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This article is written in South African English. |
| This version has its own spelling conventions (colour, realise, analyse) and some terms that are used may be different or absent from other varieties of English. This should not be changed without broad consensus. |
- ❝ When the line between reality and animation blurs, chaos is only a sketch away.❞
- ―The tagline of the film.
Sketchy Business is a 1989 South African live-action/animated comedy film directed by Willie Lubbe and Thandi Matthews, and based on an original story by Lubbe. It stars Nicholas Rowe and the voices of John Moran and Stanley Coverdale. Produced by Philo Pieterse and Lars International Pictures, the film was made as an attempt to cash on the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Sketchy Business was released in South Africa by Lars International Pictures on 24 January 1989, and received mixed to negative reviews from critics. A sequel, entitled Sketch & the Syndicate, was released on 25 May 1990.
Plot[]
Elliot Hartman, a down-on-his-luck comic artist in his early 30s, lives in a small city apartment littered with half-finished drawings and rejection letters. Once hailed as a rising talent in the indie comic scene, Elliot is now struggling with writer's block, debt, and a crumbling sense of self-worth. His only companion is his sarcastic cat, Whiskers, who seems more invested in his failures than his success.
One stormy night, frustrated by his lack of progress, Elliot drunkenly sketches a self-portrait and yells at the universe to give him some inspiration. Lightning strikes his apartment building, zapping his sketchpad and imbuing it with a strange energy. The next morning, Elliot discovers that his hastily drawn alter-ego, "Sketch", has sprung to life—complete with exaggerated cartoon antics and a habit of breaking the fourth wall.
Sketch is a chaotic mix of Elliot’s subconscious desires and anxieties, embodying everything Elliot wishes he could be: confident, witty, and utterly shameless. However, Sketch’s existence starts causing problems as his zany behavior draws unwanted attention from Elliot’s nosy landlord, Mrs. Kline, and local authorities.
Elliot quickly realises that Sketch’s presence is tied to the mysterious sketchpad, which has begun to blur the boundaries between the animated and real worlds. Soon, other characters from Elliot’s discarded comics—heroes, villains, and downright weirdos—begin escaping into reality, wreaking havoc across the city.
Desperate to restore order, Elliot must team up with Sketch to track down the rogue characters and return them to the sketchpad before the animated world overtakes reality. Along the way, Elliot faces off against his own greatest creation, Dr. Doodle, a charismatic but deranged animated supervillain determined to reshape the real world into his own exaggerated vision.
As Elliot and Sketch chase their colorful foes across the city, they encounter heartwarming moments of self-discovery. Elliot learns to embrace the chaos of creativity and realises that his imperfections are what make him unique as an artist. Sketch, on the other hand, begins to grapple with his own existential crisis—what happens to a drawing when the page is erased?
The final battle takes place at a comic convention, where Dr. Doodle uses an enormous scanner to pull the entire audience into his twisted animated realm. Elliot, with Sketch’s help, must confront his fears of failure and rewrite the narrative—literally—using his newfound confidence and creativity to outsmart Dr. Doodle.
With the animated characters returned to their rightful place, Elliot decides to launch a new comic series inspired by his wild adventure. He finds success not by chasing perfection but by embracing his authentic voice. Sketch remains alive in the pages of Elliot’s comics, reminding him to never take life too seriously. The final scene shows Whiskers staring suspiciously at the sketchpad, hinting that the adventure may not be entirely over.
Cast[]
- Nicholas Rowe as Elliot Hartman
- Glynis Johns as Mrs. Kline
- David Meyer as Officer Adams
- Nomsa Dlamini as Lindiwe Mokoena
- Arnold Vosloo as Security Guard #1
- Willem the Cat as Whiskers
Voice cast[]
- John Moran as Sketch
- Stanley Coverdale as Dr. Doodle
- Shaleen Surtie-Richards as Madame Inkblot
- Sean Taylor as Captain Thunderbrush
- Marius Weyers as Convention Announcer
- Arnold Vosloo
- Sophie Gardner
- Hendrik Jacobs
- Andries Moodley
- Margaret van Wyk
- David Meyer