Disney has returned to the mother-daughter story withFreakier Friday, a long-awaited sequel to the 2003 film. Returning to this sub-genre, audiences will again be reminded of the body swap concept. It’s a story that has existed since the 19th century, entertaining the prospects of walking a mile in another person’s shoes (or, in this case, body).
For being around so long, body swapping tends to get a bad rap, often being cited as a last-ditch idea for a show about to be canceled. While TV hasn’t featured the best trope usage, some movies have done a better job of making the scenario work. These body-swap movies are entertaining enough to walk a mile in.
2002
Runtime
1 hour 26 minutes
Despite transitioning from animation to live-action,Scooby-Doomaintained the wacky hijinks of theclassic cartoon. The mystery-solving team and their talking dog, Scooby, tackle their toughest case when investigating a mysterious island. But they’ll have to put their egos aside when encountering the dark magic of this Spring Break gone wrong.
The most hilarious aspect ofScooby-Doois when the characters end up swapping bodies through a soul transfer. Watching these exaggerated characters get a change in body and gender leads to some childish yet amusing gags. So if you ever wanted to see what the dorky Fred would do in the body of Daphne, well, it’s pretty much what you’d expect, but it’s still hilariously performed.
Amazon Prime Video
Scooby-Dootakes the mystery-solving cartoon ensemble and places them in a live-action adventure on a mysterious island.
1988
1 hour 38 minutes
Marshall Seymour (Judge Reinhold) is a businessman who has discovered a mysterious Asian artifact. It contains magical powers that force him to switch bodies with his young son, Charlie (Fred Savage). As they attempt to undo this curse and foil some smugglers, the father and son will have to get used to seeing the world from a different age and perspective.
Although released not long afterBig,Vice Versais one of many adaptations that take a cue from F. Anstey’s classic novel. The premise is solid enough, and there’s some strong chemistry between Reinhold and Savage, given Savage’s ability to appear more assertively adult and Reinhold’s general bewilderment to reflect a child’s mindset. While the concept might be old, the dynamic felt fresh enough for this 1980s approach to story over a century old.
Tubi
Vice Versafinds a father and son swapping places as they attempt to outsmart smugglers.
1978
1 hour 35 minutes
It’s the Disney classic that makes mothers and daughters look at their worlds differently. The young Annabel Andrews (Jodie Foster) can’t connect with her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris). A heated argument on Friday the 13th, however, forces them to switch lives and shoe sizes for a chance to see things from the other side of a generation, where school and chores look mighty different.
Released when Disney’s live-action films were faulty,Freaky Fridayproved to be a more enduring film. Foster and Harris’s performances are fun and elevate a script that doesn’t explore as much comedy as possible. It was strong enough to garner Golden Globe nominations and be more fondly remembered over time.
Disney+
Freaky Fridayposes a mother and daughter swapping places and understanding each other better.
2020
1 hour 40 minutes
Pixar’sSoulis the animation studio’s most existential movie to date. Jazz pianist Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) may have a shot at a big break, but accidentally dies while getting ready for his big show. His only chance of finding his way out of the afterlife and back to his body is through the misfit soul 22 (Tina Fey), leading them into a situation where 22 gets to experience life as an adult human for the first time.
While the first half mainly focuses on Joe getting trapped in the afterlife, the second half finds the humor and humanity in 22 inhabiting Joe’s body and Joe being inside a cat’s body. With 22 getting all giddy about this new form, her exploration of life forces Joe to look at himself differently. It’s enough to make you appreciate the smaller things in life, like the falling leaves or a slice of pizza.
Soulis a fantasy adventure about a jazz pianist who gets a second chance at life and shows an unborn soul the potential of life itself.
1 hour 42 minutes
Ditching Friday,Freakyposes the body-switch trope through the giddy gauntlet of horror comedy. Teenager Millie Kessler becomes the target of a serial killer known as the Butcher, but unexpectedly switches places and occupies the killer’s body due to a magical dagger. With only a day to reverse course, she’ll have to figure out a way to switch before she’s trapped, stuck as the Butcher forever.
Directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day),Freakyplays around withslasher flicksby tossing in a body-switch twist. There are a few obvious jokes about how a teenage girl becomes a middle-aged man, but they still work with the darkly absurd plot. If you dug what Landon did with time loops inHappy Death Day, you’ll love his take on body swap withFreaky.
