Harold and The Purple Crayon: run time, age rating and is it worth taking children to see this holiday?

• The work of Crockett Johnson makes its way to the big screen with the film adaptation of “Harold and The Purple Crayon.”
• Based on the 1955 children's book, the film stars Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel and Alfred Molina.
• But is it appropriate to take younger family members to see the film, and is it worth your time these school holidays?

Those who have exhausted their plans to occupy children during the 2024 summer school holidays might be considering a trip to the cinema or two to eat up some of that spare time.

With that in mind, and with a number of films and programmes available specifically for the summer holidays, one of those cinematic endeavours has been getting quite the promotional push, be it through adverts online or the age-old tradition of advertising on the side of a bus.

“Harold and The Purple Crayon” is a big screen adaptation of the beloved 1955 book by Crockett Johnson, boasting a cast list including Zachary Levi as the titular character, Zooey Deschanel, “Get Out” actor Lil Rey Howey and “Flight of The Conchords” star Jemaine Clement.

Having opened in the United Kingdom last week (August 2 2024), the film has so far taken a worldwide box office total of $11,608,101 according to Box Office Mojo, again a budget of $40 million, leaving movie studio Columbia Pictures “hoping” that it makes up the deficit after a widespread release - and that all important streaming revenue.

But despite being financially in a bad position so far, how have critics and audiences who have seen the movie already felt about “Harold and The Purple Crayon,” and it is wholly different from the source material? 

What is “Harold and The Purple Crayon” about?

The official synopsis for “Harold and The Purple Crayon” reads: “Inside of his book, adventurous Harold (Zachary Levi) 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--and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible.” 

“When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of Harold and his friends' creativity to save both the real world and his own”

How different is the film to the “Harold and The Purple Crayon” book?

While the 1955 book was much more simple and straightforward, primarily focusing on Harold’s adventures with the crayon, the film expands upon Crockett Johnson’s work, introducing new characters such as Moose, Porcupine, Terri, Mel and Gary Natwick - none of which who appear in the source material.

The biggest change through sees the character of Harold having grown up, and looks for a “mysterious” old man who happens to be… the author of the original book, Crockett Johnson, just to add some meta-referencing to the film (much like R.L Stine’s character in the “Goosebumps” movies.)

The film also brings in the “baddie” in the form of Gary, who attempts to use the crayon's power for his own fantasies. So while the book is the source material for the film, it does deviate quite a lot from Johnson’s original story.

How long is “Harold and The Purple Crayon?”

Just the ideal running time to prevent your little ones from growing bored. “Harold and The Purple Crayon” has a run time of 90 minutes, so an hour and 45 minutes to occupy schoolchildren's time these school holidays, when you include trailers ahead of the film being screened. 

What is the BBFC rating for “Harold and The Purple Crayon?”

Despite the gentile nature of the book, parents might want to think about how appropriate the film might be for their children. The BBFC have rated “Harold and The Purple Crayon” as a PG due to scenes involving “mild violence” and “ innuendo.”

For a full breakdown of what those scenes entail, you can check out the BBFC’s summary of the film’s content on their official listing since rating the film. 

Is “Harold and The Purple Crayon” worth seeing these UK school holidays?

That’s been the bone of contention on Rotten Tomatoes, as ever. Though critically it has been maligned, earning a 47% “rotten” rating on the film review website, audiences who have gone to see it disagree - with the audience rating on the website currently sitting on 91%.

Of the criticisms that film reviewers have given “Harold and The Purple Crayon,” much of the problem seems to lay with the over-complication of the story compared to the simple, minimalistic nature of the source material. 

To quote Vulture’s Jen Chaney: “Harold and the Purple Crayon makes the classic Hollywood mistake of taking a story that was lovely because of its concision and simplicity and turns it into a movie that is overly long and complicated for no good reason.”

Though user reviews on IMDB have been more positive, with the overwhelming consensus from movie goers stating that it is cute - and indeed, it is intended as a children’s movie rather than one that is set to appeal to a broader audience

“Harold and The Purple Crayon” is in cinemas across the UK now, including Odeon theatres. You can pick up an Odeon myLIMITLESS pass, allowing you to see as many films as you’d like and 10% off food and drink, from £14.99 per month.