is an actual store btw!! Its basically building 19 but under a different name lol

[@tylerblair340]

Love your videos, you always deliver well-considered analysis that teaches me something new or makes me reconsider a piece of media I was already familiar with. Thanks Jonah!

[@EliasMorals]

No joke, i legitimately thouvht the movie sounded alrighy until you mentioned the guy who wants the purple crayon NOT EVERY MOVIE NEEDS AN ANTAGONIST LIKE THAT

[@Parfaitcookiestan67]

I only saw this movie because at my theater they were giving out free purple crayons and posters to whoever came

[@blackman7437]

2:48 I love how Ollie's is so obscure, people getting thought it was made up for the movie and not product placement.

[@Gibbypastrami]

the Ollie’s store cameo was not expected XD

[@meow1178]

Woop woop new video!!!

[@MrScaryPasta]

I watched the animated TV series of Harold and the Purple Crayon when I was a kid. It was my inspiration for becoming the artist I am today.

[@puckhockey4733]

The piano scene was jarring for me too, but mostly owing to the fact that she hadn't really played in a long time, then goes on to perfectly play an extremely difficult piece of music. I believe it was supposed to be a joke in the movie, though.

[@snappwolftv]

Harold and the purple crayon = Chalk Zone

[@haileyshannon7548]

This is the problem with movies based on kids books The Grinch with Jim Carrey and The Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers are textbook examples of this. How come it's so hard to turn a 20 page book with a picture and a paragraph on each page into a 2 hour feature?

[@BlisaBLisa]

the grinch movie sucked but the grinch character in the movie was honestly spot on, just a weird freak that eats onions and glass lol. and has lesbian parents

[@yournerdking218]

Every time I saw the trailer I was like "what even is that supposed to be referencing" it wasn't till I saw that charming art that I remembered that banger book

[@shoujoqueen4187]

Its really interesting to find this video now that I've found out about this movie. I got recommended the first 10 minutes of the movie thinking it wasn’t out yet only to find out it was released only a month ago and i didn’t have a single clue. Also upon further inspection, the movie didn't look too good so im glad to hear about it from someone who has seen it, thanks for the insight!

[@mckenziepearmain]

i definitely think there was more that was cut for time, and it lacked a lot in the ways you mentioned. i saw it in theatres and i think it was cute overall, but yeah definitely could’ve had more substance and coherence. great video and insights!

[@FruityGroovy]

So, the interesting thing is that a Harold & The Purple Crayon movie had basically been in development hell for literally 30 years. I guarantee you that the movie we got did not start off with people saying "we want to make a Harold & the Purple Crayon movie". It started off with execs saying "we want to make a Zackary Levi kids movie", and then they just rummaged through their big box of miscellaneous IP they have the movie rights to just to attach to this project.

[@KekodaBunbun]

As soon as I saw the trailer’s intro with the animation, I got excited. I was like, “Oh my gosh, the narration and animation for this is soooo similar to the book!” Then it kept continuing…. Can I just say every movie looks the same now? We have the overly optimistic character trying to succeed in a not so world. They keep screwing up with their quirky personality and talents. Whoa, they find a love interest (bonus if they have a child to bond with). They somehow end up in a crazy fight scene. The end. (Lego Movie, Enchanted, Nice Guy, Barbie Movie, etc.) This movie just feels like another nostalgia money making plot.

[@SophieSquid]

Ya know the whole line about living your life to the fullest despite the circumstances is reassuring to me. I hadn't really thought of that as an option because of how much emphasis is placed on getting a job. Am currently in college in a degree I'm kinda indifferent towards, yet I have so many passions outside of it and sometimes I worry I'm on the wrong path. Yet I know sticking with my degree would be better for me financially and in stability. Kinda felt to a degree like I was doing something wrong because I'm pursuing something I only kinda like, but I can still do other things even if I'm not getting a job in those areas I suppose.

[@FishareFriendsNotFood972]

The world needs and loves people who 'just' work the 9 to 5 jobs.

