If you’d said right after Thor: Ragnarok came out that director Taika Waititi’s next movie would be about a German boy in World War II who has an idiotic version of Adolph Hitler as an imaginary friend, you probably would have gotten some weird looks. Nearly two full years later, Jojo Rabbit is a month away from being released to the public, but it already had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this past weekend, and the reactions to Waititi’s latest flick have been pouring in.
So what do folks who caught Jojo Rabbit at TIFF think about it? Starting off, CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell was a big fan of the movie, though he acknowledged in a follow-up tweet that it’s “dividing” the critics because of how “different” it is.
CinemaBlend’s own Corey Chichizola also enjoyed Jojo Rabbit, particularly for how well it balances between the comedy and drama realms.
Fandango’s Erik Davis was similarly enamored for Jojo Rabbit, noting that it further proves how Taika Waititi is one of the most innovative filmmakers in the business right now.
Perry Nemiroff from Collider was impressed with how Taika Waititi was able to take a controversial concept and turn it into a humorous and heartwarming tale.
The New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan was also impressed with how Jojo Rabbit managed to avoid being a train wreck and believes it will be among the movies that will be highlighted during the upcoming awards season.
Finally, Peter Howell from The Toronto Star commended Jojo Rabbit for the lessons its titular protagonist learns.
Of course, these are just a few of the Jojo Rabbit reactions that have been shared, so feel free to look around the interwebs to find out what other people thought. Overall, it looks like Jojo Rabbit is earning more positive reception than negative, although it’s definitely closer to mixed territory than is critical acclaim, as it ranks at 68% on Rotten Tomatoes based off the 31 reviews published so far.
Along with Roman Griffin Davis playing Jojo himself and Taika Waititi also playing imaginary Hitler, Jojo Rabbit’s cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Thomasin McKenzie, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant and Alfie Allen. It was made by Fox Searchlight, but since the entire Fox enterprise was acquired by Disney, the Mouse House will be releasing it to the masses, and there was reportedly some concern among the Disney brass that Jojo Rabbit could alienate core Disney fans.
You can judge Jojo Rabbit for yourself when it’s released in theaters on October 18, and don’t forget to find out what other movies are coming out for the rest of the year in our 2019 release schedule. For those of you following Taika Waititi’s career closely, he’s tackling Next Goal Wins next and then will work Thor: Love and Thunder. He’s also been tapped for a mystery role in The Suicide Squad.
