“Sketch” is an unusual little film that has its merits.

The storyline pertains to the themes of acceptance among grade-school children. The subject matter also examines parent-child conflicts. Moreover, the film delves into the challenges of single-parent families. The film takes an entertaining approach to its themes.

In the movie, “Sketch,” Amber (Bianca Belle), age 10, loves to draw. One of her drawings causes concern at her school.

Her father, Taylor (Tony Hale), a widower, is called into a meeting with a school counselor (Nadia Benavides). This leads to a session with the counselor and the student.

The counselor encourages Amber to continue drawing as a way to explore her emotions in a safe and non-threatening way. Acting out becomes drawing out.

Ironically, Amber’s drawings take on a life of their own when her sketch notebook falls into a magic lake. Her drawings become big and little three-dimensional threats to her, her classmates and her family. What was imaginary has become real. Talk about Etch A Sketch.

Seth Worley, screenwriter and director of “Sketch,” in his feature film directorial debut, based the movie on his 12-minute short, “Darker Colors” (2020). He directs with a dead-pan wry sense of humor that works well with the material.

The film presents Amber’s drawings in a comical way so as not to be too scary for young viewers. The computer-generated animation of the characters is unlike that of most creature-feature films. The animation of the monsters is ragged and crude, as if a child’s drawings became larger than life.

The film draws on, pun intended, solid performances by the child actors, who are on-screen for the majority of the movie. Several are in their feature movie debuts.

Bianca Belle (TV’s “Lady in the Lake,” 2024), in her feature film debut as Amber, shows a range of emotion in a role that requires her to be very serious.

Kue Lawrence, who has been an actor since age 5 with some 62 acting credits on Internet Movie Database, is remarkably resilient as Amber’s brother Jack.

Kalon Cox, in his feature film debut as their school friend Bowman, is wonderfully idiosyncratic.

Tony Hale (six-time Primetime Emmy Awards nominee, supporting actor; winner, supporting actor, comedy series, “Veep,” 2015, 2013, and also who was on TV’s “Arrested Development,” 2003-2019) as the father Taylor, has mastered the look of exasperation and puts it to good use throughout the film.

D’Arcy Carden (Primetime Emmy Awards, nominee, supporting actress, comedy, “The Good Place,” 2020) is sharply charming as Liz, Taylor’s brother.

Many years ago, a friend of mine, who was a therapist and in therapy, explained to me the adage, “You are only as sick as your secrets.” It’s a familiar phrase in the recovery community, especially Alcoholics Anonymous. The concept is that holding onto hidden problems, shame and guilt can be harmful to one’s well-being.

“Sketch” encourages one to not stuff one’s inner emotions, but rather express them as positively and thoroughly as possible.

I enjoyed “Sketch.” I would not recommend the film for everyone. Even so, seeing “Sketch” might open up a dialogue between parents and guardians and their children.

You may even want to get out your lead pencils, Sharpies or Crayolas and make some sketches of your own.

“Sketch,” MPA rated PG (Parental guidance suggested: Some material may not be suitable for children.) for scary action, some violence, thematic elements, language and rude humor; Genre: Comedy, Fantasy; Run time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. Distributed by Angel Studios.

Credit Readers Anonymous: At the conclusion of “Sketch,” actors Tony Hale and D’Arcy Carden instruct the audience to use a QR code on the screen to make their own sketches come to life. The credits include many examples of children’s scary monster drawings turned into animation characters. The film was lensed in Tennessee.

At The Movies: “Sketch” was seen in the standard format at the AMC Center Valley 16.

Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, Aug. 29-31: “Weapons” reclaimed No. 1 over the Labor Day weekend, for a third nonconsecutive week or stayed at No. 1 for four weeks depending on who’s counting, with $10.4 million in 3,416 theaters, $132.6 million, four weeks.

“KPop Demon Hunters” was listed at No. 1 for the Aug. 22-24 weekend with an estimated $18 million in 1,700 theaters, ending the two-week-straight No. 1 run of “Weapons, which dropped one place to No. 2 with $15.6 million in 3,631 theaters; $115.8 million, three weeks.

However, box office figures for “KPop Demon Hunters” were from industry sources because Netflix didn’t report the movie’s box office numbers. Netflix released “Kpop Demon Hunters” for a two-day run Aug. 23 and Aug. 24 in movie theaters. AMC Theatres, the world’s biggest movie chain, did not book the film.

2. “Jaws the 2025 re-release (50th anniversary),” directed by Steven Spielberg, $8.1 million in 3,200 theaters, opening for the Aug. 29-31 weekend. 3. “Caught Stealing,” with Darren Aronofsky directing Austin Butler, Bad Bunny, Zoë Kravitz, Liev Schreiber and Regina King, $7.8 million in 3,578 theaters, opening. 4. “Freakier Friday” dropped one place, $6.6 million in 3,475 theaters, $80.5 million, four weeks. 5. “The Roses,” with Jay Roach directing Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg and Allison Janney in the remake of “War of the Roses,” $6.2 million in 2,700 theaters, opening. 6. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” dropped two places, $4.9 million in 2,785 theaters, $264.7 million, six weeks. 7. “The Bad Guys 2” dropped two places, $4.6 million in 3,024 theaters, $72.9 million, five weeks. 8. “Superman” dropped one place, $2.5 million in 1,824 theaters, $351 million, eight weeks. 9. “Nobody 2” dropped three places, $1.8 million in 2,502 theaters, $20.1 million, three weeks. 10. “The Naked Gun” dropped one place, $1.8 million in 1,744 theaters, $50.8 million, five weeks.

The 2025 summer season, from the first weekend of May through Labor Day, grossed $3.67 billion in the United States and Canada, down from $3.68 billion in 2024, according to Comscore.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of Aug. 31 is subject to change.

Unreel, Aug 29:

“The Roses,” Rated R: Jay Roach directs Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg and Allison Janney in the Comedy Drama. A married couple copes with the husband’s career crisis. It’s a remake of “The War of the Roses” (1989), starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.

“Caught Stealing,” Rated R: Darren Aronofsky directs Austin Butler, Bad Bunny, Zoë Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Regina King, Vincent D’Onofrio, Griffin Dunne and Carol Kane in the Crime Comedy. An ex-baseball player gets involved in the criminal underground in 1990s’ New York City.

“The Toxic Avenger,” Rated R: Macon Blair directs Peter Dinklage (as Winston Gooze), Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Lloyd Kaufman, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, Julia Davis and Sophia Vassili in the Comedy Horror film. A toxic accident turns a janitor into a superhero, The Toxic Avenger. It’s a remake of Troma Entertainment’s “The Toxic Avenger” (1984), a science-fiction monster cult classic.

Movie opening information from Internet Movie Database as of Aug. 31 is subject to change.

Two Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes