Jojo Rabbit

''Jojo Rabbit'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, adapted from Christine Leunens's 2008 book ''Caging Skies''. Roman Griffin Davis portrays the title character, Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a ten-year-old Hitler Youth member who finds out that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl ( Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. He must then question his beliefs while dealing with the intervention of his imaginary friend (Waititi), a fanciful version of Adolf Hitler with a comedic stance on the politics of the war. The film also stars Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, and Alfie Allen.

Waititi wrote the screenplay in 2011, a year after his mother described the premise of ''Caging Skies''. He rewrote the first draft, which as a rough adaptation of the dark-toned source material did not contain much comedy; it was also in the rewritten version that Adolf's character was included. Waititi recalled the pitching process as exhausting. In 2012, it landed on the Black List, where it remained in a development limbo until several years later when Fox Searchlight Pictures showed interest in it. A tight casting schedule started in 2018, and the film started principal photography in the Czech Republic in May 2018, finishing two months later. Post-production included adding the visual effects, editing done by Tom Eagles, as well as a score composed by Michael Giacchino.

''Jojo Rabbit'' had its world premiere at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2019, where it won the Grolsch People's Choice Award. It was later released theatrically in the United States on October 18. It was chosen by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the ten best films of the year. The film received mostly critical acclaim, though there were a few polarized critical reviews due to its comedic treatment of the subject of Nazism. Among its numerous accolades, the film won the Best Adapted Screenplay, while also being nominated for five other awards, including Best Picture, at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Plot

During the collapse of Nazi Germany in the fictional city of Falkenheim, ten-year-old Johannes "Jojo" Betzler joins the ''Deutsches Jungvolk'', the junior section of the Hitler Youth. Heavily indoctrinated with Nazi ideals, he has an imaginary friend named Adolf, a buffoonish Adolf Hitler. Though a fanatic, at a training camp run by Captain Klenzendorf, he is nicknamed "Jojo Rabbit" after refusing to kill a rabbit to prove his worthiness. Pepped up by Adolf Hitler, he returns to prove himself, throwing a '' Stielhandgranate'' by himself that explodes at his feet, leaving him scarred and limping. His mother Rosie insists to the now-demoted Klenzendorf that Jojo still be included, thus he is given small tasks like spreading propaganda leaflets and collecting scrap for the war effort.

Alone at home one day, Jojo discovers Elsa Korr, a teenage Jewish girl and his late sister Inge's former classmate, hiding behind the walls of Inge's attic bedroom. Jojo is both terrified of and aggressive towards Elsa. The two are left at an impasse, as the revelation of Rosie's hiding of Elsa would lead to the execution of all three of them. Inspired by an offhand rant by Klenzendorf, Jojo continues to interact with her to uncover her "Jew secrets" and make a picture book titled ''Yoohoo Jew'', so he can "expose" the Jewish people, allowing the public to easily recognize her kind. Despite this, he finds himself clashing with innocence, and starts forming a friendship with her. Elsa is both saddened and amused by Jojo's radical beliefs, using surreal antisemitic canards to challenge his dogmatism. Jojo slowly becomes infatuated with the caring and engaging Elsa, frequently forging love letters from her fiancé Nathan, and begins questioning his beliefs, causing Adolf Hitler to scold him over his diminishing patriotism.

Gradually, Rosie is revealed to be part of the German resistance to Nazism; among her tasks is spreading anti-Nazi messages around town. One afternoon while she is out, the Gestapo come to investigate; Klenzendorf arrives and helps Jojo and Elsa deceive the Gestapo regarding Elsa's identity. Later, Jojo finds Rosie executed at a gallows in the public square. Devastated, he returns home and tries to stab Elsa before breaking down in tears. Elsa comforts him and also reveals that Jojo's lost father has been working against Hitler from abroad. Jojo's beliefs on Nazism quickly shift, and he starts seeing the regime's inhumanity. With no money, the pair starts scavenging food from waste bins around the city.

Following Hitler's suicide, the Allies initiate an offensive on Falkenheim. Weak in power, the civilian population, including the ''Jungvolk'', is armed to battle. Despondent, Jojo hides until it ends, with the Allies winning. As a ''Jungvolk'', he is seized by Soviet soldiers alongside Klenzendorf, who tells Jojo to look after Elsa and tears off Jojo's ''Jungvolk'' coat while calling him a Jew so that the soldiers do not harm him; Klenzendorf is then executed by firing squad. Fearing that Elsa will leave him alone now that she can be free, Jojo tells her Germany won the war. Recognizing her despair, he forges a letter from Nathan, claiming that he and Jojo have figured out a way to smuggle her to Paris. Elsa confesses that Nathan died of tuberculosis the previous year. Jojo tells her he loves her, and she tells him she loves him as a brother. A disheveled Adolf angrily confronts Jojo for siding with Elsa, but Jojo kicks him out a window, forever banishing his toxic imaginary friend. Outside, Elsa sees American soldiers and realizes the truth, slapping Jojo in the face for lying. They then dance, now free.

