The Hero of Color City (2014) User Reviews (14)

A fun and empowering adventure for young children

[Gordon-11 · 3 March 2015]

This film tells the story of a young crayon who is often afraid. She is chased by a monster into Color City, and havoc ensues. She unwillingly enters an adventure that demonstrates her true skills and positive qualities, and along with other crayons, they become courageous heroes of Color City.

"The Hero of Color City" is cheerfully coloured with the brightest colours on the palette. The story is aimed at young children, and it provides a not so scary adventure for young children. It also tells a nice tale of not being afraid. I find the story empowering, and it can even serve as a role model for children who are afraid for whatever reasons. No one is too little to achieve great things!

Average film for young children

[WHYtehawk · 2/10 · 14 December 2014]

This film is average baby sitting filler / bargain bin DVD quality in regards to plot. It meets all the criteria to keep preschoolers watching. Don't expect to enjoy it if you're an adult but is harmless enough. The quality of animation is basic but it falls moreso in review due to the basic plot. My kids aged seven,five and three seemed entertained enough by it and I'm not a 30 yr old neckbeard who expects a children's film to also keep adults entertained with subtext and highly developed themes in children's flicks. They are what they are. Pixar quality films like Toy Story 3 are rare for a reason. Good to see Craig Ferguson getting work though.

Just awful

[sebineqselcire · 1/10 · 17 November 2019]

A mishmash of stereotypes, terrible dialogue (the maon character actually SAYS "Eeeek!" and sighs "Yaaay!" more than once), bizarrely poor deliveries by otherwise serviceable, well-known actors, lousy friends for the main character (at one point they cheer the idea of straight up murdering another character for, essentially, being found creepy by them!). The songs are catchy but insipid. Well, I suppose that's why it was at Dollar Tree and I'd never heard of it, despite the popular B listers on the billing.

Trickle Down Economics For Kids

[sanctuary_thirteen · 2/10 · 20 November 2016]

In this world, crayons are an elite ruling class who create "doodles" as lesser lifeforms dependent on the crayons for bright colors (monetary wealth). Crayons recharge their color via a rainbow waterfall which we find out that only they can absorb.

When one unfinished doodle (ironically dressed in the garb of royalty, when he is in fact an upstart in the face of the crayon aristocracy) attempts to bypass the crayons and absorb the bright color himself, he finds he cannot directly absorb it and dams up the waterfall. The crayons then, selflessly, attempt to distribute their remaining color among other doodles but feel their own color resources dwindling without access to the rainbow.

The climax relies on a cowardly crayon (yellow, naturally) who then reaches out to the oppressed doodles to work together, indicating the proletariat has no mouthpiece without the bourgeoisie to give it to him.

Essentially, it decries a populist attempt to bypass a power bottleneck as selfish and promotes the ruling elite crayons as some sort of necessary filter between resources and the doodles (people) who depend on it for life.

Probably not on purpose, as the rest of the film isn't clever enough to suggest there's any sort of intended subtlety. It's more likely that I watch this too much on Netflix with my kids, but there you go.

Dry

[valenjm · 1/10 · 6 June 2020]

The animation is ok, but the acting and storytelling is drier than Egypt in a drought. Everything is so stretched out and longer than it should be. And the stereotypes-red is sassy, yellow is a coward, blue is chill, white feels useless, black is depressed, and green is...obsessive-compulsive? Either way, the acting is really quiet and boring.

The shameless Toy Story rip-off

[arielsiere · 2/10 · 17 June 2022]

This is one of the worst movies from 2014 i would prefer to watch Big Hero 6 and Planes: Fire And Rescue better and i even feel sorry for well known voice actors such as Owen Wilson, Elizabeth Daily, Sean Astin, Christinna Ricci, Wayne Brady and Rosie Perez i feel bad for the people who had to appear in this abomination, come on they could have been in better tv shows and movies and Owen Wilson should be working with Lightning Mcqueen from the Cars franchise, Wayne Brady should be working on the Sofia The First franchise, Sean Astin should be working on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise and Rosie Perez and the 2 other girls should be working on better things. Oh man poor 6 persons should have been wasting they're lives.

Inspiring for young kids!

[jlefevers · 10/10 · 5 October 2014]

Bright, colorful and an inspiring film for young kids! The film has a great cast of voice-overs of current, relevant actors and the plot incorporates a variety of characters whose personalities creatively match the colors of their crayons. Likely most suited for younger kids of 8 years old, or under. For a computer generated film which ends in under one and half hours it keeps the attention of its young audience. For us adults, the movie takes us back to our childhood, or a time when crayons were main characters in our daily fun. Finally, the film has partnered with a non-profit organization, The Crayon Collection, which donates used crayons for those less fortunate kids.

