ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Justina Machado about the new animated Netflix movie Swapped. Machado discussed what drew her to this project, why animation isn’t just for young kids, if there could be a sequel, and more. “A buddy comedy about a small woodland creature (voiced by Academy Award-winning Michael B. Jordan) and […] The post Swapped’s Justina Machado on Animation Being for Everyone, Potential Sequel | Interview appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Justina Machado about the new animated Netflix movie Swapped. Machado discussed what drew her to this project, why animation isn’t just for young kids, if there could be a sequel, and more.
“A buddy comedy about a small woodland creature (voiced by Academy Award-winning Michael B. Jordan) and a majestic bird (voiced by Juno Temple) — natural sworn enemies of The Valley — who suddenly swap bodies and must team up (while walking in each other’s feathers and fur) to survive the wildest adventure of their lives,” the official synopsis reads.
Swapped will be released on Netflix on Friday, May 1, 2026.
Brandon: I’m wondering if you can tell me a little bit about how and why you got involved with this really cool, really unique animated movie. What’s the story of how you got cast in this past, and what ultimately made you want to be involved with Swapped?
Justina Machado: When they came to me, and they offered me the part, I think what made me want to get involved was the cast that they already had. They already had Michael B. Jordan. I think they already had Juno Temple. It was really an incredible — Tracy Morgan. All of it. Just a great cast. That, right away, was just enough for me to say yes. So, you know, that was an easy yes.
Totally. Like you said, such a talented cast. So much fun to watch. I’ve got to say, I thought the script for this was really wonderful. I went into this one pretty blind — I’d seen some images of the movie, but I hadn’t seen a trailer or anything. I didn’t know too much about the story. And I was totally won over by this whole new world to explore and all these characters. I’m wondering if there was an element of this movie — whether it be the specific character you’re voicing in here or just a message/theme to the story — that really stuck out to you when you were reading the script for the first time and made you say that you want to do this?
I think that — I mean, quite frankly, I don’t really remember reading the script, because sometimes they don’t give you all of it. They’re still working on it, and this has been a process over a couple of years. But I think that, every time I walked into the booth, and we worked on…just getting a sense of where the movie was going. I loved the whole idea of empathy, compassion, putting yourself in other people’s shoes, and being stronger together. I loved all the underlying messages that they had. Every time I walked into the booth, I’d find something new out. So that was a fun process.
Sure. And, Justina, you’ve starred in a lot of things that I’ve loved throughout your career. I mean, Six Feet Under, Final Destination 2 — the list goes on and on, and I’m a big fan. But when it comes to voicing characters in animated movies, I’d love to know what draws you to this medium. I don’t know about you, but I feel like animation can sometimes get a bum rap from people, where some people just approach it with the mindset that it’s for kids, and it’s only for kids, when, really, it can offer so much more. Why do you think a story like this, Swapped, in animation is such an important form of storytelling?
I think it’s so magical. I just think animation is just magical. It’s a really fun way to use your art in a different kind of way. I think that — I don’t know why animation gets [that reputation]. I mean, I love Bob’s Burgers. I love all of that stuff. Sometimes, I’ll be on the plane watching animation and will feel a little bit embarrassed. I’m hoping nobody [sees], because I’m of a certain age. But I think that you have a lot of great lessons in animation. Then there’s the music. It’s just magical to me. So that’s why I like it. It’s really fun to see your voice on all these different characters. To see how they bring your character to life and how they bring your voice to life — all of it is really fun.
Totally. It resulted in such a fun movie; I was having a blast watching this one. I loved it. Bouncing off that, like we’ve said, you’ve been in a lot of live-action stuff, but do you have a certain process for preparing for an animated role like this? Do you find yourself either watching or re-watching other animated movies that have similar characters or concepts to Swapped when you got this part, or do you go into the recording booth fresh and focus on what’s on the page?
Yeah, exactly. You just kind of hope your voice is rested, and your voice is hydrated. You just go in there and, yeah, what’s on the page. You trust in the creative team. So many times, you’re not actually in the booth, you’re just by yourself. And you don’t have the other actor’s voice sometimes. You just have the director voicing the other actor. So it’s a lot of trust. You have to trust that they know what they want, and you walk in there with an open mind.
I’m so curious what it’s like to actually then — you do all this recording, but what’s it like to see the movie for the first time? You have the script, and you go in, and you record your lines. But do you have any idea what the actual movie is going to look like, or what the animation is going to give off? What’s your reaction when you see the finished product, and you get to see what the vision is?
They do do that. They let you see it. If they’ve worked on it and it’s out there, they always show it to you. Sometimes, when you’re in the booth, they’ll say, ‘Let us show you the scene. Let’s show you the scene before, or let’s show you here.’ So you do get to see that during the process, so you can get a sense of what you look like. They do show it to you right away — they show you all of those things. Even when they offer it to you, they show you what the characters are going to look like, and what it’s going to be like. With any project, live-action or animation, it’s always incredible to see the finished product. It’s not things that you’d imagine. It’s always a really great experience, and fulfilling experience, to see the finished product.
Sure. And the kind of character you’re voicing in here, the Pookoo, they’re so cute. I want like 20 of them. I thought they were adorable.
They are cute.
We’ve mentioned some of the other incredibly talented people who are part of this project. Besides yourself, we’ve got Michael B. Jordan, Juno Temple, Tracy Morgan, and Cedric the Entertainer. The list goes on. I know you guys might not all be in the recording booth at the same time when you’re doing your lines for this movie, but did you have the opportunity to meet with them and record in person, or was it all solo by yourself?
All solo. I didn’t meet anybody. Yesterday was the first time that I met Michael and Camden [Brooks], who voiced young Ollie, at the premiere. But, no, it was completely by myself in the booth. That was my experience.
Gotcha. I’m sure that’s still got to be super exciting — you said you were drawn to this project because there are so many cool people involved with it, and to have your name up there with everyone else, I’m sure that’s a great feeling.
Very great. It’s a very cool feeling, absolutely.
Definitely. One thing I love about Swapped, like we said before, it’s an animated movie for kids and families, but it never feels like it’s talking down to children in any kind of way. It has real stakes and real-life lessons that can be learned. That’s maybe not always the case with some animated movies that are geared to kids, but I was really struck by how this one treats its audience like real people. It doesn’t dumb down anything for them. What do you ultimately hope that people, and especially younger audiences who might be checking this out, get from the experience of watching Swapped?
First of all, I have a lot of faith in younger audiences. I think we can really learn a lot from young people. So, maybe more people my age and people a little younger than me walk away with more empathy and more compassion; they can understand what it’s like to be in somebody else’s shoes and can think about that. Knowing that you’re stronger together, and love always wins. All of that. Take care of the Earth — take care of the Earth, take care of the Earth. But I think the younger people are on track. I think they can teach us a lot of stuff.
I love that. The world we’re introduced to in here is so unique and so full of different characters that I’ve never seen in a movie before. I love the story that is being told here, but I’m wondering — since there are so many unique ideas, do you think this is a movie that could lend itself to a sequel? Would you be interested in continuing to explore this world and this character if they came to you and said they wanted to make another, or do you feel like this concept is better off as a one-off?
No, I think that there could be a sequel, for sure. There’s always another story to tell. If they wanted to include me, I’d be happy to be back in there. So, we’ll see what happens.
Thanks to Justina Machado for taking the time to discuss Swapped.
The post Swapped’s Justina Machado on Animation Being for Everyone, Potential Sequel | Interview appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
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