Cast

* Roman Griffin Davis as Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a young German boy who is a member of the ''Deutsches Jungvolk''
* Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa Korr, a Jewish girl whom Rosie hides in her home
* Scarlett Johansson as Rosie Betzler, Jojo's mother who is secretly anti-Nazi
* Taika Waititi as Adolf, Jojo's imaginary friend
* Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf, an army officer who runs a ''Jungvolk'' camp
* Rebel Wilson as ''Fräulein'' Rahm, an instructor of the League of German Girls in the ''Jungvolk'' camp
* Alfie Allen as Freddy Finkel, the second-in-command to Captain Klenzendorf
* Stephen Merchant as Herman Deertz, a Gestapo agent
* Archie Yates as Yorki, Jojo's best friend and a fellow member of the ''Jungvolk''

Additionally, identical twins Gilby and Hardy Griffin Davis, younger brothers of Roman Griffin Davis, portray a series of Hitler Youth doubles in the care of ''Fräulein'' Rahm in cameo appearances. Joe Weintraub, Brian Caspe, Gabriel Andrews, and Billy Rayner portray Junker, Mueller, Klum, and Frosch, Deertz's fellow Gestapo agents. Robert East portrays the supporting character Herr Grusch. Victoria Hogan portrays an unnamed woman. Other supporting roles include Luke Brandon Field as ''Jungvolk'' senior Christoph, Sam Haygarth as Christoph's friend Hans, Stanislav Callas as the soldier that dragged Jojo, Christian Howlings as the boy who accidentally fires a ''Panzerschreck'' with Yorki, as well as Curtis Matthew as Jojo's doctor.

Rachel House starred in a scene as an American soldier who gave a speech about America saving the day in the immediate aftermath of the war. The scene was deleted from the released version, and House expressed relief over the ultimate decision, calling the scene "clever but ..completely unneeded." Although she did not appear in the final film, she was said to be an important participant in the project, particularly to Davis, to whom she became an acting coach.

Production

Development and writing

Waititi had the idea for ''Jojo Rabbit'' in 2010, when his mother, Robin Cohen, introduced him to Christine Leunens' 2008 novel ''Caging Skies''. Bored with generic World War II stories that were told through the perspectives of soldiers and survivors, and aided by the background of his grandfather once fighting against the Nazis, he decided to adapt the novel. The taboo subject matter did not prevent him from pursuing the project: he looked at it as a motivation and thought of it as a challenge to be bold in filmmaking. He also considered the film a "love letter to all mothers", with a loving mother character present in the film. Waititi compared the premise of the screenplay with the Nickelodeon cartoon ''Rugrats'', which portrays violence through the fantastical lens of a child: "In a lot of ways I wanted to keep some sort of innocence around that stuff." A juvenile lens also meant an honest depiction of Nazism for Waititi: "Children, they don't fuck around. They will straight-up say to you, 'You are ugly.' Or, 'You are a bad dad,' or 'you betrayed me.' Some of it makes no sense, but at least they're being honest about their feelings." Another inspiration came from reading that 66% of American millennials had never heard of or had no knowledge of the Auschwitz concentration camp; with ''Jojo Rabbit'', he hoped the memories of the victims would remain forever and that conversations about the topic would not stop.

Shortly after Waititi had the idea for the adaptation, he sent an email to Leunens, and the screenplay was written in 2011. Waititi thought it was good timing, with various prejudices and extremism on the rise at the time. He insisted that slapstick was a fine way of telling a story with dark themes like World War II: "The world needs ridiculous films, because the world is ridiculous." The first draft did not contain Hitler, but Waititi rewrote the whole thing again shortly thereafter; the first draft lacked comedy, due to it being a rough adaptation from ''Caging Skies'', which Waititi described as a complete drama. Waititi decided not to make ''Jojo Rabbit'' a "straight-out drama" as it would make the film cliché: he instead used humor to build the narrative, then introduced drama to shock the audience. Some of the characters' names were taken from Waititi's friends, he noted. Leunens described it as faithful to the source material, yet original, comparing it to the painting ''Guernica''. Cohen praised the creation of Adolf and the cartoonish depiction of Nazis. ''Badlands'' (1973) was an inspiration for the relationship between Jojo and Elsa, while ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974) inspired Rosie's character. Colorized documentaries such as '' World War II in Colour'' (2008–2009) helped Waititi "to get a sense of how things really looked": colorful and vibrant. Regarding storyboards, Waititi instructed artist Andrej Kostic only if the scene had a number of actors; this includes the final battle scene.

