King Scrawl is plugging Rainbow Falls and causing all the crayons to fade. Will the gang – cool Blue, nerdy Green, Noo Yawka stereotype Red – learn to face their fears and colour outside the lines? Christina Ricci voices fearful Yellow, the hero of this kaleidoscopic, Toy Story-lite tale of crayons who come to life for a forgettable journey to nowhere in particular (typical pitstop: the spa). It should appeal to the little ones, but there’s not much here for the over-sixes. Half-hearted genuflections towards knowing humour (“You gotta think outside the crayon box on this one, Yellow!”) and characters (a Jerry Lewis scientist – yawn) feel insipid and cynical. But there’s a nice scene featuring an outcast crew of unfinished drawings, including Owen Wilson as a dragon, and I did like the existential White crayon, agonising over not fulfilling his destiny because nobody ever colours in white.
