'Sketch' review: Tony Hale and D'Arcy Carden get silly in terrific, kid-friendly adventure

Of late, the inner turmoil of little girls has birthed a string of movies about big emotions and monsters. Inside Out 2 introduced Anxiety to the feelings crew, pitching its heroine into adolescent social panic. Imaginary spun a horror story of a forgotten imaginary friend gone vengeful, while Netflix's animated adventure The Imaginary focused on the personal growth of an imaginary friend dreamed up by a grieving little girl. Then the woefully overstuffed and underwhelming If, from John Krasinski, had another grieving young heroine coping with her emotions through rescuing abandoned imaginary friends (or IFs).

All this means Sketch comes into a crowded field. And yet this inventive indie with a similar setup spins a wondrous and wacky story all its own.

The feature directorial debut of Seth Worley, Sketch centers on the Wyatts, who are struggling to process their pain in the wake of their mother's death. Widowed dad Taylor (The Decameron's Tony Hale) strives to be upbeat, tucking away mementos of the kids' mum as if that'll hide away the agony. Eldest child Jack (Kue Lawrence) follows his father's lead, determined that a good attitude can fix any problem. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Amber (Bianca Belle) is filled with rage, which spills out in a sketchbook where she scribbles vicious monsters in violent scenarios. But when a bit of magic brings these creations to life, the family must face their hurt head-on and team up to save the day from these creative manifestations of mourning.

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Bringing together a strong, kid-friendly premise and a deeply crafty sensibility, Worley builds a visual world of imagination and emotion that's a twisted pleasure to visit.

Sketch dazzles with its distinctive design.

Forget glorious hand-drawn animation or a cavalcade of balloon-like CGI cartoons. Worley, who has a background as a visual effects artist, uses computer graphics to create a sublimely hand-drawn feel by building Amber's beasts as they are drawn. Think creatures fully fleshed-out but made of scribbles, their limbs wiry and a little bit wrong, their mouths spewing glitter, their tracks leaving splotches of color behind. With textures of waxy crayon, slippery marker streaks, and stippled chalk, these are monsters unlike any we've seen in movies before. They are monsters you'd see in a kid's doodles, complete with googly eyes, glitter flourishes, crooked fangs, and a thirst for blood.

Unbridled joy bursts forth from even Sketch's most suspenseful action scenes, because of the delightful absurdity of these designs. They're creepy but not outright scary, making this a sensational movie for kids who are beginning to get into horror but aren't ready to go to sleep with goosebumps. Actually Sketch has a very Goosebumps vibe, from its playful score to its colorfully creepy world and child heroes, who are sharply drawn.

Behind his can-do attitude, Jack carries a heavy self-imposed burden that makes him fiercely protective of his sister. He's not afraid to call a kid a "b-hole" if he has it coming! Amber wears a furrowed brow, but her eyes glow bright when she's talking about her drawings — even the grisliest ones. The siblings' reluctant sidekick in this spirited adventure is classmate Bowman (Kalon Cox), a big mouth who is 95 percent bad impulses and 5 percent goofball. Clamoring for creative solutions to the very creative problem of rampaging drawings, they'll grab water guns and other improvisational weapons. But their greatest tool is their chaotic chemistry. When they collide, sparks fly — as well as juvenile insults — and it's Goonies-style drama, alive with silliness.

Tony Hale and D'Arcy Carden lend stellar support.

Hale has been a supreme supporting player on everything from Arrested Development to VEEP, The Decameron, Inside Out 2, Toy Story 4, and Hocus Pocus 2. But here, he's far less of a buffoon. Worley, who also scripted Sketch, which Hale produced, gives the celebrated "that guy" a role that's a bit more grounded. With a warm but not comically broad smile, Hale swiftly establishes Taylor as a devoted dad. There'll be moments of frustration and even moments when he's not mad — say it with me — he's just disappointed. And these hit home because Hale's performance walks the line between family-friendly broad comedy and tender family drama. When an eager Amber shows off her drawings of vicious birds atop a pile of bodies, Hale's expression is a look of mingled pride and revulsion that deftly establishes this strong but straining father-daughter bond. He marvels at her, even as he's a bit freaked out by her potential.

Playing Taylor's sister Liz, D'Arcy Carden, the Emmy-winning Janet of The Good Place, gives off major "cool aunt vibes" from the moment she swaggers onto scene, ready to throw her skills as a real estate agent toward helping this family move on (or at least move out of the family home). Alternatively dishing out tough love to her brother (wanted or not) and marveling over her niece's dangerous creativity ("I love her brain!"), Liz provides a path forward for a family so lost in grief they've forgotten how to talk to each other. But as emotional as this movie can be — with maybe one too many stops in the action to discuss feelings —  it is above all things funny and joyful.

Yes, there's talk of death, and grief, and deadly monsters, and multiple scenes where children are fleeing for their lives. But laced throughout is a vibrant thread of humor that celebrates the messiness of family, being young, and being hurt, and it exists without mocking its characters. These wonderfully entertaining bits make up for a third act that gets a bit clunky. Comedy comes from the understandably exasperated look of a dad whose last nerve is fraying, from the little girl whose defiant backtalk is vexingly silly, from the squabbling of kids that is as frenzied as it can be outrageous.

Worley doesn't just keep things light to keep Sketch as appropriate for kids as it is for parents (something Krasinski did not manage). This tone, mixing horrific elements with delightful ones, underscores the very message of the movie: that life is both, and ignoring one won't make it go away — quite the opposite, actually!

In the end, Sketch is a fantastically fun and heartwarming movie with a slathering of weird that makes it a real treat.

Sketch was reviewed out of its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.