Sketch (2025) is written & directed by Seth Worley. It stars Tony Hale, Bianca Belle, Kue Lawrence, Kalon Cox, D’Arcy Carden, Randa Newman, Jaxen Kenner, Genesis Rose Brown, Allie McCulloch, Nadia Benavides, Dajanae Cole, and Josh Inocalla. The film follows Amber Wyatt (Belle), a young girl who, after her mother’s death, finds solace in her creative yet strangely unsettling creature sketches. Meanwhile, her older brother, Jack (Lawrence), discovers a magical pond that can bring inanimate objects to life. Upon visiting, Amber accidentally drops her sketchbook in the water, causing all of her deadly creations to come alive and wreak havoc on their small town. In the midst of the chaos, Amber, Jack, and the goofy school bully, Bowman (Cox), set out to stop the monsters before it’s too late. This forces Taylor Wyatt (Hale), Amber and Jack’s dad, to confront these new threats in an attempt to save the only loved ones he has left. 

Tony Hale leads the film in what’s a surprisingly effective dramatic performance. His portrayal of a single father is both authentic and likable, but it also provides a level of maturity to the experience. The trio of young actors all give serviceable performances for their age, but in tandem with the sharp script, it results in some of the best child characters I’ve seen in a long time. All three are incredibly likable, but realistically flawed in the ways kids should be. The development of the dynamic between Bowman and the two siblings, especially, is a highlight. Kids this young rarely have ill intentions; they’re just a tad insensitive. There’s a sweetness in seeing Amber realize that Bowman isn’t evil, but there’s also a similar effect to seeing Bowman recognize that he has genuinely been hurting someone, which he regrets. It helps, too, that the comedy relating to these characters is well-timed and observant. I laughed far more often than I had expected, and a lot of that is due to the editing. 

Humor is one of the film’s biggest strengths, but it also features a clearly defined and nuanced take on the nature of grief. This works equally well for children and adults, but the theme never consumes the experience. If you want to take this simply as a silly Jurassic Park-inspired sci-fi adventure film, you can, and it works just as well. It’s also extremely well-edited and paced, not a single minute feeling superfluous. 

Most of the dialogue is effective, but some of it is overly cheesy, a common trait in this type of family film. Still, the good outweighs the bad, resulting in a mostly heart-warming effect. The only other slight issue I have is that the CGI monsters are noticeably cheap-looking. That being said, they’re actually quite impressive, considering the film’s smaller budget. Thankfully, everything is colorful and kinetic enough to catch the viewer’s eye, despite the lesser CGI.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and creative family film that features sharp humor, consistent action, clear themes, and likable characters. It’s an absolute shame that such an original and universally entertaining film like this immediately falls into obscurity while soulless, greedy, uninspired crap such as Lilo & Stitch (2025) and How to Train Your Dragon (2025) make a billion dollars. Sketch is at least 5 times better than both of those turds combined. B+