--- title: "Jojo Rabbit" year: 2019 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/jojo-rabbit" fi1m_score: 58 critics_score: 52 critics_reviews: 29 published: "2026-09-17T09:15:42.335964+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T09:15:42.813873+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Jojo Rabbit (2019) Directed by Taika Waititi · 1h 48m · MPA PG-13 · Comedy, War, Drama **Fi1m score: 58** · Critics 52 from 29 reviews *In a sentence:* The boy is worth listening to; his imaginary Hitler could do with fewer lines > Roman Griffin Davis and Scarlett Johansson give *Jojo Rabbit* enough warmth to make its awkwardness matter. Taika Waititi’s imaginary Hitler is funny in small doses, but the satire grows repetitive and the shifts into seriousness feel forced. ## Synopsis Under the Third Reich during the Second World War, Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a boy whose imaginary friend is Adolf (Taika Waititi), his own version of Hitler. Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) is a Hitler Youth instructor, while Yorki (Archie Yates) is Jojo’s friend. Jojo tries to understand the world through the Nazi beliefs around him, with an imaginary dictator available to join the conversation. His relationship with Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) puts those beliefs under pressure. Between the adults teaching him what to think and the people he gets to know, Jojo has to work out whose account to believe. ## Review *Jojo Rabbit* is an uneven coming-of-age comedy whose satire rarely gets beyond calling Nazis ridiculous. Taika Waititi, who writes and directs, wants to make indoctrination comprehensible through a boy who treats Hitler as an imaginary friend. There is a useful idea here: a child can attach himself to something monstrous without understanding what it means. Too often, however, the film settles for making the attachment cute, then relies on the performances when cuteness is no longer enough. Roman Griffin Davis gives Jojo enough uncertainty to keep him from becoming simply a child delivering grown-up jokes. The performance makes it possible to care about this boy without endorsing the rubbish he believes. Thomasin McKenzie, as Elsa, makes the central relationship worth attending to, although the screenplay places too much responsibility on it to explain why hatred is wrong. Their scenes together allow some doubt into a film otherwise rather pleased with its own good intentions. Taika Waititi also plays Adolf, the imaginary Hitler, and the silliness has some value. We laughed at this dictator reduced to a boy’s imaginary companion, because the performance makes his authority look childish. But the same joke has to do too much work. Making Hitler ridiculous does little to explain the attraction of everything the child has been taught. Once the absurdity is established, further clowning brings diminishing returns, particularly when there are more interesting people to spend time with. Scarlett Johansson gives Rosie a warmth that does not need the imaginary friend’s antics, and the film benefits from that quieter approach. Sam Rockwell’s Captain Klenzendorf, a Hitler Youth instructor, supplies a more knowing kind of comedy. Both performances suggest how much could have been achieved by trusting the actors and easing off the effort to be endearing. The problem is in Taika Waititi’s screenplay, which keeps asking humour to soften material that sometimes needs to remain uncomfortable. Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. and production designer Ra Vincent make the setting attractive enough to support the fantasy, but that choice also makes the historical danger feel less immediate. We can see why a child’s imagined world should look inviting. We are less persuaded when that invitation extends to the film’s treatment of the adults around him. The attractive surroundings might have worked better with harsher comedy; here, the look and the affectionate jokes keep reassuring us when we ought to feel less secure. Editor Tom Eagles has the awkward job of fitting broad farce beside scenes that ask for serious feeling. The changes in tone are too conspicuous: we keep noticing when the film wants us to stop laughing, rather than arriving at that feeling ourselves. Michael Giacchino’s music contributes to the sweetness, but cannot make those changes feel earned. At 108 minutes, the film has enough time for its story, yet it repeatedly interrupts our involvement to tell us which response it now wants. A satire of indoctrination needs to show why people accept nonsense, including when it ceases to look amusing. *Jojo Rabbit* is more interested in the hope that they can be talked out of it, and that limits how hard its jokes can hit. Viewers interested in the childhood drama may find enough in the performances to forgive the comedy’s narrow reach. If the imaginary Hitler already sounds tiresome, the film is unlikely to change your mind. *Fi1m score 58, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are sharply divided on Jojo Rabbit, with praise clustering around the performances rather than agreement on its satire. Roman Griffin Davis’s young lead draws repeated approval, while Scarlett Johansson and the supporting cast help make the central relationships touching even for some sceptics. Supporters find that the child’s perspective gives the comedy licence to be absurd while exposing the cruelty and foolishness of Nazi beliefs. The chief disagreement concerns the shifts between slapstick and historical horror: some critics find them affecting, others clumsy or sentimental. /Film sees a skilful balance of darkness and warmth; Slant Magazine finds cheap sentiment and jokes inadequate to the subjects of oppression and indoctrination. Between those poles, mixed reviews credit the cast and individual laughs but question the satire’s bite. The spread is unusually wide, with critics disagreeing over whether the gentleness makes the film humane or lets its targets off too lightly. ### Reviews we read (29) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (4/5): The critic finds the audacious WWII comedy risky yet worthy, commending its child’s perspective, bold humor, and how it turns the central relationship into something endearing and ground-breaking. