Now streaming on Netflix
Netflix’s Swapped feels familiar. While it differs from Pixar’s Hoppers, where a human can masquerade as a beaver through technology and must walk a mile in another’s shoes, what’s presented here concerns a secret valley that is far more mystical than grounded in reality. This tale follows Ollie (Michael B. Jordan), a Pookoo, a groundhog-like creature, who meets Ivy (Juno Temple), a strangely Big Bird-like animal. The pair must work together if they are to thwart a looming threat.
There’s an angry Firewolf (Tracy Morgan) who has grown jealous of the peace bestowed upon the valley by enormous elephantine trees known as the Dzo. From that point on, I could swear I was watching a film that leaned heavily on the imagination of Jim Henson back when he conceived The Dark Crystal. While Swapped is brighter and more naturalistic, favouring cheerful colours and innocent charm, the similarities do not end there.
Continue reading “Netflix’s Swapped Shows Who Is More of A Strange Animal”
By Ed Sum