Swapped

“Swapped” is a “Freaky Friday”-style body switch story with lessons of empathy movie, but this time instead of a mother and daughter it is two animals who are at first frustrated and mistrustful and then learn to trust each other.

The setting is a fantasy world with colorful animals. Deer-like creatures who look like they are made out of birch bark have huge antlers made of flowering branches. Ollie, voiced by Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan, is a cuddly little cub-like creature, a cross between a ground-hog and a teddy bear, from a species called Pookoo. Like his fellow Pookoos, he has an exceptional sense of smell, so vivid they can visualize odors. Unlike his fellow Pookoos, Ollie is curious about the world and in an early scene we see him so determined to explore the world under water that he invents a goggle/breathing mechanism requiring several failures before he figures it out. That scene under water is one of several especially beautiful settings and a lovely way to introduce us to an endearing hero.

Ollie’s grandmother (Táta Vega) tells him their community’s origin myth, with gigantic “walking orchard creatures of wisdom and kindness” called Zoe. They looked like building-sized elephants made out of redwood trees, and they carried special glowing pods that had the power to transform an animal into another species. The evil fire wolf killed some of the Zoe and banished the rest. The animals, no longer able to transform to help them understand each other, became clannish and mistrustful.

Ollie meets a young Javan bird and teachers he how to get the berries that the pookoo give on. His father (Cedric the Entertainer) is furious. The Pookoo consider the Javan their enemies. And then a flock of Javan birds arrive to devour all of the berries. Years later, when Ollie is a young adult, the Pookoo are close to starving. The Pookoo blame Ollie, his father barely speaks to him, and he is crushed with guilt and grief.

And then, he finds a glowing pod and he and a Javan named Ivy (Juno Temple) find themselves in each other’s bodies. They have to learn how to work together to find their way back home , meet a friendly fish who shows them where the glowing pods are (Tracy Morgan) and survive the predators, including the fire wolf and a cave filled with toothy snakes.

The same themes are better explored in films like ‘Hoppers,” “The Wild Robot,” and yes, “Freaky Friday,” but the animation is imaginative and colorful, Temple and Jordan give vibrant, witty performances, and the messages of inclusion and empathy are always welcome.

Parents should know that this film includes some scary predators, including one who is on fire. Characters are in peril, betrayed, and injured. There are two fake-outs when we think that some have been killed. The film also includes some schoolyard language and potty humor.

Family discussion: What human or animal would you like to trade places with? Why was the wolf so angry?

If you like this, try: “Hoppers”