Swapped, directed by Nathan Geno, stars Michael B. Jordan, Juno Temple, Tracy Morgan, and more. I hadn’t heard about this film until a little bit over a week ago when I was looking at the upcoming Netflix releases and wanted to send out a request for early access, and the one that caught my eye for some reason was this one. Mainly because it was colorful and vibrant. The poster looked like it was going to be a cute flick, and most notably because I saw Michael B. Jordan was one of the main stars of the film, which immediately pulled me in and likely will pull others in as well.
The film takes place in a magical world and focuses on a small woodland creature known as Ollie, as well as a bird known as Ivy, played by Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple, who end up going through a magical accident that has them turning into the other’s species. They are forced to see the world through each other’s eyes, and as they try to reverse the situation, they embark on an adventure that challenges their assumptions and brings them closer together while uncovering deeper truths about the world.
I really enjoyed this film a lot more than I expected to. As I was watching it, I kept thinking this is a cute, fun time. Nothing that is really blowing me away. I love the animation, I like the musical score, and it is nice to have Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple leading this fun, cute animated flick hitting Netflix. But as the movie went on, I found myself more and more connected to the characters and more connected to the world. By the time we reach the end, while the film does lean into familiar territory, which can make parts of it predictable, it remains a genuinely cute story at its core with a heartfelt message, and more than anything, it left me feeling surprisingly emotional. I am not going to pretend I was crying when the movie was over, but it definitely tugged on the heartstrings in the right places. As somebody who still feels like a big kid in a lot of ways and loves animated films made for families and kids, especially when they are executed well, I appreciated a lot about this.
It is not the next Inside Out or something that is a lot deeper in narrative. But it does have a lot to say about prejudice, the way it is instilled in all of us, and the idea of being put into the shoes of somebody you do not fully understand and seeing life from a different perspective.
Nathan Geno, who directed Tangled, is behind this, and if I am not mistaken, this is his first film since Tangled, which is kind of crazy considering how popular that film is. When I saw he was directing this, I was pretty excited, and I do think he brings a lot of that same magic and whimsy here. They are very different films, but he handles characters well and gets the message across.
The film also has a musical score from Siddhartha Khosta, who has worked on This Is Us and Only Murders in the Building, and I thought it captured a great sense of awe and whimsy. I really like the world this film takes place in. They never fully establish what the world is or what it is called. It just feels like an alternate Earth with magical creatures. Different species are creative spins on real animals. You have deer that are more like living trees, magical birds, little creatures called the puku, and others, along with fish and wolves.
The movie opens with lore about the Zo, these giant elephant-like creatures that allow other creatures to transform using special pods. Those pods are what cause Ollie and Ivy to swap, and they are also what allow them to communicate and build a friendship while understanding each other’s lives and struggles.
That backstory also introduces a wolf that wanted to control the land and used a pod to become a firewolf, which led to the destruction of the forest and the Zo, and that is essentially what sets up the events of the film. I just think the world is cool. The animation is cool. The characters are fun. All in all, it is cute, it is fun, and it has a nice message at the center of it that both kids and adults can enjoy.
It is definitely the kind of film that parents would want their kids to watch when it comes to being kind to others, being understanding, and recognizing that just because someone is different does not make them better or worse. It leans into something a little more idealistic than the real world, but it still lands its message in a way that works. It is charming and it is cute.
A lot of this will sound familiar, and that is because it is. It is very predictable in a lot of ways and plays on concepts similar to Freaky Friday, where characters swap bodies or perspectives. But even though that concept has been done many times before, I do think Swapped brings a unique energy to it. When you combine that with the animation, the music, the charm of the characters, and the voice work, especially from Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple, it ends up being an enjoyable watch that hit me emotionally more than I expected.
Another standout is Tracy Morgan as Boogle, a fish the characters meet early in their journey who is alone in the water and helps guide them to the pods he has come across over the years. I enjoyed what they did with that character. I was not expecting certain beats, and while the story still leans into familiarity, there are a couple of moments I did not see coming, including one near the end that actually surprised me. Even with how predictable it can be, it still finds ways to do something a little different within a very familiar genre.
At the end of the day, this is just a cute, fun time. It is harmless and breezes by. The performances are great, the animation is vibrant, and the score adds a lot to the overall tone. The negatives do not really detract from the experience for me. The message works, and it is cool to see Michael B. Jordan in a role like this. It also feels like the kind of film that could easily go under the radar, especially since I had not even heard about it until recently, and I do hope the star power helps bring people in because I think it deserves the attention.
Rating 8/10