The average moviegoer likely doesn't pay much attention to which studio is behind releasing the movie they're forking over their hard-earned money to see. Sure, there's the Marvels and A24s of the world that have made names for themselves in certain genres and through particular creative risks. But overall, it's the movie that sells tickets, not the studio behind it.
That said, Angel Studios is quickly establishing a name for itself in conservative and Christian circles since its 2020 launch (well, rebrand, after a lawsuit accusing them of butchering "objectionable" content out of existing films forced them nearly out of business); the studio has funded and released fare popular with right-leaning audiences including Sound of Freedom, King of Kings and Green and Gold. Their releases are typically backed by robust impact marketing campaigns designed to create advocates out of audiences, enlisting them to spread the word about the movie. (Sound familiar?)
Their latest release, Sketch, is, for lack of a better way to put it, surprisingly mainstream. A Toronto International Film Festival premiere last year, the film marks writer/director Seth Worley's feature filmmaking debut. Starring Tony Hale (Arrested Development) and D'Arcy Carden (The Good Place), Sketch is wholesome without being preachy, a family adventure that instills plenty of worthy lessons without any mention of morals or right and wrong. The concept, about a girl's sketchbook creations coming to animated life and wreaking havoc on a small town, is clever and original, and Worley and his team managed to find some of the finest child actors in recent memory to carry the bulk of the narrative load here.
Hale is Taylor Wyatt, a widower and single dad to brother and sister Jack (Kue Lawrence) and Amber (Bianca Belle); Carden's Liz is Taylor's sister and the real estate agent selling Taylor's family home so he and the kids can get a new start. Amber and Jack are dealing with their grief and all their changes the best they can, but there's tension between the kids and their dad, especially when they start acting out at school or questioning just how invested he is in their day-to-day lives. Amber has a habit of sketching her thoughts and feelings in a notebook she insists Taylor shouldn't look at—which of course he does. The story delves happily into fable territory when Jack discovers a pond behind their house with magical properties, and after dropping Ambers notebook in the water, her sketches start to come to life.
The kids are on their own against the sketched creations, with Taylor and Liz in hot pursuit to try to save them from these inexplicable creatures popping up everywhere. The result is both the kids and their dad on their own hero adventures, quests that will help them discover who they are and what they're capable of individually before reuniting and realizing their collective strength. There's a bittersweet subplot tracing Jack's grief and what he wants to do with his mother's ashes, and a school bully, Bowman (Kalon Cox), who the siblings must tolerate but learn to befriend.
Sketch is the kind of original family adventure rarely seen these days; regardless of its actual budget, the film feels big and bold, with wonderful effects and animations that infuse the sweet story with awe and wonder. The "scary" monsters aren't, really, but they are lovingly crafted with a quiver to the lines and colors, making them look all the more childlike. The top-notch cast doesn't hurt, either; Hale gets a chance to shine as an average guy facing life's challenges and hurdles in the best way he knows how. His talent emerges beautifully beyond the "Buster" gimmicks and Veep bagman antics.
But most impressive here are Lawrence and Belle as two kids really going through it; each of their performances is nuanced beyond their years, and they each deliver Worley's thoughtful, natural lines with ease. In a film that lives or dies by its central kid performances, I shudder to imagine how insufferable Sketch would have been if the roles of Amber and Jack were less well-acted. As it is, credit to Worley's direction and script, as well as their own natural talents.
Though the premise and execution of Sketch are endearingly original, its overall arc is relatively predictable; this is a family film after all. It's not a spoiler to say that the Wyatt family reunites, lessons of love and courage and togetherness learned, and that those dastardly sketched monsters get their due. The fact that it's all done with a light touch, with a finesse that weaves the lessons into the happenings rather than thumping us over the head with them, is a welcome approach and, to be honest, what makes the whole thing palatable.
Given their track record, Sketch marks a potential turning point for Angel Studios; their previous releases might have gained strong followings, but it's also true that those followings were actually rather limited in scope, often getting stuck in conservative echo chambers. If the company hopes to reach more audiences with the sort of wholesome, positive messaging they strive to champion, they'd do well to finance and distribute more films like Sketch, where the takeaways are clear and universal without the audience having to ascribe to any particular ideology or political leaning to appreciate them.
Sketch is now in theaters.
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