Jojo Rabbit movie poster
Poster © Fox Searchlight Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
GenreComedy, Drama & War
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 48 mins
ReleasedOctober 18, 2019
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorTaika Waititi
StarringRoman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Taika Waititi

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

movie.guru URL: https://movie.guru/jojo-rabbit-movie-review
Jojo Rabbit's Details
GenreComedy, Drama & War
RatedPG-13
Released09/08/2019 (TIFF); 10/18/2019 (United States); 10/24/2019 (New Zealand)
StreamingSee Where to Watch on this page.
Running Time1 hr 48 mins
Budget$14M (reported)
Box OfficeUpdated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below.
Based OnCaging Skies by Christine Leunens
CountryUnited States, Czech Republic, New Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Jojo Rabbit's Interests
GeneralRabbits, hidden rooms, sketchbooks, bicycles, dancing, a small town in wartime.
MusicMichael Giacchino, plus German-language versions of songs by The Beatles and David Bowie.
MoviesLife Is Beautiful (1997). Another story that finds tenderness in a terrible time.
TelevisionWhat We Do in the Shadows. Taika Waititi's sillier side, with vampires.
HeroesYorki (Archie Yates). Jojo's best friend, and the kindest kid in the whole movie.
Jojo Rabbit's Crew
DirectorTaika Waititi
WritersTaika Waititi
ProducersCarthew Neal, Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley
CinematographyMihai Mălaimare Jr.
MusicMichael Giacchino
Edited ByTom Eagles
ProductionFox Searchlight Pictures, Defender Films, Piki Films
Distributed ByFox Searchlight Pictures
Jojo Rabbit's Trailer
Official Trailer • SearchlightPictures
How Jojo Rabbit Performed
movie guru's TLDR

Making Hitler a goofy imaginary friend is a huge swing, and Jojo Rabbit doesn’t always connect. The first half leans so hard on bits, Rebel Wilson and the training camp gags, that it sometimes plays like a sketch show set in the wrong decade. Then Thomasin McKenzie shows up as Elsa, the girl hiding in the walls, and the movie gets quiet and real. Roman Griffin Davis is a find, a kid who can play brainwashed and heartbroken in the same scene. Scarlett Johansson as his mom is the warmest thing in it, and Sam Rockwell turns a washed-up captain into someone you end up rooting for. The jokes always punch at the Nazis, never at the people they hurt, and that matters. Audiences liked it more than critics did: a 7.9 on IMDb against a 58 on Metacritic. A 7.3 because the heart is real even when the jokes wobble. $3,872 says you go looking for the soundtrack before the credits finish.

What works: Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson’s warmth, and a satire that always aims its jokes at the Nazis.

What doesn’t: The early camp comedy is broad and scattered, and the tone lurches around before the story finds its footing.

Who it’s for: Teens and adults ready for a hard chapter of history told through the eyes of a lonely, confused kid.

Spoilers

Rosie is caught helping the resistance and is killed, and Jojo finds out in a quiet moment that stays with you. When the war ends, Jojo tells Elsa the truth, kicks his imaginary Hitler out a window, and the two of them dance in the street.

Guru’s Take
7.3/10
Above Average
Jojo Rabbit's Blurbs
About me:

Germany, near the end of World War II. Ten-year-old Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) is a lonely kid who has swallowed every bit of propaganda he has been fed, so much that his imaginary friend is a goofy version of Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). At a youth training camp run by Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), Jojo cannot bring himself to hurt a rabbit, and the older boys give him a cruel nickname. Back home with his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), he discovers she has been hiding a Jewish teenager named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) inside the walls. Taika Waititi directs. One hundred eight minutes, one boy learning to think for himself.

Who I'd like to meet:

Anyone who needs a reminder that hate is learned, and that it can be unlearned.

Jojo Rabbit's Cast (in credits order)
Roman Griffin DavisJohannes "Jojo" Betzler
Thomasin McKenzieElsa Korr
Taika Waititi"Adolf Hitler"
Rebel WilsonFräulein Rahm
Stephen MerchantHerman Deertz
Alfie AllenUnteroffizier Freddy Finkel
Archie YatesYorki
Luke Brandon FieldDeutsches Jungvolk senior Christoph
Sam HaygarthDeutsches Jungvolk senior Hans
Stanislav Callasa Russian soldier
Gabriel AndrewsHerr Klum
Joe WeintraubHerr Junker
Brian CaspeHerr Mueller
Billy RaynerHerr Frosch
Judith GeorgiGerman Translator
Christian HolwingsBazooka Boy
Gilby and Hardy Griffin DavisHitler Youth doubles in the care of Fräulein Rahm
Curtis Matthewa Deutsches Jungvolk camp doctor
Robert EastHerr Grusch
Full cast and crew on IMDb.
Jojo Rabbit's Edit History
Every change to this page, newest first. Movie data updates are logged like any other edit.
  • (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $93.5M; Domestic box office $33.4M; Opening weekend $350K; Profit / loss (est.) +$25.8M; Rotten Tomatoes 80%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 80% (430 reviews); Metacritic 58 / 100; PostTrak audience 96% positive; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 7.9 / 10 (496,060 votes); movie.guru score 8.0.
  • (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.