Sketch

I got to see this movie at TIFF. I absolutely loved the depth of the emotion of this movie and definitely both laughed and cried out loud. The performances are incredible, in particular the kids. The VFX are also incredibly well realized - there is so much texture and unique detailing in the creatures, which is cool, but it also really serves the plot and the role they play in the story. I am not a parent, so I can't speak to how kid-appropriate it is for younger ages, but I think this is a perfect movie for truly anyone old enough to understand death and loss. I will definitely be recommending this to many people.

This 2024 film by Seth Worley, was inspired by his short film, "Dark Colors". This is a surprisingly entertaining film. It seems to be by it's marketing to young moviegoers, but it has a darker set up. Advertised as a comedy fantasy, it's more of a black comedy arched more to horror.

The premise is about a family in mourning, a father and two children. One child, "Amber" who is a reclusive and very artistic youth, who gets bullied. Her anger is driven out onto paper as sketches. This is where the film is oddly for young viewers, images of imagined violence with monsters and their special abilities.

The other child, discovered a "magical" magic pond near their home. It has special water, and does wondrous as well as horrible things. Then Amber's angered sketching begins to take form.

I feel what makes this film a tad terrifying, is the sound effects. This film may drag with its story, but the visual effects are superb along with monster creations.

As far as the cast Tom Hale plays the widow parent, "Taylor Wyatt" and along with the strong lead by young actor, Bianca Belle as "Amber". The director calls it a mix of "Jurassic Park" and "Inside Out" but it feels more like "Goonies" meet "It: Chapter One" kids!

Lastly, the film's overall effects are pretty mesmerizing as a youth led cast steer the sequences, giving off more serious tense scenes (look out for the school bus segment).

As silly and infantile "Amber's" monsters appear, Worley's orchestrated scenes (not depending on gore effects or jump scares) really evolve them into menacing entities . Its soundtrack and sound effects, help to deliver some terrifying seconds with the monsters. In some ways echoes Joe Dante's 80s segment with cartoon-like monsters from "Twilight Zone, The Movie".

This movie involves fantasy, monsters and family and friends protecting each other during a time of danger. It is an allegory and deals with the loss of a wife and parent and approaches how each family member deals with their grief individually and collectively. It is very entertaining with both funny, scary (even for adults), and poignancy. Great film that reminded me of a re-envisioned Jumanji (the original film) that comes from a sketchbook instead of a game. Not for very small, sensitive children. Wonderful family film with a deep lesson that brought me to tears having recently experienced my own loss of a loved one.

As grandparents, we did not feel this was an appropriate movie for small children. Maybe it should have had a PG-13 rating for the scariness and violence. We went to view it at our local theater yesterday and a women and her daughter left mid movie. On the positive, my artistic neurodivergant adult daughter loved it.

I usually skip out on angel studios movies because of how religiously biased they are and the bad editing and subpar acting, but this one was actually done right. The acting was good, plot was good, characters written well, and overall a lot of fun. Highly recommend for a fun movie night at the theater with your family or by yourself(me) because all ages would enjoy this movie. Don't get me wrong, angel studios has a tendency to make a mid movie, but this one felt like more than a cash grab for christians.