[@AlexaSmith]

the thing about messaging in kids movies is i think the implicit is actually way more important than the explicit. like kids are the perfect audience to really utilize thoughtful story telling and filmmaking it really speaks to them on levels we cant understand smh

[@BlisaBLisa]

fr i distinctly remember as a kid getting annoyed at movies/shows being too explicit with their messaging (honestly i think i was more critical of that stuff as a kid than i am now lol) i wasnt particularly smart or something and my english was pretty bad at the time but i could feel when i was being talked down to and it bothered me, which i think is very common for children. the stuff that stuck with me the most to this day wasnt any explicit morals of a movie its mostly the more vague emotional stuff that i wouldnt even realize the intentionality of until i got older

[@papermr.magolorguy7957]

I don’t think you should take Verilybiche’s critique on the Barbie movie as gospel. She is notorious for missing the point of media to act pretentious. For example, she said Heartstopper is a bad thing for Queer Rep after decades and centuries of tragic queer relationships and history, and now all of a sudden when a TV show is optimistic, it’s suddenly a problem. It’s suddenly a problem when queer kids can see themselves in these characters. Sorry for the tangent I just don’t think you should give her a platform in your videos.

[@saltedeggs8826]

unless i'm confusing vb's video with someone else's, i think their critique on Heartstopper was because the show lacked nuance; queer shows were either super pessimistic and incredibly tragic, or optimistic, light and fluffy, no in between. the show she was talking about fell under that latter. i haven't seen the barbie movie vid though.

[@papermr.magolorguy7957]

@@saltedeggs8826There is nuance though, she just chose to ignore it. The show does touch upon Charlie’s mental health and the effects of bullying.

[@anne-zh2kd]

I vaguely remember her saying in that same video that bisexuality in women is ONE thing, disregarding any of neuroatypical/autistic bisexuals/pansexuals

[@spingleboygle]

i vividly remember reading harold and the purple crayon and loving the cute little casper design of harold. making him look like the yellow hat man was the first mistake.

[@TZER0]

The fact that he keeps calling Ollies a “fake Walmart” just has me weak. 🤣

[@fatcat1414]

The animated segments of this movie look way too gorgeous for it's own good. I don't get why this movie had to be live action beyond the studio fearing it wouldn't have audience appeal otherwise.

[@Pumpkinshire]

Imagine if when Harold is walking in the fair and he hears the mom lost her joy playing piano he disappears and there’s the purple grand piano he’s in a purple tux and fedora and they do a romantic duet? Or if he’s reading a book to the kid because that’s just what you do the kid eventually after snarking he’s too old for books says he doesn’t want to go to school because it’s the science fair the next day and he couldn’t finish the project because he allways did them with his dad. So Harold spends the entire night drawing a weather machine to create a snow day. After an afternoon music montage in purple snow the kid gets a cold and they’re playing monopoly in the evening when the kid rags on books again and Harold jumps up with the crayon draws a door to treasure island and like marry poppins takes them on a 2d adventure in the tropics. Then Garry teens up with the school janitor and principal to combat Harold moose and porcupine because he doesn’t understand friends they eventually switch sides in that final battle. The movie could have been great. But for a movie about imagination it was bland as plain toast. And the mom should have worked at the school. The store subplot wastes too much time for too little plot connection.

[@wolfherojohnson2766]

Cook my brother

[@zakuraiyadesu]

Love the videos, man. Keep it up!!!

[@renzobazan1711]

You know, I'm also desagree with the movie, since I felt that, aside of not being fateful to its source material, this is a kids movie with a 2010's generic feel of being live action.

[@niccage6375]

Having an ollies product placement in a film like this is funny.

[@RTransportGuy]

Alfred Molina (Doc Ock) is the narrator of the movie. "Hello Harold"

[@D3niz3n]

Trying to pull an Elf/Barbie/Enchanted and falling into mediocrity

[@Treeeee2008]

When you mention Zachary Levi, I imagine a lot of people's minds will immediately go to Shazam or something, but REAL Chads remember him as Toby from Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 😎

[@everfluctuating]

ive seen quite a few trailers for this movie on youtube. even without knowing the whole plot, something felt off-putting about aging harold up and putting him into the real world. like, what is the point of that? what necessitates either of those things based off the plot of the original book? i guess to make him an ignorant manchild to bring imagination to this mother and son, but he kinda failed that because the son was already creative and the mom was just struggling with her grief (which he didnt end up helping with anyway, she just got over it). truly a baffling movie idea.

[@gammarays3683]

Genuinely i thought this wasnt a real movie. I thought everyone was making it up like Gonchernov as a commentary about how shitty mcu movies and reboots or movie adaptations have become. Although i havent seen much about it besides a movie poster or some odd screen shot. This is like, the first time ive seen any moving clips from it.

[@ilexdiapason]

this book and this movie mean absolutely nothing to me but i like your voice and cadence and your choice of background music

[@QueenKunta]

Just so you know, Ollie’s is a real store lol.

