Beloved family classic Harold and the Purple Crayon takes on a fun new twist in the film adaptation, as a now-grown up Harold (Zachary Levi) draws a door to the real world, and takes adventure to another level. Accompanying our intrepid lead are his friends, Moose and Porcupine,  who step into the real world with Harold and turn into humans.

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The anxious Moose is played by acclaimed comedic actor Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Free Guy) who describes his character as wary. “Moose shares Harold’s sense of adventure, but he is not a fan of being out of his comfort zone,” says Howery. “He tries to make a little more sense of the new world, and I don’t think he is quite as gullible as Harold. He sees the world with maybe a little more of a skeptical eye.”

Director Carlos Saldanha says Howery really delivered on his performance as Moose. “With his background as a comedian, Rel has a great heart that really suits the character, the story telling and his friendship with Harold,” says Saldanha. Another one of Harold’s friends is the adventurous Porcupine, played by Tanya Reynolds, who was excited to play a character with an overall cool vibe.  “Porcupine’s got a lot of energy for such a tiny creature,” says Reynolds. “When she gets sucked into the real world, she’s really chuffed to have a human body. She’s got this kind of punky energy and a great head of hair. She looks wicked. She’s very cool—a lot cooler than me!”

Executive producer Jeremy Stein begs to disagree with Reynolds on her coolness factor.  “I’ve been a big fan of Tanya’s since seeing her in Sex Education,” he says. “She really provides a spark of energy and action to everything that she’s involved in.”Reynolds actually got down and studied real porcupines to see what kind of behavior she should include in her role. “I went to the zoo to study them,” she says. “I also just watched a lot of videos of porcupines going about their business—how they love to climb, the way they eat, and the way they move their noses. Obviously, we’re stretching the realms of reality and belief. I am a 5-foot-10-inch human being. It was just about taking little things that might be useful in my performance.”

Join the gang for an adventure of a lifetime as Harold and the Purple Crayon opens in PH cinemas on August 21.