"Swapped" (2026) and The Power of Trust
Swapped combines comedy, adventure and emotional growth while delivering one of the biggest plot twists in animation history.

A wounded Freedom Fighter and his soldiers encounter a group of refugees hiding out in a shopping mall. They have the same mission, to stay alive and stay free by eluding hunters who seek to capture them and prepare them for sale to corporations who can no longer afford hired labor.
Swapped combines comedy, adventure and emotional growth while delivering one of the biggest plot twists in animation history.
"First Day" is a trans kid slice-of-life tv show that brings desperately needed diversity to coming-of-age stories in mainstream media. Here's a show that get's it right by having a trans actress in a story centered on trans girlhood.
Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a fan-favorite, as are some of the more science fiction angled movies like 28 Days Later or World War Z. I recently watched the 1995 Wolfgang Peterson-directed movie, Outbreak for the first time, which is currently available on Netflix.
YouTube surpasses Netflix but there is more to the story.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.
Where is Lilo's face? Disney marketing sends a chilling signal: that even in 2025, an alien is more palatable and marketable than a brown girl.