This whimsical animated series was based upon the illustrated children's book by Crockett Johnson, best known for his slyly satirical 1940s comic strip Barnaby. The title character, a poker-faced four-year-old boy, possessed a magical crayon that enabled him to embark on innumerable imaginary adventures, simply by "drawing" them. Decidedly cast against type, actress Sharon Stone supplied the low-key narration. Packaged by Sony Pictures Family Entertainment, Harold and the Purple Crayon joined the HBO Family Channel cable-TV lineup on January 5, 2002, and soon after the series accrued an Emmy award for best main title design. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi