Swapped
A tiny woodland creature (Michael B. Jordan) and a majestic bird (Juno temple) suddenly swap bodies, forcing them to team up to survive the wildest adventure of their lives.
STORY: B-
Great fun for kids; not so much for adults.
Kids will likely laugh at the jokes. I found them basic and listless. Kids will cheer for Ollie and Ivy to survive. I tapped my foot, waiting for the obvious ending to arrive. Kids' minds will be blown by the body-swap. I spent a good part of the film mentally rifling through movies that have used the trope more effectively.
So many contemporary animated films include jokes for grown-ups that we’ve begun to believe they’re a requirement and not a feature. I found myself waiting for something —anything— to be thrown my way.
Nothing arrived, and that diminished my enjoyment. However, the film’s intended audience will eat it up.
PEOPLE: C-
Michael B. Jordan never transcends the swap.
Jordan voices Ollie, the film’s hero. Perhaps it’s the script, perhaps it’s the dry delivery, or perhaps it’s the fact that Mr. Jordan is now OSCAR WINNER Michael B. Jordan, but Ollie never feels real. The voice and the character never meld into a unique entity, making it harder to suspend our disbelief.
The most effective pairing of character and voice is Tracy Morgan’s Boogle, a brightly colored sad-sack of a fish desperate to find a friend. Morgan’s typical brash cluelessness makes way for a vulnerable loneliness that helps the film’s third act land.
FILM NERD STUFF: B
I think to myself, what a wonderful world!
The universe’s visuals are magnificent. The animals’ bodies are blended with the elements of their environment. Bears have boulders for bodies. Aspen tree-deer bound across the valley floor. Elephants and massive redwoods morph into the giant, wise protectors of the valley.
Like a star soloist stealing the show from a mediocre school choir, Swapped’s sublime world makes everything else involved - especially the script - feel diminished. The unevenness of quality across the board pulls the audience out of the experience.
ONE BIG LESSON: A-
Live together, die alone.
We watch Ollie make a colossal mistake as a youngster, one that puts his community’s survival at risk. Watching him wrestle with that evoked a feeling I had as a child: the belief that failing as a kid meant I’d fail as an adult.
When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re not a finished product. You can’t anticipate all the things you’ll learn or all the ways you’ll grow. All the ways you’ll be prepared.
A few kids may be born with Tony Stark’s self-confidence, but most will at least recognize Ollie’s feelings. That empathy helps convey the film’s message.
The body-swap is essential to the theme and one of the film’s strengths. By seeing things from the point of view of those we’ve feared because they’re different, we learn that we all want the same things in life and that the best way to get them is to work together.
FINAL COMMENTS:
The movie doesn’t work for me. I found most of it predictable and trite.
But I don’t think every movie is - or should be - designed to please everyone. I’m not the audience for this film, and that’s okay. It allows the filmmakers to focus their storytelling on kids, the audience that matters.
I don’t think it’s a sin to serve a single audience. I won’t be watching this one again, but don’t be surprised if it catches on with the young ones in your life. They’ll likely respond to the visuals, and the theme’s import outweighs much of the film’s shortcomings.