By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor
Area Nonprofit Launches Coinciding Donation Collection Campaign
Former Palisadian Zooey Deschanel joins Zachary Levi to star in the live-action, adventure-comedy, “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” which premiered on Friday, August 2, while locally founded Crayon Collection has launched a coinciding campaign.
Directed by Carlos Saldanha and produced by John Davis, “Harold and the Purple Crayon” marks the first film adaptation of the eponymous 1955 children’s book by Crockett Johnson.
“Inside of his book, adventurous Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it,” according to Sony Pictures. “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.”
The film stars Levi as Harold, Lil Rel Howery as Moose, Benjamin Bottani as Mel, Jemaine Clement as Gary, Tanya Reynolds as Porcupine, Deschanel as Terry and Alfred Molina as the film’s narrator.
The Crayon Collection, founded by Highlands resident Sheila Morovati, recently celebrated the film with a National Crayon Collection campaign that kicked off Sunday, July 20.
Teachers, parents, children and restaurant managers alike were invited to participate in the campaign by downloading and printing a “recycling asset” and attaching it to any box. The donation box would be placed in local community areas to collect like-new crayons in time for the 2024-25 academic school year.
The Crayon Collection’s mission is to “inspire a commitment to environmental consciousness and the infusion of art education in underfunded schools,” according to the organization. To date, the organization has collected and redistributed over 22 million crayons and served over 200,000 children in all 50 states and 10 countries.
“With National Crayon Collection Month just around the corner, we were inspired to launch a National Crayon Collection campaign so that everyone across the country can participate in donating like-new crayons to kids in need, instead of throwing them into our environment where they may take up to 500 years to decompose,” Morovati shared in a statement.
According to Yahoo! Entertainment, “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is anticipated to release on Netflix at a later date.
“Sony’s existing distribution deal with Netflix will lead to the movie’s release on the streaming service,” according to Yahoo! Entertainment. “Typically, Sony films transition to Netflix after their theatrical run, which usually spans 90 to 120 days. Considering the movie’s theatrical release date of August 2, 2024, it aligns with the usual pattern for Sony’s releases to be available for streaming on Netflix by October 2024.”
Born in 1980, Deschanel grew up in Pacific Palisades, where her parents still reside. She has spanned a career in television and film, with memorable roles in “New Girl,” “500 Days of Summer,” “Elf” and more.
Nominated for six Academy Awards in cinematography, her father, Caleb Deschanel, is known for films such as “Never Look Away,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “The Patriot” and “The Natural.” Her mother, actress Mary Jo Deschanel, is known for her role in the television series “Twin Peaks.”Her sister, Emily Deschanel, is also an actress, known for her role as Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan in the crime series “Bones.”
“Harold and the Purple Crayon,” rated PG with a runtime of one hour and 30 minutes, can be seen in theaters.
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