‘Swapped’ Review: Michael B. Jordon and Juno Temple Voice a Minor but Ravishing Animated Body-Swap Comedy for Tykes
Michael B. Jordan voices Ollie in a visually rich tale about rival tribes that must cooperate after a magic-pod body swap.
- On Friday, Netflix released Swapped, an animated film directed by Nathan Greno set in the vibrant Valley. The story follows rival animal tribes—the Pookoo and Javans—forced together by a magical body-swap adventure.
- Conflict between the tribes stems from scarce resources, as larger Javan birds consume the Pookoo's food supply. Ollie, a curious Pookoo voiced by Michael B. Jordan, inadvertently fuels tensions by teaching young Ivy how to access the Valley's food.
- Ollie and Ivy switch bodies after falling into a "glowing pod," forcing them to cooperate despite natural animosity. They enlist Boogle, a fish voiced by Tracy Morgan, to navigate obstacles in their quest to return to their original forms.
- Critics praise the "visually ravishing" animation but note the simple narrative feels rote, functioning as a woodland fairy tale for seven-year-olds. The body-swap premise promises complexity yet prioritizes universal themes of harmony over nuanced character development.
- As an ecological parable, Swapped invites comparisons to recent films like Hoppers and The Wild Robot. Despite visual imagination, the story struggles to distinguish itself in a crowded genre, relying on familiar tropes to deliver its message.
14 Articles
14 Articles
‘Swapped’ Review: This Netflix Animated Fantasy Is for the Birds, but Also Everyone Else
Nathan Greno’s new animated feature “Swapped” is, like many movies for children, about not judging a book by its cover. Or at least its first page. And just in case that wasn’t clear, he opens this movie with a mid-disaster freeze-frame and a voiceover that says, basically, “Yup, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got here.” It’s such an eye-rolling start that discerning members of the audience will probably think it’s all downhill from …
‘Swapped’ Review: Michael B. Jordan’s First Post-Oscar Performance? Voicing a Prejudiced Sea Otter in Animated Netflix Movie for Babies
A shooting star arching over the Disney castle. Luxo Jr. hopping into frame and jumping on the “i” in “Pixar.” Totoro standing in profile against a bright cerulean backdrop. These sights have come to inspire a Pavlovian response from generations of children, and — no less powerfully — a Proustian one from their parents. They are invitations to (and promises of) the special kind of joy, wonder, and magic that can only be found in the movies. For …
Swapped review: Netflix's animated film is lost in safe storytelling
Netflix's animated film Swapped follows Olly and Ivy after a magical plant forces them into each other's bodies. The film pairs handsome visuals and committed voice work with a body-swap story that stays resolutely safe.
‘Swapped’ Review: Michael B. Jordon and Juno Temple Voice a Minor but Ravishing Animated Body-Swap Comedy for Tykes
On the story level, "Swapped" is quite basic, but there’s a surprise enchantment to it — it’s like a woodland fairy tale for seven-year-olds, yet on that score it’s visually ravishing and quite touching.
The A.V. Club
PasteThere's nothing transformative about the simple message of Swapped
At this year’s Sundance, a documentary premiered about Jane Elliott, an Iowa schoolteacher whose “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” exercise in the 1970s helped teach white children what it was like to be discriminated against. Her lesson shares a moral with the glut of children’s media that revolves around magically breaking down the barriers that divide its characters—like those between hunter and bear or emperor and llama—so they can see how the other ha…
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