Movie Review: Harold and the Purple Crayon

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C

This family film may not be the most memorable, but it provides a decent trip to the movies.

Though this may not be a great film, it does have a real charm to it. The movie's story is simple (another example of the fictional characters finding their way into the real world), but it is charming. Our main characters are very likable. They may be over the top and silly, but they have good hearts, and we do grow to care about them. This leads to a truly emotional scene later on in the film, that really works. In fact, this whole movie is filled with heart and sincerity. There is a real sweetness here that feels completely natural and not at all forced. The movie also benefits from a strong villain and fun climatic action scene.  

This movie is filled with many comedic moments from start to finish. As can be expected from this, the gags here are very hit and miss. Some of them are really funny while many others fall completely flat. 

Since the storyline is very familiar, the movie is all too predictable. You can always tell what is going to happen next. The film can also drag quite a bit in the middle. 

This marks the first live action movie directed by Carlos Saldanha. He had been the co-director on Ice Age (2002) and Robots (2005). He was the also the director of such animated films as Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Rio (2011), Rio 2 (2014) and Ferdinand (2017).

This may not be a new family classic, but it is enjoyable enough.