The body-swapping trope migrates to the animal kingdom in “Swapped,” a middling new entry in the animated zoological canon. The second project to come out of the ongoing deal between Skydance Animation and Netflix, the movie is set in a verdant land called the Valley where a phylum of fictional but quasi-naturalistic creatures learns a few lessons about empathy, generosity and cross-species harmony.
Our hero is Ollie (voiced by Michael B. Jordan), a woodland mischief-maker who belongs to a mammalian clan of otter-like burrowers called pookoos. Actually, most of the movie’s genera have names that sound like sneezes: boogle, dzo, javan. Ever since an evil firewolf choked the fauna off from their lifeblood, the groups have battled over the Valley’s finite resources to survive.
The adventure begins when Ollie accidentally switches species with Ivy (Juno Temple), a bossy, multicolored bird called a javan — an animal meant to be his enemy. It’s not exactly “Freaky Friday”; it’s more a reciprocal transformation than a body swap. But like Lindsay Lohan, Ollie discovers that it’s not so easy walking a day on Ivy’s talons. Eventually, they team up; Ollie learns to fly, and Ivy masters the art of olfactory navigation. (Flying seems better.)
Directed by Nathan Greno, “Swapped” works best when it pauses the dialogue to favor visual storytelling, as when Ollie first encounters a baby javan. Pelage and plumage noticeably lack the tactile quality of a Pixar extravaganza, but the animation gets a pass for the movie’s purposes — namely, to impart a message that communities should trust each other, whether they’re covered in rotely-rendered feathers or fur.
Swapped Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. Watch on Netflix.
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