Jojo Rabbit is both hilarious and depressing. Taika Waititi has the rare ability to make me sob one minute, and laugh hysterically the next.
From the moment I saw the first trailer for Jojo Rabbit, I was intrigued. If anyone can pull off adding humor to the very dark story of World War II, it is Taika Waititi. I have had the pleasure of interviewing Taika, and the man is a genius. You can almost see the wheels turning in his head constantly. He took a very depressing story and somehow made it funny. But he didn’t take away from the lessons that should be learned in Jojo Rabbit either.
I enjoyed Jojo Rabbit from beginning to end. What could have easily been a depressingly awkward movie, was engaging and — dare I say — fun to watch. A little boy Nazi had an imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, and discovers a Jewish girl living in his attic. Sounds like a strange concept for a movie, but in the end, it was a beautiful story.
Perfect Combination of Light & Dark
Don’t get me wrong, Jojo Rabbit had it’s dark moments. There is one in particular (don’t worry no spoilers) that had me in tears. Moments later, Taika had me cracking up again. That is a sign of true brilliance if you ask me.
Taika accomplished what I think he set out to do. Shed some light on terrible things that happened during WWII, but in a fun way. I know this sounds crazy, but that is exactly what Jojo Rabbit is. Get ready to continue to hate Nazis — but maybe like a couple of them.
Love & Acceptance
You would probably never guess that a Nazi movie is about love and acceptance, but it is. The little boy learns to think for himself in this film, and that is a great lesson for kids to learn. At first, he believes every negative thing that he has heard about Jewish people in the Nazi camps. He thinks they have wings, sleep upside down, and can read minds.
But eventually he discovers that he can think for himself, and that makes him a much better person. You will grow to love him as he grows, I promise.
Best Group Of Supporting Actors & Actresses
Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and Archie Yates stole the show. I was totally bummed that Scarlett didn’t win the Oscar for best supporting actress, because I think she should have. Her performance was amazing and I loved watching her. I truly felt for her and when she told Elsa not to make her choose between her and her kid, I got it. As a mother, I totally believed her. And Scarlett is not a parent, so that just shows what an incredible actress she is.
Sam Rockwell often plays a supporting role in films, and he always knocks it out of the park. His character in Jojo Rabbit had me laughing many times and I grew to like him. Whoever thought I would like a Nazi? I certainly didn’t.
But the stand out from the whole movie for me was Archie Yates. He was absolutely fantastic and I expect big things for this kid. Almost every word out his mouth had me laughing until I cried. Keep your eyes on this kid. Trust me.
Overall Thoughts
Jojo Rabbit takes a dark and depressing subject and adds just the right amount of humor to it. He could have easily pushed things too far, but he didn’t. Just when you think you know what is going to happen next, he surprises you. Get ready to actually like Nazis (well, one or two of them anyways).
If you don’t know much about Taika Waititi movies, do your research now and start watching them. You won’t regret it.
About Jojo Rabbit
Jojo is a lonely German boy who discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend — Adolf Hitler — Jojo must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.