Upamanyu Biswas
The fantasy comedy ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ follows Harold, a young boy who lives inside a storybook world with his friends Moose and Porcupine. After the narrator disappears one day, Harold embarks on a journey into the real world to find his creator, Crockett Johnson. However, problems emerge when he runs into a fantasy author named Gary Natwick, who is struggling to get his writing career on track. Subsequently, Harold and Gary have to work out the ideal solution to both their issues, often leading to a catalog of gags and comical situations. Still, the best is reserved for last when Gary takes on a new life in the mid-credits scene.
Gary’s Failed Attempt to Court Queen Zerry
After the events of the film, Gary decides to embrace life outside reality as Harold builds him a portal into the fantasy land the former conceived for his latest novel, The Glaive of G’Garaur. The author had struggled to gain any recognition and validation in the real world and, like Harold, wished for a world that was better appreciative of his talents and more suited to his escapist adventures. Additionally, the love interest within his novel, Warrior Queen Zerry, is a character closely associated with Terry, Gary’s real-life crush. Since Terry has already shown no signs of reciprocating his feelings, Gary decides he is better off escaping into his fantasy land and building a new life with Queen Zerry. Unfortunately, the novelist finds his courting attempts spurned as Queen Zerry tells him she is already dating someone else.
There is a sense of irony in Queen Zerry’s rejection as Gary is rejected by his crush both in the real world and in his imagined fantasy. Thus, to some extent, the character must have internalized his feelings of one-sided love to such a degree that even in his wildest dreams, he cannot envision her ending up with him. It provides another amusing and unwanted situation for Gary, who has found himself time and again rejected by everyone around him. Still, given the size of his ego and ambition, it is unlikely to affect him any more than an ant bite. His larger-than-life personality is reflected in his fantasy persona, and he may have to figure out a new life in that world as the portal back to reality is destroyed in the final parts of the film. Yet, it gives him more chances to woo Queen Zerry.
Gary’s Life in the Fantasy World May Flatter to Deceive
Despite failing to gain the attention of his love interest, Gary’s life in the fantasy land is still stacked with all manner of possibilities. Given how the film imparts a message that insists on the merits of imagination and its importance in a person’s escape from the drudgery of real-life issues, it is unlikely that Gary’s life is all bad in the world he has walked into. Although he is not the most sympathetic character, the novelist still deserves some level of excitement and anticipation in his life, and by the look of things, he may have his fair share of it. For instance, the character avatar he takes on in the fantasy world is that of an adventurer and a dashing hero. It means that he may have a host of quests to undertake that may fill up and distract him from his depressing rejection from Queen Zerry.
Also, as mentioned above, he is unlikely to completely give up on Queen Zerry. He may keep trying to get together with her and break up her relationship with her current lover, paving the way for him in the future. In many ways, this suits and mirrors the type of character he is in real life as well. Thus, the likely possibility is that he will continue to be the person he was in real life and turn into a one-dimensional caricature of himself. Like the antagonistic force he was within the film itself, he is likely to do whatever he can to get into Queen Zerry’s good graces, even if it means foul practice or dashing hero work. It’s a more hopeful ending for him, but with the way the post-credits scene plays out, there is also a feeling of deserved comeuppance in Zerry’s rejection of him.
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