---
name: "Raja Gosnell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/raja-gosnell"
fi1m_id: "raja-gosnell"
imdb_id: "nm0331532"
tmdb_id: 1215
wikidata_id: "Q545351"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "9 December 1958"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 42
average_as: "director"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-05T12:06:27.757169+00:00"
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."
---

# Raja Gosnell

## Identity

Raja Gosnell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/raja-gosnell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** raja-gosnell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0331532
- **TMDB ID:** 1215
- **Wikidata ID:** Q545351
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Gosnell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q545351, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0331532/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1215

Director. Born 9 December 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 9 December 1958, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Active:** 1980–2011
- **Also known as:** Raja R. Gosnell, Raja Raymond Gosnell
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 7: 2 directing, 5 crew
- **Frequently works with:** [Chris Columbus](https://film.one/person/chris-columbus.md), [Daniel Stern](https://film.one/person/daniel-stern.md), [Joe Pesci](https://film.one/person/joe-pesci.md), [John Heard](https://film.one/person/john-heard.md), [John Hughes](https://film.one/person/john-hughes.md), [Macaulay Culkin](https://film.one/person/macaulay-culkin.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 42, as director, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 64 (1), 1990s 74 (4), 2000s 48 (1), 2010s 37 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Gosnell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q545351, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0331532/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1215

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Home Alone*](https://film.one/film/home-alone.md) (80), [*Mrs. Doubtfire*](https://film.one/film/mrs-doubtfire.md) (74), [*Home Alone 2: Lost in New York*](https://film.one/film/home-alone-2-lost-in-new-york.md) (63)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Scooby-Doo*](https://film.one/film/scooby-doo.md) (48)
- **Netflix:** [*The Smurfs*](https://film.one/film/the-smurfs.md) (37)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Raja Gosnell

> Raja Gosnell's editing for Chris Columbus gives broad slapstick precision, though he can be too protective of the sentiment. His move into directing is less persuasive, with *Scooby-Doo* struggling to decide who its jokes are for.

In *Home Alone* (1990), the wait before a physical joke is part of the pleasure. Raja Gosnell judges how long that wait can last before the joke needs to arrive. We laughed at the slapstick because he makes the anticipation almost as enjoyable as the impact. The cuts are precise even when the comedy is at its broadest.

His sustained collaboration with director Chris Columbus included *Home Alone*, *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York* (1992) and *Mrs. Doubtfire* (1993). In the sequel, the action remains easy to follow and individual jokes get the preparation they need, but repeated punishments wear thin. John Hughes's screenplay keeps returning to similar material; no editor could solve that merely by cutting faster.

Garry Marshall's *Pretty Woman* (1990) gives us another reason to rate Gosnell's editing: he and Priscilla Nedd-Friendly leave Julia Roberts and Richard Gere enough time for their attraction to register. The romantic escapism works, although the film spends too long admiring its idea of sophistication. In Columbus's *Mrs. Doubtfire*, Gosnell is again most effective when the farce gathers speed around Robin Williams. But the edit keeps too many of the slower reassurances about family feeling, weakening an otherwise funny, affecting comedy.

He moved into directing with *Home Alone 3* (1997), with *Scooby-Doo* (2002) and *The Smurfs* (2011) among his later credits. In *Scooby-Doo*, he struggles to decide who the comedy is for. The physical comedy courts children, while the knowing references invite adults to feel above the material. Gosnell and screenwriter James Gunn keep switching between the two before either approach has time to work.

The good casting in *Scooby-Doo* deserves its due: Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini make stretches of it worth the trouble. It is still hard to recommend. Start with *Home Alone* for the timing; try *Pretty Woman* if romantic escapism is worth a little indulgence.

## Biography

Raja Raymond Gosnell (also credited as Raja R. Gosnell) is an American film editor and director. Born on 9 December 1958 in Los Angeles, California, he began his career as an assistant editor in the late 1970s before gaining solo editing credits.

He edited several films directed by Chris Columbus, including *Home Alone* (1990), *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York* (1992) and *Mrs. Doubtfire* (1993), as well as *Pretty Woman* (1990). Gosnell made his directorial debut with *Home Alone 3* (1997) and went on to direct comedies and family films such as *Never Been Kissed* (1999), *Big Momma's House* (2000), *Scooby-Doo* (2002), *Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed* (2004), *Yours, Mine & Ours* (2005), *Beverly Hills Chihuahua* (2008), *The Smurfs* (2011) and *The Smurfs 2* (2013).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

### Directed (2) — the average rests on these

- *The Smurfs* (2011), Fi1m 37, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-smurfs.md)
- *Scooby-Doo* (2002), Fi1m 48, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/scooby-doo.md)

### Crew (5)

- *Mrs. Doubtfire* (1993), Fi1m 74, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-doubtfire.md)
- *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York* (1992), Fi1m 63, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/home-alone-2-lost-in-new-york.md)
- *Home Alone* (1990), Fi1m 80, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/home-alone.md)
- *Pretty Woman* (1990), Fi1m 77, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/pretty-woman.md)
- *Popeye* (1980), Fi1m 64, Additional Editing — [page](https://film.one/film/popeye.md)

## Complete filmography (33)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Gun and a Hotel Bible* (2021), Director
- *Show Dogs* (2018), Director
- *Smurfs: The Lost Village* (2017), Executive Producer
- *The Smurfs 2* (2013), Director
- *The Smurfs* (2011), Director — Fi1m 37, [page](https://film.one/film/the-smurfs.md)
- *Beverly Hills Chihuahua* (2008), Director
- *Yours, Mine & Ours* (2005), Director
- *Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed* (2004), Director
- *Scooby-Doo* (2002), Director — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/scooby-doo.md)
- *Big Momma's House* (2000), Director
- *Never Been Kissed* (1999), Director
- *Home Alone 3* (1997), Director
- *Nine Months* (1995), Editor
- *Miracle on 34th Street* (1994), Editor
- *Mrs. Doubtfire* (1993), Editor — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-doubtfire.md)
- *Rookie of the Year* (1993), Editor
- *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York* (1992), Editor — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/home-alone-2-lost-in-new-york.md)
- *T Bone N Weasel* (1992), Editor
- *Only the Lonely* (1991), Editor
- *Home Alone* (1990), as Murphy's Answering Machine Voice (uncredited) · Editor — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/home-alone.md)
- *Pretty Woman* (1990), Editor — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/pretty-woman.md)
- *Jury Duty: The Comedy* (1990), Editor
- *Heartbreak Hotel* (1988), Editor
- *Jailbird Rock* (1988), Editor
- *D.O.A.* (1988), Editor
- *Teen Wolf Too* (1987), Editor
- *Soldier's Revenge* (1986), Editor
- *Weekend Warriors* (1986), Editor
- *Monster in the Closet* (1986), Editor
- *The Lonely Guy* (1984), Editor
- *Popeye* (1980), as Additional Editing — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/popeye.md)
- *A Perfect Couple* (1979), Assistant Editor
- *Santa: The Adventure Begins*, Director

---
© 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/person/raja-gosnell