Although many are likely unaware of Swapped arriving on Netflix, this original animated adventure boasts plenty of noteworthy talent on both sides of the camera. Along with Tangled director Nathan Greno helming the film, it stars Michael B. Jordan in his first post-Oscar win role alongside an always intriguing star in Juno Temple. And, it’s another film from Skydance Animation, who surely want to stand out in an increasingly crowded and ever-growing animation space. Unfortunately, Swapped is nothing more than stock-standard fare, as its animation and narrative don’t have enough juice to really make a big mark.
The film takes viewers into a woodland realm called The Valley, where the food chain is hard at work keeping a dangerous pecking order amongst these animals. However, after natural sworn enemies, a sea-otter-like mammal (Pookoo) named Ollie (Jordan) and a Kakapo-like bird (Javan) named Ivy (Temple), change bodies after touching a magical seed pod, they’re forced to help each other change back. Where Swapped immediately impresses is in its stunning, creative creature designs. While the overall use of 3D animation isn’t anything special and continues to show Skydance struggling to find a distinct identity in their aesthetic, the way these animals have environmental features woven in is really cool. The more antagonistic wolves have leaf-filled branches sprouting from their backs, making them both more eye-catching and scarier. There are these mammoth-sized creatures that have wood-like textures that make them feel like gods of this forest. There’s even snakes that camouflage within roots and bears with mossy backs that help build the film’s tensest scenes.
Greno definitely has a vision for this unique set of creatures within this sprawling forest that viewers will surely enjoy—especially when it comes to Ollie and Ivy. It’s nice how these two have common ground they aren’t aware of but eventually find in keeping their species safe. Despite being at each other’s throats because of a shared food source, they develop a growing sense of empathy and care that’s remarkably relevant and sweet-feeling. It’s also nice how they start to become acquainted with these new bodies they’re in and utilize each other’s survival traits. Ivy’s use of the Pookoo’s heightened smell and senses is awesome to see in action and Ollie finding the strength to soar as a Javan carries some good emotion. Plus, Jordan and Temple deliver some solid voicework that keeps the chemistry fun and generally uplifts some of the film’s big emotional beats. Admittedly, it’s neither of their best work and won’t feel like anything remarkable, but they do more than enough to keep things afloat through a fairly mundane script.
Even with Swapped having a solid premise, neat visuals, and two stars like Jordan and Temple leading the charge, it’s hard not to come away a little underwhelmed by what we get. Overall, the storytelling comes with a woefully generic approach. Seriously, there are tons of films lately that start with a, “Now, I bet you’re wondering how I got here,” intro and this one really falls flat. It immediately makes the experience overly familiar and leads into some forced exposition dumps that weaken a potentially interesting backstory of how tensions got so high between these animals. From then on, the film is a pretty basic adventure tale with some underwhelming reveals that feel ruined by overt handholding in the story.
Now, there are some aspects to the plot that carry some good weight, including a decent villain twist and Ollie and Ivy’s empathy spreading to others to create real change. However, it often gets washed out by the thin writing around it. When we see Ollie and Ivy discover a past interaction or understand more how this magical seed works in terms of changing into other animals, the reveals don’t feel that strong because the film telegraphs things so bluntly. Maybe for younger kids these moments won’t lose their impact, but there’s so much handholding in the storytelling that Swapped can’t maintain any sense of surprise or engagement. Not to mention, the comedic writing pretty much always misses the mark because it’s so awkwardly sewn in. The comedic “rule of three” is done to death in this film, to the point that the jokes feel predictable. It’s why Swapped often struggles to find your funny bone and the comedy is so shoved in that even Jordan and Temple feel awkward providing it.
There might be enough good in Swapped to keep younger audiences entertained and make for a semi-worthwhile experience for everyone else. But in general, it’s another middling miss for Skydance Animation that doesn’t overcome its weak script or lackluster approach to 3D animation. It’s decent at best, but surely forgettable compared to superior animated films already from this year and still to come.
