PLOT: Grief and creativity collide when a single dad, still reeling from the unexpected loss of his wife, navigates uncharted territory with his daughter, who is grappling with the sudden loss of her mother and retreats into her sketchbook drawing monsters as a way to cope with overwhelming emotions. When her sketches begin to come to life, strange and terrifying figures emerge, unleashing chaos on her small town. With the help of her father and a few loyal friends, she must learn to face her feelings and find healing within herself.
REVIEW: Making movies about tough subjects like grief is challenging, but incorporating them into a kid-friendly film can be daunting. Sketch, the feature directorial debut from Seth Worley, aims to tell a story about grief and dealing with the loss of a close family member in a tale full of fantastical creatures. Combining live action with creatively animated monsters, Sketch expands on Worley’s short film, Darker Colors, with impressive special effects, solid performances from the adult and child actors in the cast, and a tone that harkens back to the great Amblin movies of the 1980s. In short, Sketch is the best live-action family movie in a long time and a solid first project from a filmmaker we should all watch.
Following the Wyatt family, Sketch shows us pre-teen siblings Amber (Bianca Belle) and Jack (Kue Lawrence) who are still reeling from the death of their mother. Their father, Taylor (Tony Hale), struggles with being a single parent and mourning his wife. Taylor’s sister, Liz (D’Arcy Carden), is a realtor helping sell their home to help the family move on. At school, Amber struggles with a bully, Bowman Lynch (Kalon Cox), and gets in trouble for drawing disturbing images of classmates. Taylor and Jack cannot figure out how to help Amber deal with her emotions, which becomes an even bigger issue when the kids stumble upon a magical pond near their home. The pond can fix anything that falls into it, but also turns Amber’s drawings into living creatures. With their town overrun by Amber’s imaginative monstrosities, the kids must figure out how to fight back while Taylor and Liz try to save them.
I was hesitant when I first watched Sketch. Hailing from Angel Studios, the producers of Sound of Freedom, I worried there would be religious undertones that could spoil the film with heavy-handed messaging. While there is nothing inherently wrong with religiously-themed movies, it can sometimes limit films from reaching broader audiences. Sketch has no issues in that regard. A well-crafted story that balances challenging themes in a way that neither panders to younger audiences nor skips the more complex parts of discussing death and grief, Sketch benefits from showcasing sincere interactions between adults and kids and between the kids themselves. D’Arcy Carden and Tony Hale have had long and successful track records in comedic projects. Still, both balance the humorous elements of this story with dramatic prowess that makes their sibling dynamic as believable as the one between Bianca and Kue. The scenes featuring Hale and Carden are less frequent than the child characters, but because they are both very likable actors, it makes their scenes with the kids ring true.
Bianca Belle and Kue Lawrence excel as the maternal orphans (aka “morphans”). While the comedic relief comes from Kalon Cox as third wheel Bowman, Belle evokes the sadness of a child reflecting on missing her mother and not knowing how to cope. At the same time, Lawrence is relatable as the older brother trying to keep his family together while dealing with his feelings. I appreciate that when the kids talk to each other and adults, it feels like how kids would talk rather than an adult’s impression of what kids would sound like. I also appreciate that the visualization of Amber’s drawings looks like a child’s creations come to life. One particular creation may be scary for younger viewers, but it reminded me of the scariest bad guys I can recall, like Large Marge from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure or Mombi from Return to Oz.
Writer/director Seth Worley expands on his short film Darker Colors, which includes some key moments recreated in Sketch. At just over ninety minutes, Worley lives up to Tony Hale’s description of the movie as Jurassic Park meets Inside Out. There are plenty of moments in Sketch that show CGI on a scale that is impressive for a film not financed by a major studio, and elevates the action we usually do not see in movies aimed at kids. Worley has cast the kids well here as they are the film stars, with the adults anchoring the story. There is a fun score by Cody Fry that keeps the energy light but never treats the subject matter as anything other than life or death. So many family-friendly movies are sanitized and free of real stakes by clearing even the most mild profanity or dancing around touchy subjects. Still, Sketch digs right into the most complex elements and respectfully allows the fun to occur without diluting the core message that it is okay to be sad, no matter who you are.
A worthwhile film that is impressive in an era where it is hard to make movies for all ages that appeal to all ages, Sketch is a remarkable debut from filmmaker Seth Worley, who will be in high demand once this movie hits theaters. I enjoyed the concept and respect how the story handles the material. I am impressed by how much I bought into the special effects, which have a unique quality that makes them look unrealistic but feel completely tangible. Sketch has grounded performances from Tony Hale and D’Arcy Carden, who typically play the comic relief, but give this movie a platform that allows young stars Bianca Belle and Kue Lawrence to deliver in their roles. Full of love, genuine emotion, and even more authentic adventure, Sketch is a surprise that I would recommend to parents looking for challenging fare for younger viewers and general audiences who like heartfelt, good movies.
Source:
JoBlo.com
