Jojo Rabbit (2019)

🐇 When Nazis Become Sitcom Characters and Hitler Becomes Bugs Bunny


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⚠️ Content Warning

This review discusses Jojo Rabbit, a film that trivializes Nazism and portrays Adolf Hitler as a comedic character. Because of that, many of the topics — including depictions of the Gestapo, the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism — may feel deeply offensive and upsetting. I don’t endorse the way this movie handles these themes. My review reflects why I believe its approach is insulting, tone-deaf, and why the satire fails.


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Let’s start off with showing y’all the trailers, shall we? 🎥

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Non-Spoiler Plot Rundown

Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a young boy in Nazi Germany who idolizes Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). His imaginary best friend? Hitler himself — except played as a goofy, youthful clown. Everything changes when Jojo discovers Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), a Jewish girl hiding in his house. The movie tries to be a quirky satire and a moving coming-of-age story all at once. The result? A confused mess that turns genocide into punchlines.


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Character Rundown

Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis): Earnest child performance, but the script reduces him to “cute little Nazi boy who learns love.” Tone-deaf setup.

Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie): Should have been the emotional anchor, but is reduced to a lesson-plan character: “the wise Jewish girl who teaches Jojo empathy.”

Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi): The worst on-screen Hitler ever. Too young, too buffoonish, bouncing like a youth counselor instead of a fascist dictator. A Bugs Bunny in swastikas. His buffoonery destroys any menace.

Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell): A Nazi you’re supposed to “like.” Rockwell’s a great actor, but the movie’s attempt to make him sympathetic is offensive. Why would I ever “like” a Nazi?

Rosie (Scarlett Johansson): Jojo’s mother, the one shred of human warmth. Her arc deserves better than being drowned out by tonal absurdity.

Yorki (Archie Yates): Delivers the idiotic line: “It’s not a good time to be a Nazi.” My immediate thought: When the hell WAS it a good time? That line sums up this movie’s broken, clueless satire.

Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson): Rebel Wilson plays… Rebel Wilson. A bumbling fat joke machine, but this time in Nazi uniform. Handing kids grenades while cracking fat-person humor. Lazy, insulting, and completely tone-deaf.



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Why It Fails as Satire

Satire works when it sharpens truth. Blazing Saddles used offensive humor to expose racism and its absurdity. Jojo Rabbit softens monsters into sitcom clowns. Nazis are “wackadoodles,” goofy camp counselors, quirky Gestapo neighbors. Hitler is reduced to a youth-group buddy. It doesn’t expose evil — it trivializes it.


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The Core Problem of the Story

The film builds to a supposedly sweet resolution: Jojo befriends Elsa and realizes Jewish people are human. Aww, ain’t that precious? Except, no. He’s still a Nazi. She’s still a girl ripped from her home and family. Hand-holding doesn’t undo genocide. This isn’t profound — it’s shallow.

Why the Resolution Feels Shallow (and Offensive)

The movie thinks it’s profound because Jojo looks past Nazi propaganda, holds Elsa’s hand, and suddenly understands that Jewish people are human. But this is where the story collapses under its own weight. Jojo is still a Nazi child soldier, indoctrinated and trained to worship Hitler. Elsa is still a girl hiding in terror because her family was ripped from her. A single moment of empathy does not erase that. It doesn’t undo the horrors of Nazism, and it doesn’t fix Elsa’s trauma. By treating this as a “healing” resolution, the film reduces genocide to a Hallmark moral lesson: “See, prejudice is bad. Hugs fix everything.” That’s not just shallow writing — it’s actively offensive because it trivializes the real historical suffering behind these characters’ circumstances.


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Spoilers Ahead ⚠️

The Hitler Youth camp scenes play like summer comedy. Kids throw grenades, knives, and everyone chuckles. That’s not satire. That’s gross.

Then Jojo finds his mother Rosie hanging in the square. It should be devastating. But after so much goofy Nazi camp comedy, the tonal shift feels manipulative and hollow.

The Gestapo search scene? Smiling, polite officers, endlessly repeating “Heil Hitler” like a Monty Python gag. The real Gestapo were monsters. Portraying them as clowns is not just inaccurate — it’s offensive.

And Waititi’s Hitler? He pouts, he sulks, he eats unicorn meat. He looks like he belongs in a youth center, not commanding a genocidal regime. When Jojo finally boots him out the window, it isn’t catharsis. It’s slapstick.

Finally, the film ends with Jojo and Elsa dancing to David Bowie. Supposed to be uplifting. After all this whiplash? It’s hollow.


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Final Thoughts

Living in Pittsburgh, in a Jewish community, this movie was offensive and uncomfortable. Offensive comedy can work — Blazing Saddles proved it — but Jojo Rabbit fails miserably. Instead of exposing the absurdity of hate, it turns Nazis into goofy wackos and Hitler into a clown. It’s shallow, it’s tone-deaf, and it trivializes one of history’s greatest horrors.

Rating: 0/10