Swapped (2026)

My youngest son and I watched this one evening when my spouse was on call and we both really enjoyed it. To be fair, we like animation, even when the story is a bit weak, so long as the animation is strong, but with this one, we enjoyed it as a whole. The animation is lush and gorgeous, and since it is an action movie that spans a whole magical environment, with one of the main characters able to fly, there is a lot to be awed by when it comes to that. The story takes place in an imaginary place called the Valley, where different types of woodland creatures don’t live together harmoniously. Ollie is a Pookoo, who looks like a sea otter, and is afraid of Javans. They are a hybrid version of owls and parrots. Ollie has always been a curious Pookoo, willing to help others and see beyond what the Valley offers. Things take a turn for the worse for Pookoos when Ollie helpsIvy, a tired, young Javan find food, which happens to be Pookoo’s only source of food. Ollie teaches the young Javan to open a seed. This puts the Pookoo’s in danger as the Javans take the seeds, leaving the Pookoo’s with very little for their survival and they go underground for safety. Fast forward and Ollie gets changed in a Java when he stumbles upon some miracle pods, and he gets taken in by Ivy and her sisters, who team up to restore him to his original Pookoo self. This is a movie about perspective and empathy, most importantly, the latter. It’s a story that revolves around two beings and learning to understand their worlds when the roles are switched. But the twist is that the two central characters swap bodies and team up to save their homes before an evil creature destroys them. It’s not just about empathy; it’s also about survival.