《The Mysterious Adventure of Swapped Friends》 Animated Film

Find out how director Nathan Greno completely trashed his original project to build the new animated feature 'Swapped' from scratch. An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at a massive creative pivot.

'Swapped': Nathan Greno’s Challenge to “Blow Up” His Own Movie and Build It Again

Skydance Animation’s feature film 'Swapped' was reborn in its current form after director Nathan Greno declared to John Lasseter, "I want to blow up the movie." Lasseter approved, replying, "Okay, let’s do it," and the project was rebuilt in an entirely new direction, along with a proposal to eliminate human characters altogether.

The project began in February 2018 as a teenage superhero story titled 'Powerless.' During roughly six years of development, it abandoned the superpower premise and transformed into a nature-based story centered on a fictional small creature called a 'pookoo.' The title was once 'Pookoo' before ultimately being finalized as 'Swapped.' Greno consistently maintained the theme of 'empathy' in every version, and decided that the body-swap setup—in which two completely different beings directly experience each other’s perspective—best expressed that theme.

The completed film is an adventure comedy about an otter-like pookoo named Ollie (Michael B. Jordan) and a kakapo-like bird named Ivy (Juno Temple), whose bodies are switched after they collide with a magical plant. Living in each other’s bodies, the two protagonists work to heal a deep division among the forest tribes of 'The Valley.' Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Justina Machado, Ambika Mod, and Rolly Adefope have joined the voice cast.

'Swapped' was released on Netflix and in select theaters on May 1, 2026, with a runtime of 98 minutes. The film, presented by Greno—best known as the co-director of 'Tangled'—at Skydance Animation, succeeded at the box office with 38 million views on Netflix during its opening week. It is being regarded as an example of how the decision to tear down and rebuild an existing concept after years of development ultimately paid off.