Harold and the Purple Crayon features Zooey Deschanel as a single woman who meets a sort of cheery man-child, who has very little idea about this strange urban world in which he finds himself. This isn’t a logical jumping off point if providing a straightforward encapsulation of this cinematic adaptation of a 1955 children’s storybook, in which the title character creates a world out of the drawings of his titular writing implement. But it does make sense if you wanted to start to encapsulate the film’s charm, because this is also the core dynamic of a movie Deschanel starred in more than 20 years ago: the holiday classic Elf.

Of course, Carlos Saldanha’s film isn’t all that close to attaining the same classic status, but the fact that it’s worth comparing the two films – comparing them, not contrasting them – is a positive indeed for Harold and the Purple Crayon. These are different times, so Deschanel’s Terri isn’t exactly a romantic interest for Zachary Levi’s Harold, the child from the book who has grown into an adult over many storybook years. Rather, she’s a widow and a mother to a son, Mel (Benjamin Bottani), who first sees what Harold can do with his crayon. Mel believes in the magic that springs forth, which Harold might use to make all their lives better.

We start in the pages of Crockett Johnson’s original book, a children’s standard, where Harold and his two companions, Moose and Porcupine, go on adventures fuelled by the streaming trail of whatever Harold draws. They are the sole inhabitants of this world, except that they also talk to the disembodied voice of the book’s author (Alfred Molina), whom they refer to as “Old Man,” and whom they understand to be their benevolent creator. When that voice one day goes silent, Harold draws a door to the real world – through which he appears in a Rhode Island park, taking on the form of Zachary Levi, while Moose and Porcupine are now Lil Rel Howery-shaped and Tanya Roberts-shaped.

In their search for the Old Man, they excitedly approach a random elderly gentleman on a park bench, who rebuffs them in no uncertain terms. At which point they realise just how difficult this quest may be, since they know nothing about him beyond his voice. But Harold’s crayon can still create things in this world, and it’s while riding a purple bicycle that they are accidentally hit by Terri with Mel in her back seat. She reluctantly gives them a place to stay for the night, especially after her son reminds her of his father’s motto to help others in need.

These basic building blocks might go one of two directions, insipid or inspired, depending on the details of how the story is executed. Fortunately, Harold and the Purple Crayon is a victory of execution on every level. Levi, who erstwhile plays the superhero Shazam, is delightful in his blank-slate enthusiasm. He’s flanked by winning comedic performances from Howery and Roberts, Howery giving an amiable variation on the sidekick roles in which he’s flourished the past few years, Roberts trying to maintain more of her porcupine aspect, sniffing around wildly and sporting a spike-like shot of purple hair.

However, one actor we have not yet mentioned really steals the show, and he’ll feel especially welcome by viewers in this part of the world. Kiwi Jemaine Clement plays the story’s villain, a librarian named Gary, who would love to be the father figure Mel needs and the husband figure he thinks Terri wants. He’s also an aspiring fantasy novelist who has written a book called The Glaive of G’Gaurar, and every gag related to the mispronunciation of that title is as funny as you would imagine. Clement’s line deliveries cannot be beat, and he is a driving force of what is already a steady torrent of laughter throughout.

Fish-out-of-water movies can play like comedy gangbusters if they are done right, with playful set pieces galore. So how about three fish out of water? Having Buddy from Elf multiplied by three, each with slightly different personalities, and interacting with the largely benign world befitting a children’s movie, is good both for the funny bone and for the soul. In hard times, movies with a gentle touch, like Harold and the Purple Crayon, can be just the balm we need.

 

Harold and the Purple Crayon opens today in cinemas.