# Harold and the Purple Crayon trailer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 21, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144 "2024-03-21T13:51:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/21 "2024-03-21T14:33:33Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Did it star Nelson Mandela as The Man In The Yellow Hat?. You’re thinking of Morgan Freeman. There certainly is a passing resemblance, and Morgan Freeman played Nelson Mandela in the movie _Invictus_, but Mandela was the president of South Africa and far too busy to play The Man in the Yellow Hat in a live action adaptation of Curious George. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/22 "2024-03-21T14:36:12Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > but Mandela was the president of South Africa I heard he died in prison, while reading a Berenstein bears book. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/23 "2024-03-21T14:38:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@Babale](#): > > > > but Mandela was the president of South Africa > > I heard he died in prison, while reading a Berenstein bears book That was also Morgan Freeman. But he didn’t die, he tunneled his way out with a spork, and he used a shelf full of Berenstein Bears books to cover the hole. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/24 "2024-03-21T14:38:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Already happened. Very forgettable. [So much so that apparently reality deleted it](https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/wwn2di/does_anyone_else_remember_a_live_action_curious/). But did he [have a tail](https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/5frybg/curious_george_doesnt_have_a_tail/)? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/25 "2024-03-21T14:42:44Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > That was also Morgan Freeman. Excuse me, but I think I’m in the wrong universe. Hollywood was considering Goodnight Moon, The Motion Picture, but everyone fell asleep before the trailer ended. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/26 "2024-03-21T14:43:26Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > But did he [have a tail](https://www.reddit.com/r/MandelaEffect/comments/5frybg/curious_george_doesnt_have_a_tail/)?. We need a gritty reboot of Curious George, where George becomes a full grown chimpanzee and the Man with the Yellow Hat has to deal with having that in his house. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/27 "2024-03-21T15:41:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Hollywood was considering Goodnight Moon, The Motion Picture, but everyone fell asleep before the trailer ended. They could do _Go the Fuck to Sleep_. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/28 "2024-03-21T16:05:27Z")
Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/29 "2024-03-21T16:06:11Z")
I would go see that. Its actually gettable audiobook from the library system. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/30 "2024-03-21T16:31:48Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Although a part of me wouldn’t be shocked if this were an elaborate prank, and we soon see a headline “Zachary Levi Tired of Movies, Turns To Making Fake Trailers Instead.” No such luck: [Harold and the Purple Crayon (film) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_and_the_Purple_Crayon_(film)) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/31 "2024-03-21T16:37:50Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > We need a gritty reboot of Curious George, The Swedish erotic thriller version, _I Am Curious (George)_. An adult chimp George becomes obsessed with simian social justice, bites off the penis of the MitYH, and then interviews Nelson Mandela. or Morgan Freeman. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/32 "2024-03-21T16:42:54Z")
I suspect this thread is more entertaining than the movie will be. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/33 "2024-03-21T17:06:13Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The Swedish erotic thriller version, _I Am Curious (George)_. A French tragedy, _La Curiosité de Georges_. The Man in the Yellow Hat is dating a woman, The Woman in the Red Beret. Georges (the French version of George), now an adult chimpanzee, develops an obsession with TWitRB. In a controversial scene that was banned outside of France, Georges watches the couple engage in intercourse. Eventually the relationship sours, and near the climax of the film, the MitYH is berating Georges for ripping the sink out of the countertop and the WitRB intervenes; the MitYH strikes her, and is then savagely mauled by Georges. The WitRB reveals that she reciprocates Georges’ fascination, and the pair escape into the Parisian night. The MitYH chases after them, eventually cornering them at the top of the observation deck at the top of the Eiffel Tower. There is a confrontation, and after Georges makes a threatening display, he is shot by security personnel and falls off the tower in a scene that echoes the ending of _King Kong_. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/34 "2024-03-21T18:28:25Z")
Ironically that thumbnail could be used to describe the actual _Dora The Explorer_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/35 "2024-03-21T18:59:05Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > and falls off the tower in a scene that echoes the ending of _King Kong_. Cherchez la femme. Oui. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/36 "2024-03-21T19:03:48Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > We need a gritty reboot of Curious George _Nope_ ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/37 "2024-03-21T19:09:31Z")
As for the trailer: a lovely children’s book is, IMO, untranslateable to a full-length movie. They’re just different mediums, in a way that the one cannot possibly capture the magic of the other. But people keep trying. Not because they are succeeding, but because there’s a crass cash grab to be made, behind: [Peter Rabbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Rabbit_(film)) [The Tale of Despereaux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Despereaux_(film)) [Ferdinand the Bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_(film)) [The Grinch](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2709692/) and many more. Once in awhile, an untranslateable children’s book becomes something interesting in its own right (I’m looking at you, Shrek). But far more often, it’s a cringefest start to finish. _Harold and the Purple Crayon_ was my absolute favorite when I was a tyke, and I wrote about my love for it in high school. This trailer looks like the mathematical opposite of everything charming about the book. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144/38 "2024-10-22T02:16:08Z")
In the end, this made $18m domestically and $13m abroad. The production budget was supposedly $40m, so a substantial money loser. > **[Harold and the Purple Crayon - Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2031190785/)** I’m mainly updating because I just read that Sony reportedly tried to sell this to Netflix, but even they wouldn’t buy it. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-10-21/the-new-netflix-movie-strategy-make-better-movies](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-10-21/the-new-netflix-movie-strategy-make-better-movies) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harold-and-the-purple-crayon-trailer/999144.md?page=1)