There is a certain type of kids’ entertainment that seems to be getting increasingly popular. I like to think of it as the sensory overload genre.
You see it in movies like “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” or any number of YouTube channels designed to keep children’s attention glued to the screen, catering to already too-short attention spans. Think fast-paced movement, explosions, blasts of color – and barely a character trait or storyline in sight. I’m not saying this type of children’s entertainment hasn’t always existed in some fashion or another. But it certainly feels a little more like a problem when the sensory overload genre is consistently making over $800 million worldwide at the box office.
The new animated film “Swapped” – directed by Nathan Greco with a screenplay by John Whittington, Christian Magalhaes, and Robert Snow – doesn’t have that same quality. And that’s apparent from the beginning. We open with action, as Ollie (Michael B. Jordan), a small, chipmunk-like character called a Pookoo, is chased through the forest by a bird known as a Javan. The action sequence suddenly freezes, and Ollie gives us that old, record-scratch setup: “I bet you’re wondering how I got here!”
We’re then treated to an extended sequence of child Ollie (played by Camden Brooks) trying to figure out how to breathe underwater so he can explore the lake. It’s a lovely, charmingly funny sequence – not laugh out loud, but sweetly sincere as Ollie tests out different versions of handmade snorkels, sputtering and splashing until he finally gets the right balance. This all plays out with no dialogue at a leisurely pace, both nice to look at and functional. We begin to understand the extent of Ollie’s curiosity (which often gets him into trouble) and we are introduced to this world and its strange mix of flora and fauna – leaves with little eyes, and sea snails that look like coral.
This is not to say that “Swapped” doesn’t have its big action moments (it is the second children’s movie I’ve seen this year that features a very large, very devastating fire), and that’s not to say it doesn’t have its own flaws. But in its best moments, it gives the audience space to live in the unique and beautiful world of the film. “Swapped” sits in a bit of a rare place, when it comes to children’s movies – it’s not nostalgia bait for millennial parents, or catering to adults with jokes that go over their children’s heads. It’s simple, but it’s not mindless, executing a good story and delivering on a poignant message.
Ollie and the rest of the Pookoo live in fear of the Javan, who – in part because of Ollie’s curiosity all those years ago – stole their only source of food and forced them underground. The tension between the Pookoo and the Javan are inextricably connected to the mythology of this world, which lies in a story about a mean old creature called the firewolf. The firewolf has long since disappeared, but his lasting legacy has pit the animals of the valley against each other. Ollie finds a remnant of old magic – a glowing, purple pod – that turns him into a Javan, the very thing he hates most. When Ivy (Juno Temple), a young Javan, inadvertently turns into a Pookoo, the two must work together to change back.
“Swapped” is at its best when it lives in its quieter, world-building moments. Ollie is the most generically designed of the characters, but the other animals blend in with the plantlife that surrounds them. The wolves have charred wood for skin, red leaves growing up out of their backs. The deer have skin like birch trees, with blossoms blooming up through their antlers. There’s a hedgehog-like creature whose protective shell looks like a pinecone, and giant elephant-like creatures who carry the secrets to the world’s magic. There’s a lore to the world of “Swapped.” That may feel simple, but it works to expand the world, making the film feel fuller.
If there’s a place where “Swapped” slightly suffers, it’s in the vocal performances. There’s nothing wrong with them, per se, but both Jordan and Temple are so physical in their live action performances, you lose a bit of that expressiveness when you can’t see them. The best performance comes from Tracy Morgan as Boogle, a grouper-like fish who’s filled with surprises.
There’s a simplicity to the story and the characters that might make “Swapped” feel a bit rote for adults, but it feels aimed at an age group I often worry is a bit starved for “good” children’s entertainment. “Swapped” is a story about empathy and friendship that is easy for a 4 year old to understand (I should know – I took my nephews to the screening). “Swapped” solidly executes the expected beats of an odd-couple story, leading to a genuinely heartwarming conclusion that’s free of the foibles that plague so many other kids’ movies.
“Swapped” opens on Netflix on May 1.
