Naman Shrestha
With Zachary Levi stepping into the titular role, ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ follows Harold, an adventurous soul who has the ability to bring anything he draws into existence with the help of his purple crayon. His ability works wonders when he ends up drawing himself off the book’s pages, bringing himself into the physical world along with his friends Moose and Porcupine. During his adventures in the real world, he comes to the realization that he has a lot of learning to do, thanks to a widowed single mother named Terri and her son Mel.
However, trouble arises in the real world when the power of unlimited imagination is misused by someone evil. Now, it is the responsibility of Harold and his sidekicks to come to the rescue of the physical world and the world where he came from. Based on the beloved 1955 children’s picture book by Crockett Johnson, the fantasy adventure movie is helmed by Carlos Saldanha and features various other well-established actors besides Zachary Levi, including Lil Rel Howery, Jemaine Clement, Tanya Reynolds, and Zooey Deschanel. Given the visual effects and intriguing backdrops of the movie, questions about the real-life locations of the film are bound to be raised in the viewers’ minds.
Harold and the Purple Crayon Filming Locations
‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ is set in Providence, but that’s not where the shooting was carried out. In reality, the city of Atlanta in the state of Georgia is where the filming took place in its entirety. The production seemingly commenced around January 2022 and ended in April of the same year. Since the fantasy film is a fun blend of live-action and animation, the cast and crew had a lot of fun bringing the project to life under the artistic vision of the cinematographer Gabriel Beristain as well as the director.
Atlanta, Georgia
‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ was filmed in several areas of the capital city of the southeastern state of Georgia. The creative techniques employed in the movie are just as interesting as its storyline. In an interview with Animation Scoop, Carlos Saldanha spilled the beans on the filming process, including the animation aspect. When asked how they pulled off an impressive sequence set in a store, likely one from the famous chain — Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, he stated, “No, it was a made up kind of store that we did. We shot in Atlanta, so we had to shoot Atlanta for Providence. Movie magic right there (laughs).”
The Brazilian director added, “But you know what’s funny about that sequence in the store? I use the storyboard guide from my movies. We wanted some crazy ideas in the store, so we brainstormed. So I treated that scene almost as an animated sequence where I kinda storyboarded the sequence and created impossible creations in the store. And then we tried to make it happen in the real store with the FX guy and it was really fun. It was a really big challenge, but it was a lot of fun to see that kind of coming from a storyboard, from a drawing, to reality in shooting like reality.”
The city of Atlanta provided the cast and crew members with the necessary facilities required to paint the visual canvas of the movie. Atlanta is home to a huge number of first-rate production complexes, such as Tyler Perry Studios and Trilith Studios, and also offers a generous tax credit which ultimately aids in curbing the cost of production without compromising on the quality. Furthermore, it offers a varied assortment of filming sites that can double up as an urban city, countryside, an isolated retro town, as well as a suburb, which makes it one of the favored shooting locations for filmmakers across the globe.
Over the years, Atlanta has hosted the production of thousands of movies and shows. The local talents, as well as the aforementioned aspects, have led it to be labeled as the Hollywood of the South. Some of the popular movies and television shows that were shot in Hotlanta are ‘Loki,’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,’ ‘Gifted,’ ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,’ ‘Jungle Cruise,’ and ‘Stargirl.’ Therefore, it is not surprising why the cast and crew members of ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ visited the city to tape their fantasy ride.
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