Parent Review of Swapped was written by Sarah. Published on Read Reel Reviews, this post contains affiliate ads, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Watch Swapped
Movie: Swapped (Streaming on Netflix as of 5/2026)
Rating: PG
Age Suggestion: 5 and up
Run Time: 1 hr. 40 mins.
Categories: Comedy, Action, Adventure, Drama, Animated
Date Released: May 2026
Warnings: Family friendly with warnings for family separation, discussion about death and starvation, and scary wolves that carry fire on their backs.
Parent Review of Swapped- Netflix’s Newest Animated Movie
Swapped- while it seems like Netflix’s rip off version of Hoppers from the outside- it is a different story. It actually has more in common with Luca than Hoppers. As a young boy, who feels like he’s constantly messing up, is curious about life on the other side. In Luca it’s the other side of the ocean, in Swapped it’s the other side of the river.
The animation is beautifully done. And while the ecosystem is familiar, all of the creatures are distinct and unique. The pookoo are little fuzzy woodland creatures that are worried about the javan birds eating all of their food, seeds. But they learned that they are all just trying to survive since an avalanche and villain destroyed their main food sources.
The good news is that this movie is intended for a younger audience! It’s much more tame than Hoppers. But there are still a few things to be aware of… check out our parent review warnings below!
**SWAPPED SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT**
Parent Review of Swapped- Warnings
-There are a handful of discussions of death and starvation.
-Ivy talks about her parents dying.
-There’s some examples of family being separated.
-There are scary wolves, some of them end up helping the good side. But they’re on fire and angry a lot, which can be pretty scary.
-The main characters both sacrifice themselves at different times during the movie and you think they might be dead. Ollie’s survival takes several minutes to resolve and is really sad until he comes back.
Lessons from the the New Netflix Movie Swapped
**Spoiler warning!**
- We can learn to see things from other’s perspectives
The whole movie centers on different species learning to understand each other. Even if they didn’t turn into, or swap places, with the other species they learned that other species shared some things in common, after all- they’re all living animals! - We impact the people around us
Ollie and Ivy learn that their two species impact the way the other one lives. And they help change the perspective of the people around them. They learn that both of their species were suffering and needed help. - What we do to the environment matters
Every species was impacted by the rockslide and dam. They all were struggling when their food sources had to change. - Small actions have ripple effects
Ollie helping the java birds learn how to open the seeds was one small act. But it ended up saving their whole community. Even though he felt like everything was going wrong, he still kept trying to do the next right thing. - We’re better together!
Ivy and Ollie trusting the wrong person impacted their whole world negatively, but they still learned that working together was better than distrusting everyone. Ollie and Ivy learned that they wanted the same things for their families, and to do that, they needed to work together.
And at one of the more beautifully animated spots in the movie, we learn that things CAN and DO grow back beautifully after a fire. It was a lovely thought to end on, but since it’s aimed at younger kids, I really would have appreciated a little more levity or comedy at the end and the very beginning.
Overall, we really enjoyed the movie! I can see kids really disliking the wolves and thinking it’s a sad movie because of the ending. But I can see us rewatching this one! It was a really pretty movie with some great discussion points. But the storyline wasn’t obnoxious about those lessons and themes.
What did you think of the movie??
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