Freakyfinds a horror victim swapping places with a serial killer and struggling to get back in her teenage body.
1 hour 43 minutes
Director Brandon Cronenberg lives up to his father’s legacy with the trippy sci-fi horror,Possessor. Set in a dark future, Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is a corporate assassin who carries out her kills through the bodies of others. Despite her best efforts to separate her work and private life, Tasya’s sense of identity blurs as her body-swapping profession affects her mind, sending her mental state into a psychosexual mess of regret and violence.
Much like his dad’s films, Brandon’sPossessoris a body horror picture, but one that is extra trippy for getting lost in different identities. It’s one of the few films that addresses the mental aspects more than the physical. While Tasya may be able to occupy the bodies of men and adopt different lives, her own perceptions distort further the deeper she gets involved with her psychologically draining work.
Possessorfinds a corporate assassin losing control of her mind as she takes control of bodies in her deadly work.
2003
1 hour 37 minutes
As a remake of the Disney classic, 2003’sFreaky Fridaypresents a mother-daughter swap for the 21st century. This time, Jamie Lee Curtis plays mother Tess and Lindsay Lohan plays teenage daughter Anna. The two of them switch bodies through the magic of a fortune cookie, and Tess faces the hardships of scrutinizing teachers while Anna struggles to face patients as a psychiatrist.
Unlike the 1970s version, this 2000s adaptation finds way more fun stuff to do with the scenario while still making it heartfelt amid the hilarity. Of course, a film like this is only as strong as the performances, and Curtis and Lohan do not disappoint. Curtis goes the extra mile in comedy, while Lohan displays some remarkable depth for being early in her acting career. It’s easy to see why this film warranted a sequel many years later.
Freaky Fridayfinds Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan switching bodies for a ridiculous dose of role reversal.
1997
2 hours 18 minutes
Directed by Hong Kong action legend John Woo,Face/Offuses body swapping more for action than comedy. The film finds John Travolta as an FBI agent targeted by a terrorist played by Nicolas Cage. With a bomb set to go off, Travolta switches faces with Cage to track down the explosive. However, the mission is complicated when Cage (now in Travolta’s role) escapes to embrace the carnage with his new face.
As a John Woo film, there are plenty of guns and violence, but there is also a lot of fun with Travolta and Cage. It’s great to watch them try to mimic each other’s acting styles, but Cage is at his most unhinged even before the face swap. Although not as robust as Woo’s previous action films, there’s still a lot of cleverness and excitement from this bombastic action romp.
2 hours 3 minutes
Although more of a body growth than a swap,Bigindulges the dreams of tweens who want to speed towards adulthood. Josh is only thirteen years old, but, thanks to a wish from a fortune-telling machine, he wakes up as a 32-year-old Tom Hanks. As an adult, he delights in all the pleasures of adulthood while still acting like a kid in a toy store (literally, for one scene).
There’s a good reason whyBigis considered the most quintessential body-swap movie. While there are some concerning elements of this teenager being in an adult body, Tom Hanks’s comedic ease makes the scenario so charming. It’s not just an amusing low-fantasy comedy but also one of Hanks’s finest performances, with his ability to delight in toys as an adult.
Hulu
Bigfinds a teenager getting the chance to be an adult when he magically transforms into a grown-up played by Tom Hanks.
2016
1 hour 52 minutes
Mitsuha Miyamizu is a high school student in a rural town, and Taki Tachibana is a high school student living in Tokyo. Through some magical occurrence, the two swap bodies on specific days, leading them to devise a system for how they’ll use their bodies. As they attempt to meet, they soon realize that they not only swap bodies, but also years amid a cataclysmic event.
Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai (Suzume),Your Nametook the old formula of body swapping and turned it into more of a wondrous young romance. There’s a compelling mystery to the swap, and the chemistry between Mitsuha and Taki is rather sweet. It’s a brilliant story made all the more captivating by the breathtakingly beautiful animation, making it one of thebest animemovies ever.
Crunchyroll
Your Namefeatures two teenagers swapping bodies and years while learning more about each other in the different living environments and genders.
As I’ve discussed here, body swapping isn’t as simplistic or repetitive as comedic possibilities. It can be used for slasher horror, mind-bending thrillers, explosive action, and even tender romance. It’s a tale as old as time that still has some appeal, and swapping bodies has more potential beyond princes, paupers, and routine gender jokes.
