Harold And The Purple Crayon is an animated children's television series that first aired on HBO Family on December 1, 2001. It was based on the books by Crockett Johnson, and features narration by Sharon Stone and featuring Connor Matheus as the voice of Harold. The songs heard throughout the show were written and sung by Van Dyke Parks. The series aired until July 2011 on Jam. The series was also released on home video, such as DVD and VHS.
Synopsis[]
Each night, Harold finds himself too restless to sleep. Eager to explore the world beyond his bedroom, Harold grabs his purple crayon and begins to draw. Each stroke seems to unleash his vivid imagination as his fantasy world and characters come to life. Everything Harold does is narrated by the narrator, as none of the characters seem to speak but Harold says a few words on an occasional basis.
Episodes[]
| No. | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Harold and the Purple Crayon" | December 1, 2001 |
| 2 | "Blame It on the Rain" | January 5, 2002 |
| 3 | "Fly Away Home" | January 12, 2002 |
| 4 | "A Dog's Tale" | January 19, 2002 |
| 5 | "One Crayon Band" | January 26, 2002 |
| 6 | "I Remember Goldie" | February 2, 2002 |
| 7 | "Harold's Birthday Gift" | February 9, 2002 |
| 8 | "A Blast from the Past" | February 16, 2002 |
| 9 | "Harold the Artiste" | February 23, 2002 |
| 10 | "Harold's Walk on the Wild Side" | March 2, 2002 |
| 11 | "Harold in the Dark" | March 9, 2002 |
| 12 | "Future Clock" | March 16, 2002 |
| 13 | "Cowboy Harold" | March 23, 2002 |
Trivia[]
- It was main series' art director Michael Sporn's (who also did primary work on HBO Storybook Musicals) idea to hire Van Dyke Parks to write the series' songs.
- This series, as well as I Spy, was one of the last acquired shows to air Jam. While it wasn't technically acquired, HBO never actually owned the rights to Sony's series despite it being produced for them. Both of the aforementioned shows were taken off in July 2011.
- This wasn't the first time Harold was animated. In 1969, a short, animated adaptation of the original book was made by Weston Woods. The very first episode of this show is also an extended adaptation of the book as well. Many years later, we got an animated/live-action hybrid film that's released in August of 2024.
- Weston Woods also adapted the books Harold’s Fairy Tale and A Picture for Harold’s Room, both of which were directed by Gene Deitch.