A Blast from the Past

## Stats

**A Blast from the Past** is the eighth episode of the series *Harold and the Purple Crayon* that aired on February 16, 2002.

## Summary

It was time for Harold to go to bed one night, but as usually Harold couldn't sleep, and instead was more interested in reading his new book about dinosaurs. He loved dinosaurs, in fact, he had a footprint fossil of his very own in his drawer. Harold wondered about dinosaurs, as to why they don't exist anymore or even wanting to ride a long, big-necked dinosaur.

With the help of his purple crayon, Harold begins to create a prehistoric jungle. Harold ventures through it through song, swinging on the vines and meeting ravenous Venus flytraps, and even a snail who's big shadow resembled a big dinosaur, but he couldn't really find the dinosaur he wanted to ride, nor any dinosaur at all. He stops to rest but wakes up a triceratops who doesn't appear to be all too nice. Harold draws a donut to sweeten it, but the triceratops doesn't eat it and gets ready to charge at Harold, but a pterodactyl picks him up at the right timing. She takes him to her nest.

While Harold was relieved that the pterodactyl saved his life, he decided to continue on with his quest to find a brachiosaurus. But when he leaves the pterodactyl's nest, she picks Harold back up and places him right on top of her eggs. Harold then gets the idea to disguise himself with a sketched bush, but that plan fails as well and she catches him. The pterodactyl flies off, giving Harold the chance to run away. Although he realizes out that he is running on one of the nest's eggs, and the spinning causes it to hatch, out coming another baby orange pterodactyl. Harold and the pterodactyl get scared of each other and run and hide, until they bump into each other and realize there's nothing to be scared of.

Harold invites the pterodactyl on his hunt to find the brachiosaurus. They stumble down the mountain the nest is on, making the pterodactyl and Harold as well, thirsty. The pterodactyl dips his head into the pond in front of them but it is dark brown and sticky, and it briefly makes his mouth stuck together. Harold draws a dipper and sees what is wrong with the pond water, and finds out that the pond water isn't water - it is a tar pit. Nevertheless, Harold draws a pitcher of lemonade and pours him and his new pal a glass. Suddenly the place begins to shake, and a volcano erupts. Harold, along with a team of dinosaurs plus the pterodactyl, run off quickly. Harold doodles a big drain for the lava to go in, which works for a brief moment until it just fills up. Everybody tries escaping the flowing lava with the help of each other. Eventually, they reach a dead end and the lava is still coming towards them. Harold draws a fire hydrant and hose and sprays the lava, cooling it off and changing it to rock. But that's not it, and more lava comes spewing out. Harold draws a brick wall which keeps them safe for the moment, and then draws a cork onto the volcano, which finally stops the lava. The pterodactyl was so thrilled, that he began flying, at least for a little bit.

The dinosaurs celebrate their survival by feasting on pine cones. Harold of course, backs out of eating pine cones as he can't even do so, and he still needs to find his long neck dinosaur. A purple brachiosaurus comes stomping by, and while Harold was glad to finally find the dinosaur he wanted to ride, he figures that it's not the right time to ask as the dinosaur seems ferocious. Feared, Harold draws a knight helmet on his head, while the pterodactyl taunts the brachiosaurus and flies all around his head, dodging every bite he takes at the pterodactyl. This gave Harold the time to think of a plan, and he draws a bag of marbles that he empties under the dinosaur's feet. It rolls around on the marbles and trips in the tar pit. The other dinosaurs are relieved, but run off when the brachiosaurus roars. Harold knew he had to save the brachiosaurus from the tar, so he creates a tractor and the pterodactyl wraps a string around him, then Harold drives the tractor and pulls him out. The brachiosaurus explains that he was only angry because the dinosaurs ate all his pine cones he had been saving, and was now hungry, so Harold draws him bigger pine cones. In return, the brachiosaurus gives Harold his long-waited dinosaur ride through the jungle, and the pterodactyl rides with him. After the ride the pterodactyl's mother comes to them, and is happy to see her lost child. Harold does the pterodactyl's shake dance that he did to say goodbye, and everyone leaves. Harold was sad as this goodbye was official, and he would never see dinosaurs again. But one thing he knew, was that the moon would never leave him, and so he draws his bedroom and goes to his bed, where he will be safer there instead of a wild dinosaur land.