Based on one of the most beloved children’s books in history, Sony Pictures’ forthcoming adaptation of Crockett Johnson‘s Harold and the Purple Crayon has had no trouble drawing in a star-studded cast. Featuring the acting talents of Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Lil Rey Howery, Ravi Patel, Camille Guaty, and Tanya Reynolds, the live-action debut of two-time Academy Award-nominated animation director Carlos Saldanha has already amassed quite an impressive ensemble, and that notable roaster is just getting bigger. As it was announced earlier today, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Pete Gardner has also joined the expanding cast in an undisclosed role.
Details remain relatively limited regarding this feature-length adaptation of the influential kids’ book, but as Deadline reported, Harold and the Purple Crayon is expected to follow the wonderous misadventures of Harold, an imaginative four-year-old who creates his own world using the power of his purple crayon. It’s not clear if Gardner is playing a sizable role, a voice-only role, or little more than a walk-on cameo, but his involvement in the upcoming movie was announced shortly after the movie wrapped production.
Best known for his celebrated performance as Darryl Whitefeather in The CW‘s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Gardner was most recently seen in HBO Max‘s Our Flag Means Death and FloQast Studios‘ PBC. He has appeared in nearly 100 different films and shows throughout this expansive, versatile acting career.
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Produced by John Davis and written for the screen by David Guion and Michael Handelman, Sony’s film adaptation of Johnson’s franchise-spanning Harold and the Purple Crayon will complete a 30-plus year journey to bring this beloved picture book to the big screen. Certainly, given the passion, heart, and creativity that shines throughout all 65 pages of Johnson’s esteemed novel, it’s not hard at all to see why Hollywood producers have tried so hard — with little-to-no prior success — to transport this dazzling and magical purple crayon story to the silver screen.
Going back the way to 1992, when Maurice Sendak‘s production company, Wild Things Productions, had tapped Henry Selick to direct his own blockbuster adaptation, only for the animation filmmaker to move on to make James and the Giant Peach instead, Hollywood heavyweights have wanted to bring that burning and fervent ingenuity of Johnson’s much-acclaimed book to audiences around the world. Spike Jonze, David O. Russell, and Will Smith have all been attached to the project at various points in the project’s troubled history. Alas, it took quite a bit of time — a few decades, in fact — for that to finally happen. Hopefully, the wait will be worth it. And we don’t have to wait much longer for this long-promised movie to arrive.
Harold and the Purple Crayon will be released on January 27th, 2023. Along with finally making its way onto the big screen, Johnson’s novel also inspired an upcoming Broadway musical, as it was revealed back in March.
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