Sketch

Rated PG • Theaters

G.K. Chesterton once said, “Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of a bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.”

I thought about these lines as I watched the new film from Emmy-winner and outspoken Christian Tony Hale. Sketch is a brilliant kids film about battling monsters and facing scary emotions in a healthy way. The movie follows a young girl named Amber Wyatt (Bianca Belle) who is battling dark thoughts as she mourns the death of her mother. To cope, she draws scary scenes full of monstrous creatures in a notebook. But she still struggles to connect with her brother Jack (Kue Lawrence) and father Taylor (Hale).

When her sketchbook falls into a magic pond, the creatures come to life and threaten to destroy the town, forcing the family to band together to defeat these dangerous manifestations of their grief.

Sketch defies our expectations as it explores the depths of a child’s emotions. It uses elements from the horror genre, but it’s still safe for most kids. At the same time, it’s a heartwarming drama about a loving family dealing with grief. It possesses genuinely positive messages about how to deal with hard feelings. Writer-director Seth Worley deserves credit for balancing these elements in a way that feels honest and edifying. It’s easily one of my favorite movies this year: well-written, well-acted, and visually splendid. I laughed and cried multiple times.

One of the best things about Sketch is how it features a fictional family that’s genuinely good and wholesome even while being imperfect. Some of the wisdom the family members share with each other on how to deal with inner monsters is exactly what many Christian parents want to impart to their kids. They separate sinful thoughts and actions (your “inbox” vs. your “outbox”), encourage each other not to make those things into an identity (“It’s not you, it’s just something you drew”), and show how to avoid both denying your feelings and expressing them in a hurtful way.

The film’s bogeys are scary enough to resonate with a kid who is wrestling with dark things, but tame enough that it’s safe for them to watch. Some characters get cuts, and monsters chase and attack kids and adults. But no one gets seriously injured. Despite being rated PG, the film’s language might be a stumbling block for some parents. Adults use some minor expletives, and the kids often refer to each other as “B-holes.” (This is not censored on my part—that’s how they say it.)

The film sometimes implies that the way women more typically process emotions (talking, crying, art) is healthier than how men more often do it (taking action, fixing, powering through). This is potentially problematic. We’re learning more and more how important a dad’s more traditionally masculine approach is to a child’s development. But this hitch is outweighed by the film’s positive messages, and families can discuss such strengths and weaknesses of the film’s approach together.

All kids face internal and—eventually—external dragons in life. For families looking for a family-affirming adventure movie that can give kids and adults the tools to fight them, Sketch might be a wish come to life.