Better Than Expected

[zsofikam · 6/10 · 1 October 2018]

I wasn't expecting much from Hero of Colour City but I was pleasantly surprised. There isn't much to it, but it's cute and there is some funny dialogue such as when Green complains that the crayons' young owner draws like a six-year-old to which Blue points out that he is a six-year-old. The theme of overcoming fear was also a welcome addition and the music was quite nice. I couldn't help but think that there were some questions left unanswered such as what happens when the crayons wear down and whether each crayon box has its own individual world inside or if they all lead to the same world. The animation is a mixed bag. On the one hand, there is a mysterious lack of motion blur. On the other hand, the animation itself, while not what it could be, is very expressive and vibrant. On the whole, The Hero Of Colour City turned out to be better than I was expecting. While not without its flaws, but most of them stem from things not being explained as much as they should be and I can't help but think that it could have been better if the world inside the crayon box and how it all works had been better explained. But for what it is, I liked it more than I was expecting and I can certainly see little kids enjoying it. As a bonus, the movie is partnered with the non-profit The Crayon Collection, which donates crayons for kids in need. I give it 6/10.

Darling for kids, not too shabby for their parents, either.

[cinnamonstyck · 9/10 · 30 January 2015]

As a parent who has had to sit through a lot of children's programming over the years, I really liked this little movie. The premise is cute, and there's a few jokes aimed at the parents in there. It's not so teeth-rottingly sweet as to be nauseating to Mom and Dad, the music is catchy, and the children's drawings come to life is an interesting concept that's not overdone. I've found myself asking my two year old if he'd like to watch the crayon movie again! The voice actor's list has some of my favorites on it including Sean Astin (from Goonies and The Lord Of The Rings) who I would never have pegged, although I knew it was familiar and I actually came to IMDb to see who the voice actor is. It also stars Owen Wilson and Christina Ricci, Craig Ferguson and Wayne Brady. Put the movie on for your kiddos- mine love it!

Deserved to do better than it did

[shelleyegoodman · 9/10 · 5 April 2017]

This movie deserved to do better than it did. It is colourful, charming and touching. A must- watch for kids and kids at heart. It is great for keeping kids entertained without making parents want to join the circus. I may not recommend it to a two-year old, but it would be good for a six. With all the awful Saturday Disney around I can't see why this movie did so poorly

Great toddler film

[monica-mroch · 8/10 · 6 March 2017]

My three and four (now five) year olds LOVE this movie. It's terrific for little ones, and I prefer this to many more popular and money making films that cast a wider net that targets a broader age spectrum but also exposes little ones to more fearful subjects and tidal waves of verbage that they don't understand...and vocabulary/behaviors that I don't want them to imitate. I was surprised to read that this is the all-time lowest grossing animated feature film, but there you go. We watch it on Netflix.

My daughter loves this movie!

[jenc-94022 · 8/10 · 14 September 2015]

My 3 1/2 year old daughter just picked out this film at the store recently. I never even heard of this movie until now. It's a really cute movie that has an awesome cast of movie stars in it.

And my daughter absolutely loves this movie!!! She can watch it over and over and over.

She especially enjoys all the songs throughout the film and even sings them by herself now.

I think this movie hasn't gotten the exposure it deserves. I really think a lot of children would really enjoy this film just like my daughter does.

Red sexy?

[sunnydash-13434 · 10/10 · 6 March 2021]

I luv this movle it good. I watch it nightly and on repeat, I never turn it off. And man, red? What a sexy crayon she is. <3 <3 <3 AWOOGA

New favorite animated movie!

[limelemonrocks · 10/10 · 10 October 2015]

The Hero of Color City is one of my new all time favorite animated movies! The story is about a boy named Ben. When he falls asleep, his crayons come to life! There's are lots of color, music, and magic! When I first saw this movie, it blew my mind away! The animation is well done. What's makes this movie more interesting is you hear the voice of Lighting McQueen from Cars in this movie, Owen Wilson. This movie is great for young kids and it's not dark or violent at all. The music is flawless, and the songs are well fitting. This movie has some things that could make you laugh. I like how this movie has a river that has a mix of colors like, red, blue, orange, green, yellow, and purple. An unforgettable adventure! You don't want to miss it!