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/jojo-rabbit) - **Sight and Sound**, Ella Kemp (70/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's witty and playful approach to its anti-hate satire, highlighting how it finds light in dark subject matter through whimsy and strong performances, especially from the young lead. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi-laughs-face-fascism) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (70/100, inferred): The review notes genuine zest in the film's unease and finds it weirdly convincing as a portrait of childhood under surreal strain. It stumbles at times but remains preferable to watch again than many other films. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/28/the-lighthouse-is-salted-with-madness) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a tricky blend of farce, fantasy and drama that filters the banality and evil of the Third Reich through a child's consciousness. It is sharpest when it dares to be funny, painting a credible if cartoonish picture of an evil system without graphic imagery. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/movies/jojo-rabbit-review.html) - **Radio Times**, Patrick Cremona (3/5): The critic describes an uneven comedy drama that stumbles between slapstick and sincerity but succeeds in injecting heart through the young cast, though its satirical elements remain largely toothless. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-6lvp40/jojo-rabbit/) - **The i Paper**, Demetrios Matheou (★★★): Waititi’s wacky anti-hate satire is divisive and sometimes grating in its contrasts, yet it remains touching thanks to strong central performances, especially from Johansson and the young lead. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/jojo-rabbit-review-nazi-comedy-divisive-film-taika-waititi-cast-380838) - **The Times**, Tom Shone (★★★): Taika Waititi has threaded a risky but funny path with this sweet-tempered, zany farce about a boy with an imaginary Hitler friend. It is slightly hit-and-miss but succeeds in many ways. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/film-review-jojo-rabbit-mjn02tcqz) - **Empire**, Ben Travis (50/100, inferred): The film has real heart and strong central performances from the young lead and supporting cast, but its tone often clashes between broad comedy and heavier drama. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/jojo-rabbit/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (50/100, inferred): The critic calls the satire erratic but engaging, with a mixture of black humor and sentimentality that is not always as good as its best parts. The fantasy Hitler is the best element, and certain sequences make viewers shake their heads and smile. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-10-15/jojo-rabbit-scarlet-johannson-review) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a divisive Holocaust comedy that plays extreme Nazi views for laughs before twisting them for emotional effect. Sam Rockwell's resourceful comic turn as a Hitler Youth instructor is singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/jojo-rabbit-review-1238171/) - **Evening Standard**, David Sexton (30/100, inferred): The tonal shifts fail to land, resulting in a film that is neither convincing drama nor effective spoof and comes across as consistently cute rather than offbeat. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/jojo-rabbit-review-dont-be-fooled-theres-nothing-cute-about-the-hitler-youth-a4325561.html) - **Screen Daily** (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the gentle satire disappointing and meagre despite its ambition, noting that good intentions prove insufficient and the comedy feels too safe and inconsequential. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/jojo-rabbit-review/5142722.article) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (30/100, inferred): The review describes it as a feel-good hipster Nazi comedy that creates the illusion of danger while playing it safe, like a Wes Anderson movie set during the Third Reich. It lacks the courage of its own conventionality and uses defanged black comedy to make viewers feel good about feeling above a feel-good movie. [Read](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/jojo-rabbit-review-taiki-waititi-1203328083/) - **Little White Lies**, Jake Cole (3/1/1): The critic calls it a staggeringly ill-conceived satire that fails to explore its premise meaningfully, resulting in a paper-thin effort lacking bite or comic insight beyond twee energy. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/jojo-rabbit) - **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (20/100, inferred): The critic strongly dislikes the film and finds its attempt to blend broad satire with Holocaust gravity unsuccessful and often obscene. He singles out the clumsy alternation between silliness and horror for criticism, comparing it unfavorably to Life Is Beautiful. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/jojo-rabbit-is-not-the-new-life-is-beautiful-1841555083) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (1/5): The critic finds the film a bland and misjudged Hitler-spoofy YA adventure that accentuates little-kid cuteness amid non-horror. It fails to attack evil or deliver laughs or insights. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/dec/20/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi-hitler-comedy) - **The Telegraph** (1/5): The film is a feeble, one-note Nazi comedy that fails to land a single meaningful blow as satire and veers into sentimental tear-jerker territory. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2019/10/05/jojo-rabbit-review-feeble-one-note-nazi-comedy-fails-land-single/) - **Slant Magazine**, Keith Uhlich (0/4): The critic calls the film spectacularly wrongheaded and incapable of addressing oppression or indoctrination beyond cheap sentimentality and jokes. He singles out its shamelessly offensive platonic courtship plot and lack of genuine laughs for complaint. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi/) - **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (9/10): Waititi expertly balances darkness and light in a heartfelt, sweet, blackly comedic coming-of-age story that finds hope in hopeless times. The performances, particularly from the young lead and supporting cast, bring the film's magic to life. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/568944/jojo-rabbit-review/) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (85/100, inferred): The critic finds that Taika Waititi succeeds admirably in taking the risky premise of a Nazi satire and delivering a film that amuses while reminding viewers of the idiocy and horrors of Hitler and his followers. He singles out the superb performance of child actor Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo for particular praise. [Read](https://deadline.com/video/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi-adolf-hitler-nazi-satire/) - **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (85/100, inferred): The film is an intensely anti-fascist satire that uses comedy to deliver an emotional punch and ridicule anti-Semitic thinking. It is clever, charming, laugh-out-loud funny and deeply humane, with standout performances especially from Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/jojo-rabbit-2019-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B+): The critic praises the film as hilarious and sweet, highlighting its use of comedy to diminish Nazis and its emotional depth through strong performances by young leads. [Read](https://collider.com/jojo-rabbit-review/) - **NME**, Greg Wetherall (4/5): Wit and whimsy carry the film; praises the look, soundtrack, cast performances especially in comedy, but notes the narrative arc is predictable. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi-2554204) - **The Wrap**, Steve Pond (80/100, inferred): The critic concludes that Waititi has taken a risky premise and turned in a twisted piece of grandly entertaining provocation that pulls off Hitler jokes effectively. He singles out the film's dark satire and its ability to make a case for understanding as circumstances chip away at the protagonist's worldview. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/jojo-rabbit-film-review-taika-waititi-insists-that-nazis-can-be-funny/) - **Digital Spy**, Gabriella Geisinger (75/100, inferred): As a Jewish critic, the reviewer feels verklempt; praises the film's ability to make one empathize with Elsa and think critically about beliefs, while acknowledging the discomfort of satirizing Nazis but ultimately seeing it as a success. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a29641058/jojo-rabbit-review-hitler-nazi-taika-waititi/) - **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (3.5/5): The critic finds it an enjoyable satire with good performances and laughs from the Hitler character, but notes it feels evanescent and unmoving compared to the historical horrors, though successful overall. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/jojo-rabbit-review-scarlett-johansson/) - **HeyUGuys**, Katie Smith-Wong (60/100, inferred): The film establishes a whimsical tone but loses consistency in the third act as serious elements clash with comedy. It ultimately offers sweetness and an idiotically hilarious Hitler, though some plot elements like friendship with Yorki are underdeveloped. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/jojo-rabbit-lff-2019-review-taika-waititi/) - **The Playlist**, Charles Bramesco (D+): The satire is naively idealistic in suggesting that Nazis or haters can be redeemed through compassion, which the critic finds unconvincing and manipulative. While funny in parts and featuring strong performances from Johansson, the film's moral stance is seen as privileged and misguided. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/jojo-rabbit-taika-waititi-tiff-review-20190909/) - **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film's approach to Nazism through a child's perspective problematic, noting it simplifies the horrors and relies on predictable emotional beats, making it enervating despite some strengths. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2019/10/18/movies/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi) ## Details - **Director:** Taika Waititi - **Director:** Taika Waititi - **Screenplay:** Taika Waititi - **Novel:** Christine Leunens - **Cinematography:** Mihai Malaimare Jr. - **Editor:** Tom Eagles - **Music:** Michael Giacchino - **Production design:** Ra Vincent - **Costume design:** Mayes C. Rubeo - **Producer:** Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley, Carthew Neal - **Cast:** Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo; Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa; Scarlett Johansson as Rosie; Taika Waititi as Adolf; Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf; Rebel Wilson as Fraulein Rahm; Alfie Allen as Finkel; Stephen Merchant as Deertz - **Runtime:** 1h 48m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 8 November 2019 - **Genres:** Comedy, War, Drama - **Budget:** $14 million - **Box office:** $82 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL4McUzXfFI ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $4.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $19.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2020: Best Picture (nominated); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won) ## If you liked this - *The Great Dictator* (1940), Fi1m 80: A sharper comic attack on dictatorship, with room for sentiment and anger. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator.md) - *To Be or Not to Be* (1942), Fi1m 87: Wartime farce whose jokes depend on danger remaining close and credible. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/to-be-or-not-to-be.md) - *The Devil's Backbone* (2001): A child’s view of war, with ghosts and a less forgiving tenderness. - *Au revoir les enfants* (1987), Fi1m 90: Childhood friendship under occupation, handled with restraint and without comic protection. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/au-revoir-les-enfants.md) - *Hunt for the Wilderpeople* (2016), Fi1m 82: Another awkward boy seeking belonging, with humour that grows from the relationship. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hunt-for-the-wilderpeople.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/jojo-rabbit