2025 has seen the welcome return of family-friendly horror and fantasy films. Sketch, written and directed by Set Worley, is the strongest entry so far. It has one of the most unique and refreshing movie premises in recent years, brought to life by a combination of known names and future stars.

The story follows the dysfunctional Wyatt family as they process the death of their mother. Father Taylor (played by Tony Hale) shuts away his grief as his real estate agent sister Liz (D’Arcy Carden) tries to sell his house. Jack (Kue Lawrence) tries desperately to fix everything around him, while his sister Amber (Bianca Belle) shuts everyone out as she sketches increasingly violent and scary creatures attacking her family members and one annoying classmate (Kalon Cox). Amber’s sketchbook falls into a pond, which has the power to heal and bring to life anything that it touches. Unfortunately, this means Amber’s drawings are alive–and they’re on a rampage.

Sketch feels like a throwback to an earlier, golden age of family-oriented fantasy films. With its unflinching cartoon violence, outlandish yet compelling premise, strong themes of grief and child psychology, rude humor, occasional crude language and heroic child leads, the movie carries on a proud tradition popularized by the greats of the 1980s like E.T., The Goonies, Gremlins, The Monster Squad – and even turn-of-the-milennium titles of that ilk, such as Jumanji, The Pagemaster and Night at the Museum.

It’s a subgenre that has been neglected considerably in recent years, possibly due to how difficult it can be to balance tone. 2024’s Harold and the Purple Crayon, another family fantasy-comedy film, fumbled its source material and missed the mark. Sketch, thankfully, is a different story. It’s refreshing and encouraging to see this genre being revived and done well. Although it has some missteps and some heavy-handedness, Sketch manages to do what many films struggle to do in the 2020s: tell a good, strong original story, with just the right balance of humor, heartbreak, horror and wonder.

Worley’s cartoonish tale of grief, family drama and Crayola-colored violence is better for older kids who are grown and developed enough to differentiate reality from fiction–ages eight and older. The filmmaker clearly has some understanding of how to present the horror genre to young viewers, straying close to the playbook codified by R.L. Stine of Goosebumps fame. The premise is absurd, unrealistic and utterly impossible– so much so that developed children know it cannot happen. As creepy and off-putting as some of the artistic abominations are (and some of them are genuinely scary) the displays of grief, loss and anger are actually harder-hitting and more disturbing.

The Sketch cast is solid. Some of the performances skew rather wooden, and character development and individual arcs are rushed, glossed over or lacking in believability. Hale and Carden’s individual performances are respectable–they are able to convey sibling pettiness and awkwardness, and can ham things up when things get scary, emotional or serious when needed. Unfortunately, the material they have been given lacks finesse. Their dialogue, their characters’ development and their interactions are more stilted and rushed, compared to the amount of time and fleshing out the younger cast received. Considering Hale’s pedigree as Fear from Inside Out, and D’Arcy’s dramatic and comedic talents seen in The Good Place, it’s a shame these two didn’t get more time or chances to shine compared to their young co-stars.

Belle, Cox and Lawrence have the juicier roles, and for the most part, they carry them well. Belle is good as the prickly and temperamental, grieving artist Amber, and Cox gradually matures into the scene-stealing role of the obnoxious yet lovable comic relief Bowden. However, the standout performance belongs to Kue Lawrence. The young actorstarred in the disturbingly subversive summer camp horror movie Marshmallow earlier in 2025. This time, he has a more assertive and proactive role as Jack Wyatt, easily the most likable character in the film. With their endearing yet awkward chemistry, smart-alec dialogue and interpersonal drama, Belle, Lawrence and Cox could easily pass as long-lost members of the Goonies.

Sketch‘s monster effects are obviously reliant on CGI. However, this stylistic awkwardness is intentional, and works for the premise and the monsters’ deliberately childish designs. There are some practical effects that add to the monsters’ highly textured presence. Depending on the medium in which they were made, they leave behind stains of paint, melted crayon wax, chalk and pencil dust, and ink, and have different levels of creepiness and intimidation. Painted creatures spit glitter and have googly eyes. Chalk spiders skitter about in clouds of dust. Creatures made with sharpies and markers are harsh, jagged and more intimidating, with harder angles and squiggly lines. The scariest figure, made from crayon, borders on an eldritch humanoid monstrosity. They can be both scary and whimsical, and thanks to a clever balance between practical, CGI and even makeup effects, they feel tangible and weighty. It’s a lot of fun to see kids battling living drawings with improvised weapons.

Sketch has a lot to say about grief, mental health and family dynamics, and most of it is tender, nuanced and reasonably handled. It’s clear Worley’s sympathies lie with Amber more than her father or Jack. Not that they are treated less sympathetically, but the narrative would have been stronger if all three Wyatt family members had their demons treated equally, warts and all. The movie could have gotten its action rolling a lot sooner, and the dialogue could be less stilted and on-the-nose. At 90 minutes long, Sketch doesn’t overstay its welcome, but a bit more zeal and efficiency would have boosted its fantastic premise.

Much like its namesake, Sketch lacks polish and precision. But that doesn’t detract from its strong story, good cast, likable characters, relatable message, and fresh, imaginative plot and premise. In a sea of reboots and remakes, Sketch stands out for all of the right reasons.

Sketch is in theaters now. Video and photo credit: Courtesy of Angel Studios.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.