Skydance/Netflix Animated Feature ‘Pookoo’ Retitled as ‘Swapped’

During a panel on local investment at Iberseries & Platino Industria in Madrid, it was revealed by Skydance Animation Madrid’s VP of Finance & Operations Carolina Borreguero Sanz that the studio’s upcoming animated family feature Pookoo has been retitled as Swapped. Now due out next year after a delay, the new title is apt for the plot:

When two natural sworn enemies of The Valley, a small woodland creature and a majestic bird, magically trade places, they must set off on an adventure of a lifetime to save their home.

The film is written and directed by Nathan Greno (Tangled) and produced by Jennifer Magee Cook (The Princess and the Frog). The project was picked up by Netflix when it took over Apple TV+’s deal with Skydance Animation in 2022.

Skydance Animation, now part of Paramount, has seen inspiring growth at its Spanish outpost, according to Borreguero Sanz. Skydance hired local studio Ilion to work on two feature films back in 2016, and later acquired the production unit in 2020 to continue these projects. The studio has since grown from 250 employees to 700, including, the VP told attendees, 30% from abroad. She noted that more than 30 nationalities are represented on the Skydance Animation Madrid staff.

Borreguero Sanz also pointed to the studio’s busy upcoming animated feature slate: “We have two films in production that will be delivered in 2026, and we have three additional ones.” She added that the goal is to deliver two films per year thereafter. The exec also revealed that one of the films set to premiere next year is “a Brad Bird project,” referring to the Oscar-winning director’s (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, The Iron Giant) long awaited sci-fi mystery Ray Gunn.

The story centers on the titular hero, the last human private detective in a future world inhabited by both earthlings and aliens. Ray Gunn is also set to launch on Netflix in 2026.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]