A live-action version of Harold and the Purple Crayon promises a whole new kind of sketch comedy.
Shazam!’s Zachary Levi is set to star in a movie based on author/illustrator Crockett Johnson’s classic 1955 children’s book, which is currently in development, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It’s unclear what Levi’s specific role in the film will be, as the only flesh-and-blood character in the original book is Harold, a young boy. David Guion and Michael Handelman, who most recently wrote the 2014 comedy sequel, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, are writing the adaptation, but no details about the story have been released, as yet.
In the picture book, Harold is able to create whatever he wants by drawing it with his purple crayon. He decides that he wants to go for a walk in the moonlight on a moonless night, so he draws a moon, as well as a path on which to walk, and he goes on to create more things during his journey. Some drawings cause complications; for instance, he draws a dragon, which scares him, and his shaking hand inadvertently conjures up an ocean, which necessitates him drawing a boat. Later, he gets hungry, so he sketches a bunch of pies to eat, as well as a moose and a porcupine to help him finish them. At end of the book, he winds up back home, where he makes himself a bed and goes to sleep. Kirkus’ 1955 review called the book “a clever little volume,” telling readers: “You’ll laugh at this. Good stitches.”
Crockett went on to write and illustrate six sequels to Harold and the Purple Crayon before his death in 1975, including 1958’s Harold at the North Pole and 1960’s A Picture for Harold’s Room, which both received Kirkus Stars. The original book was adapted as an animated short in 1959 and later inspired a Daytime Emmy–winning 2001 animated series for HBO, narrated by actor Sharon Stone.
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