[@ezra7088]

I loved Harold and the Purple Crayon when I was little, this video was a lovely reminder

[@e.d.t.]

The problem is comparing this film to the Barbie movie, when it seems to be more like the Fat Albert movie. The Barbie movie was actually about Barbie as a person where the other films with this trope are often like like - characters we know get up to magical/crazy shenanigans in the real world, they change main characters' lives in some positive way, the end. Barbie wasn't what I expected but at least it was different and a bit more deep.

[@rusted_ursa]

I did not even know this movie existed until this video popped up in my feed.

[@namechoice]

Ollie's is a real store chain that sells discounted, discontinued items. Kind of like a nicer Big Lots.

[@AlexisBabayan]

It's a short, surreal, picture book... it does not have enough *stuff* to make a full-length movie without changing it utterly. (As soon as I heard of the concept, I thought this will be bad like the movie version of The Polar Express- which was also a good picture book.)I loved the book as a small child... and its follow-up, Harold's Circus. My mom worked as an elementary school librarian for a while, and would sometimes read it to kids, then give them purple crayons to draw whatever they wanted.

[@juicebox7372]

10:00 no, I'd just move on with my life because being fictional does not negate the fact that I can breath, eat, and sleep or that I still have to go to work and make money.

[@ridercraft3660]

I heard about this film from a chazington vid lmao, great vid btw

[@nilawarriorprincess]

What an odd product placement for Ollie's! Why would they just admit that working for them is soul crushing? I'll have to take your word for it as I have no intentions of watching it. Maybe I'll watch if it's on some streaming service & I'm depressed & need an average movie to block out sadness.

[@raptoria1705]

For some reason I have a distinct memory about finding the world of Harold and the Purple Crayon a bit eerie; like you have this child completely by himself in this white void with no other human connection- he could draw whatever he wanted but it would never actually be a real human like him. Idk I’m probably the only person who thought of this as a kid lol

[@BlisaBLisa]

i saw a similar comment so ur not alone, i didnt get that feeling from it but i distrinctly remember rly loving it it evokes some strong feelings that i cant rly describe. reading it kinda felt like playing pretend or indulging in a daydream and it felt so tailor made to appeal to me lol

[@kaylagirl1611]

On some level I'm glad they averted the trope but for some reason Harold and his friends just leaving at the end feels off, like nearly every other version of this story ends with the main character (in this case Harold) choosing to stay in the real world. I really thought that's where this was going

[@freetimesketchbook9485]

I think a Harold and the purple crayon could've gone in so many ways, maybe the idea of Harold having minimal impact on the world could've even played into the story 18:07 I don't have the brain power to figure it out but this could've worked in hand with what I'm saying

[@sahana757]

I didn’t even know it was out yet

[@sonicsnake44]

I think their is some additional bit of context your missing from your Analyst of Harold's reaction to finding out his creator is dead. Its not just the fact that he's dead that causes him to become depressed its also the fact that his creator was going to tell him the meaning of his existed and purpose.

[@talic-os5899]

You convinced me to watch this movie. It sounds very cute

[@IcyIndigo]

Wait, Zooey Deschanel was in this movie?!?! Queen NOOOOOOOOOO

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

It's a shame that this movie adaption of Harold wasn't very good. Then again, there's an unfortunate trend of book adaptions usually being really bad with a few exceptions. For a good book adaption, I highly recommend checking out Will Vinton's version of The Little Prince, it's also the closest to the original book. And the clay animation is GORGEOUS, there's even clay painting resembling watercolor! Sadly, Will lost his company to Phil Knight and it turned into Laika, the documentary Claydream goes into more detail. Given the NIKE ties and how the studio was founded from being stolen from Will Vinton, I find Laika's messages to be insanely hypocritical. There are also movie adaptions of books that I like while everyone else dislikes: Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory and The Black Cauldron [1985]. For Willy Wonka, I think the reason I actually PREFER it over the book is that Charlie has more of a character and an actual character arc [and admittedly learning more about Roald Dahl sort of soured my opinion of the book], and for The Black Cauldron, I also like a lot of the changes it brought [arguably Gurgi is far more sympathetic then Elidyr, and Eilonwy doesn't insult Taran as much, while still calling him out when he messes up], but I do agree that the character arcs needed to be better [Hot Take, I feel like the movie could've been even more powerful than the original books had it been Taran who made the sacrifice, obviously he'd survive since it's a Disney movie, but it would complete Taran's arc in a more satisfying way]. And TBH, I have my fair share of issues with the Prydain books, but that's a post for another time.