ANI-MOVIES, *Swapped

From Nathan Greno, the director of Tangled, is this new feature Swapped, which despite what a ton of critics thought isn't trying to hitch a ride on to the same bandwagon as Disney with their recent release of Hoppers. Not to belittle the title, but this movie isn't about body-swapping, as it is more about getting changed into a totally different animal. This is the third full-length movie by Skydance Animation, and the second one to premiere directly on Netflix, plus written by John Whittington from some of the Lego and Sonic movies. This is an original story taking place in a fantasy world with imaginative creatures that look like they're out of Pokemon with some of them being part plant or mineral. There is some seriously decent world building in this and character growth which help separate it from the usual Pixar wannabe movies.

Set in a lush valley, a small island in a river is inhabited by small furry mammals called Pookoo, and the story starts off with the young Ollie starts with a tale about how the current predicament of having their harvest raided by birds called Javan is all his fault as he introduced their food to a Javan when he was younger. Once they finish up the flashback, Ollie falls down a hole and finds a magic pod left behind by a herd of colossal mammoth-like plant-hybrids known as Dzo who would use their magic to maintain harmony in the valley, although the Dzo were casted out when a deadly predator called a Firewolf set the whole place ablaze. Ollie touches the pod and is transformed into Javan, so he runs off and is found by a trio of Javan sisters one named Ivy who helped saved him from drowning. After losing the other Javans, Ollie gets some information from a large fish called Boogle that there are other body-changing pods throughout the valley. Ollie finds one but Ivy gets to it first and is accidently turned into a Pookoo, so now both of them are stuck in the form of the other with the cure being more pods which Boogle happens to know about. The nearest pods are miles away, so Ivy has to teach Olllie how to fly to get there, and this begins an amazing aerial scene. Along the way, Ollie discovers that Ivy was the Javan he met as a child which caused the birds to take over the Pookoo's rations, however they put aside their differences to avoid some hungry Treewolves which are not on fire like the Firewolf. The two of them finally find the magic pods and change back to their original forms, but its at the beginning of the third act where a twist villain shows up like Hans from Frozen which causes all the animals of the valley to come together in order to survive and defeat this new menace. It might seem a cliche, but this does actually add a daring climax to the movie.

Swapped does deliver in the way a number of other talking animal cartoon films failed to do. It isn't just a Freaky Friday clone starring some of Disney's Wuzzles, but an original concept set in a fascinating backdrop. The casting is somewhat odd with Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple as the two main characters having to walk a mile in the other's shoes, even though it does ultimately work out in the end. It is a shame that this went straight to Netflix instead of getting a theatrical release, despite the fact that this did help K-Pop Demon Hunters into becoming a blockbuster, however Skydance Animation created a truly cinematic experience with an engaging all-ages fantasy.