Product Info

Studio

Angel Studios

Director

Seth Worley

Genre

Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Horror

Rated

PG

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Aug 6, 2025

Film Length

1hr 33min

Purchase From

Amazon

Official Store

Sketch is a surprisingly entertaining film with a dark tone theme and a refreshing story for families to enjoy.

Taking a Step Forward

Copyright © 2025 by Angel, All Rights Reserved

The film revolves around a small family of three who lost the mother of the household. The widowed father, Taylor Wyatt, played by Tony Hale (Toy Story 4, Arrested Development), and his real-estate sister, Liz, played by D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place, Barry), are in the middle of selling Taylor’s house to try to move forward with life after losing his wife. His two children, Jack, played by Kue Lawrence (Devil May Cry, The School Duel), and Amber, played by Bianca Belle (Sweet Magnolias, Lady in the Lake), are still mourning the loss of their mother. 

Amber, who enjoys sketching, drew many positive illustrations such as butterflies. However, after her mother’s passing, her emotions went down and she began drawing darker toned imagery of monster figures in a horror tone such as stabbing a bully from her bus named Bowman, played by Kalon Cox (Preschool in L.A.). Her school finds out about her drawings and she is reported to the school’s therapist. In a room with Taylor, Amber, and the school therapist, the therapist explains to Taylor that Amber should not suppress her anger and instead channel it through her sketchbook. The dialogue in this scene is quite powerful as it embraces Amber’s feelings and directs them to something positive instead of suppressing them.

Jack, who enjoys playing video games, comes across a mysterious pond in a forest near their house. Upon looking at it, he accidentally drops his smartphone. Fishing it out with his injured hand, he successfully gets his phone out but realizes that the cracked screen is fixed and the cut on his hand was healed instantly. To test the pond again, he returns to drop in a broken plate that his mother used for special occasions. After pulling out the plate from the pond, it was magically fixed.

The film showcases how the children are learning life lessons, and even Taylor realizes how he could have done a better job communicating and understanding his children’s feelings before taking action for himself.

Coming to Life

Copyright © 2025 by Angel, All Rights Reserved

Amber notices Jack’s weird behavior and his sneaking around and follows him. Confronting Jack, at the pond, Amber accidentally drops her sketchbook into the pond. Pulling it out, the notebook was damaged but noticed her drawings were missing. Later, obscure noises from the forest and yellow painted splatters scattered on the family’s window. Confused, the family continues their day with the kids picked up from the school bus and Taylor and his sister preparing the house for real estate viewing. However, things continue to get weirder as the bus confronts a large blue sketch-looking monster with googly eyes approaching the bus. It’s amusing but gives off a scary vibe in a comical way.

Sketch starts off real strong, building up the story and foreshadowing of monsters coming to life. As the film progresses, the pacing begins to dip and drag through the middle of the film. There are still some enjoyable scenes, such as the children preparing to counterattack the illustrated monsters but at the same time it feels longer than it should be. The story picks up towards the climax when Amber confronts her drawings that resemble her negative feelings toward society. The main characters, Amber, Jack, Taylor, and Liz, all performed very well in their roles. The majority of the side characters played their parts but didn’t have enough of an impact.

Overall, the film is enjoyable despite the pace issues. It balances humor, darkness, and emotions very well and surprisingly, it’s rated PG. Compared to Hollywood films today, it’s a breath of fresh air, and the film industry needs more originality than sequels and remakes.

Sketchy and Amusing

Copyright © 2025 by Angel, All Rights Reserved

The animation style resembles a sketch-drawing figure that works really well when adapted in live-action scenery. Its quirky and creepy movements make the scenes enjoyable even with its dark tone of the monsters attacking. How can you not get amusement from a blue ball with two elongated legs and googly eyes attacking a school bus?

Cinematic shots are done well in Sketch, utilizing camera angles, depth of field, and transitions to make the film more interesting. Giving more pop in simple scenes such as Amber flipping through her notebook and the feel of the size differences of some of these artistic-looking monsters.

The Final Sketch

Sketch is a refreshing and powerful film that skillfully balances themes of grief, darkness, and comedy. It is a movie that families should watch together on a movie night. Grab some popcorn and enjoy!

An early screening provided for this review. Sketch available to stream, more information available on the official website. Additional information about the film available on the movie’s website.