Reading stories to my kids is one of my favorite things. There is something so special about stepping foot into the world the author creates. Harold and the Purple Crayon is one of the timeless classics we all know and love. When I heard this book was going to come to the big screen, I was so excited! The cast truly brings the book to life and the film is oozing with creativity, family fun and imagination! I interviewed the cast and we chatted behind the scenes, the power of imagination and more! Watch the full interviews below.

About the Film

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. Harold and the Purple Crayon is the first film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic that has captivated young readers for decades.

Directed by Carlos Saldanha and produced by John Davis, the live-action hybrid family adventure/comedy stars Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery, Benjamin Bottani, Jemaine Clement, Tanya Reynolds with Alfred Molina and Zooey Deschanel.

Interview with Zachary Levi & Zooey Deschanel

Robyn Davis: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today um congratulations on such a fun family adventure movie! What do you hope families will take away from the film?

Zooey Deschanel: I hope that families have a really great time and I just have to say that like one of my favorite things to do with my kids, like and Jonathan on a weekend like going to see the movie in a theater, with popcorn and everything, that’s one of my favorite activities and I think everybody comes out of it having kind of like experienced another world.

Zachary Levi: I think thematically, creativity, imagination believing in oneself those are like really the tenants of what the film is. I think what we instilled in the film and what we want people to take away from that. But Zooey’s point… there really is something that’s special about going with your family to a theater to watch a movie. I think it’s it’s from period reasons one, it becomes an event and when you’re at home in our inner child in our memories that we’re forming, particularly as children a lot of things just roll into each other right? But you remember when you go somewhere to go do a thing. I remember as a child going to movie theaters to go watch movies and how special that was that you oh you go to the place, and you get the popcorn and you have the experience. But then even beyond that, when we go to a public place and you go and experience something particularly a movie with a whole bunch of strangers you give yourself the opportunity to be reminded that we’re all actually far more alike than we are different. I think that we’ve lost a little bit of that right, when when you get to go to a movie theater and you don’t know anybody around you, just you and your family but there’s a whole bunch of other families around you and you laugh in the same places and you cry in the same places these are bonding these are communal societal bonding moment that actually help us to be more connected and have less animosities. I think that’s something I love about going to the theater and I hope that people take away from this that they would go to the theater they would get inspired creatively through this movie and also see, “oh wow like we are all in this together” you know?

Interview with Lil Rel Howery

Robyn Davis: Moose was also my favorite part of this film, you were hilarious and you definitely stole every scene you were in. There was so many fun and creative moments throughout the film, I have to know if you have a favorite scene?

Lil Rel: You know what’s funny you got favorite scenes you actually shoot but one of my favorite scenes I just participated in was when I first got a chance to work with Jermaine. He’s so funny and I’m a big fan of the show the Flight of the Concords so like you know when you’re a fan of a show in a person you can’t wait to meet him and so by the time we got to shooting this for him to still be as funny and we talking about in the scenes and even when we were sitting in our little you know chairs in between takes man he had me dying laughing man he’s so funny yo he’s so funny so my favorite scene was the library scene it was a lot of fun doing that one. right Victor go

Robyn Davis: My kids want to know what would you draw yourself to life if you had a magic Purple Crayon?

Lil Rel: I would draw my own Amusement park all all my favorite rides because I love roller coasters. I love being scared so I have an amusement park but also I like being scared so I like Halloween Horror Night stuff. So my amusement park will have a scary character on the roller coaster with you, so outside the roller coaster scaring me it’d be like Michael Myers sitting right next to me. That sounds terrifying I know but I like being scared.

Harold and the Purple Crayon reminds us all to keep our childlike wonderment and imagination alive! Zachary Levi delivers hilarious and moving performance alongside co stars who matched his energy! Moose will have audiences laughing out loud. Harold and the Purple Crayon is a heartwarming adventure that the whole family will love!