Review of Sketch: Tender Tony Hale is the Mainstay of an Incredible

In author-director Seth Worley's Spielbergian debut feature film, which also stars D'Arcy Carden, a young girl of ten years old experiences her anguish through the manifestation of violent paintings that come to life.

If you were to take the wide-eyed wonder of a Steven Spielberg, the impish mischief of a Joe Dante, and the vibrant visuals of prime Pixar and somehow blitz them together in a Magic Bullet blender, the resulting concoction might almost certainly resemble Sketch, which is an audaciously gonzo first feature film directed by Seth Worley.

An unorthodox take on family therapy in which a 10-year-old girl's anguish manifests in violent drawings that come to life is featured in the tween story, which, despite the fact that it may be admittedly lacking in singular originality, more than compensates for all of its copied pieces with a sugar rush of a live-action frolic that is reminiscent of Skittles.

Working with an engaging and spirited cast and a talented visual effects crew, Worley, a VFX enthusiast whose previous directorial output has been primarily in the field of corporate-branded videos, creates a crowd-tickler that is impossible to resist and is suitable for audiences of all ages. It appears that distribution will be secured shortly after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.

A well-meaning but ignorant father named Taylor Wyatt (played by Tony Hale), who is struggling to navigate daily life in the aftermath of the death of his wife, and his children, Amber (played by Bianca Belle) and Jack (played by Kue Lawrence), each have their own unique approach to dealing with the loss of their loved one. On the other hand, Amber wears her artwork on her sleeve, with pictures of monsters pursuing horrible revenge against a bothersome classmate. This is in contrast to the behavior of the male members of the family, who tend to bottle up their unsaid grief. They cause her teachers to be concerned, but they also garner the support of a therapist, who provides her with a composition book so that she can safely work through her anger issues.

While this is going on, Jack, who is more reserved, has discovered a mysterious pond in the woods that has been shown to have the ability to restore broken objects. He is curious about the implications that these healing powers might have on his mother's dispersed ashes.You may also read this: Discuss Alien: Romulus Review with Fellow Fans

Just when he’s about to act on his theory, Amber’s sketchbook inadvertently lands in the murky water, and before you can say Babadook, a flood of her wicked and twisted inventions come to life, wreaking havoc on everything in their way. As Amber, Jack and talky Bowman (Kalon Cox), the initial object of Amber’s ire, join forces to ward off their opponents, clueless Dad, whose realtor sister (D’Arcy Carden) has the listing on their property, is preoccupied merely trying to get the place in order.

While Worley has maintained that from the beginning the pitch for Sketch was “Inside Out meets Jurassic Park,” one can’t help but also see aspects of Goonies, Gremlins, Goosebumps, Stranger Things and Where the Wild Things Are peppered in for good measure.

All that derivation might have been a glaring liability in lesser hands, but Worley has adroitly combined the mega-mash-up into a compelling whole, with the support of a likable cast and a crack technical team. Hale tamps down the edges of his more neurotic Arrested Development and Veep personalities to play the anchoring role of a completely regular dad just trying to figure out the right way ahead for his damaged family. He’s the relative calm in a churning sea of mayhem.

That pandemonium is calibrated for maximum audacity owing to visual effects supervisor Dan Sturm’s sensibly incorporated CGI, which doesn’t scrimp on the wow factor and is further pumped up by composer Cody Fry’s cacophonous, rowdy score.

Granted, the picture might have used more restraint in the frenetic, pop culture-infused conversation between the kids, and Worley is guilty of leaning in a little too strongly on the dead mom trope. But the upshot still packs a buoyant punch.

Grief has never been processed with such eye-popping panache.