Fox Searchlight has decided to release the trailer for “Jojo Rabbit,” which, it was announced today, will be world premiering at TIFF in September.
Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens and taking place during World War II, the film’s titular character is a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis) whose imaginary friend is Hitler (played by Waititi) and whose mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok”) has described this film as an “anti-hate satire.”
The film also stars Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, and Sam Rockwell..
There’s a lot of Wes Anderson in this trailer.
I had written back in February about the film:
“A young German boy in Nazi Germany whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler discovers that his family is hiding a Jewish girl in their house. With a cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Taika Waititi, Rebel Wilson, and Stephen Merchant, you can expect this highly anticipated film to have people turning heads.The rise of director Taika Waititi, starting with 2014's “What We Do In The Shadows” to “Hunt For The Wilderpeople,” and then his blockbuster debut with “Thor: Ragnarok” has been quite exciting. His unique style, filled with visual showiness and on-point sense of humor, has made him the most sought-after director in Hollywood. No wonder he has a Michael Jackson-themed animation film titled “Bubbles” and the “Akira” remake in the works as well. However, it's this film adaptation of Christine Leunens’ novel that tickles out fancy for now, it tackles a timely, but potentially controversial subject matter, as Waititi brings his camera to WWII and a little boy's infatuation with Hitler. Risky stuff, but Waititi himself defended his decision to make the movie by saying “what better fuck you” to Hitler than to have him played by the half-Maori, half-Jewish director? The cast is incredible, the Black List-ed script is said to be phenomenal, and awards season potential limitless.”