The premise of the film meant difficulty in garnering interest from the film industry. Waititi stated that he did not do pitches: "I just sent the script out and let that do the talking. It's very hard to start a conversation with, 'It's about a little boy in the Hitler Youth.' ..And then when I say, 'Oh, but don't worry, it's got humor in it,' it just gets worse." Nearly losing hope, he initially thought of just producing it independently in New Zealand. The project gained attention when it landed on the Black List of top unproduced screenplays in 2012. In February of that year at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, CineMart showed interest in the script. Despite this, the film remained in development limbo; Waititi went on with other projects like '' What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014) and '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' (2016). While Waititi's film '' Thor: Ragnarok'' (2017) began production, Fox Searchlight Pictures showed interest in ''Jojo Rabbit'' after searching for "more auteur-driven movies with challenging concepts." Contrary to popular belief that ''Ragnarok'' sparked interest in Waititi, Searchlight looked at his earlier works, such as ''Boy'' (2010). TSG Entertainment later joined the project with a budget of $14 million, $800,000 of which was directed towards the art department. In total, pre-production took two months.

Waititi initially wanted to film ''Jojo Rabbit'' in Berlin, a place he had a deep connection with financing from Studio Babelsberg. However, due to human rights and filming restrictions in Germany, with minors only able to work three hours a day, he decided to move filming to the Czech Republic. Babelsberg was credited with assisting development alongside the New Zealand Film Commission. The Czech Film Fund was credited for giving the film's crew production incentives. Production services throughout filming were provided by Czech Anglo Productions. Waititi-affiliated Defender Films and Piki Films were also credited as production companies.

Casting

In 2018, casting associates were dispatched to schools in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, the United States, and Canada to find the right actor to portray Jojo Betzler. Waititi wanted an actor "who could embody the character's pinwheeling mix of blind gusto and untamed emotions in stride", while also depicting Jojo's coming-of-age transformation in a way that blended well with the film's "deep" themes. Waititi and the casting team, led by casting director Des Hamilton, watched about 1,000 audition tapes, and later accepted Roman Griffin Davis, who was initially being auditioned for ''Ford v Ferrari'', but later also auditioned for ''Jojo Rabbit''. According to producer Carthew Neal, Davis had the charisma and enthusiasm Jojo's character projects, but was also able to mix a variety of emotions, further enriching the film's "deep" themes. Davis stated that portraying Jojo was a challenge as he is a conflicted character. He guided himself by researching the Hitler Youth. As a newcomer, he received immense support from the cast members. Davis joined the project six weeks before filming; he was one of the latest actors to be cast despite being in the lead role.

Waititi created Elsa Korr as a character with "the steely strength and self-possession that defuses Jojo's distrust", a mysterious yet humane outlook. Thomasin McKenzie, a New Zealand-born actress Waititi had known for a long time, was chosen to portray Elsa as a "really pretty, very cool girl who has this hard attitude", which hopefully would make Jojo's infatuation towards her in the film understandable. McKenzie did research on World War II from the perspective of a Jewish girl, and she created the character of Elsa by herself, with Waititi giving her only a teaser of how he imagined Elsa. Waititi also asked her to watch the film ''Heathers'' (1988), which has a character he envisioned Elsa to be.

In March 2018, it was revealed that Waititi would direct, write, co-produce, and co-star in the film as Adolf. Speaking of the context of the role, Waititi stated, "It's my version of ..a lonely boy's best version of his hero, which is really his dad," referring to the fact that in the film, Jojo is desperate to join Hitler's ranks during World War II. Searchlight decided that they would only make the film if Waititi portrayed Adolf; Waititi reluctantly agreed and recalled being embarrassed on set. He also stated he did not do much research on Hitler "because I just didn't think he deserved he effort" The cast members recalled being shocked the first time they saw Waititi dressed as Adolf.

Also in March, Scarlett Johansson was cast as Rosie for what Waititi described as "this sort of goofy quality about her that I always really wanted to see in a film". Although the film's premise was new to her, Johansson stated that she immediately fell in love with the character. and said that the screenplay "has a lot of humanity." The following month, Sam Rockwell was cast as Captain Klenzendorf. He was "reticent" at the time, like most of the other actors, but he chose to join the project because he said the role "has a juxtaposition", specifically pointing at the Klenzendorf's homosexuality, which according to him is an oxymoron. Rockwell looked for inspiration from comedians like Bill Murray and Walter Matthau (from the 1976 film '' The Bad News Bears''), as he felt they resembled his assigned character. He also looked to the film's other characters for inspiration.

In June 2018, Alfie Allen was cast as Klenzendorf's companion Freddy Finkel. Though Finkel was a new and risky role for Allen, the familial dynamic of the set made it easier for him. The same month, Stephen Merchant was cast as Captain Herman Deertz. He said that he became interested in the film due to its coming-of-age nature, and thought that Waititi's blend of humor and tragedy was seamless, comparing its satirical style with that of ''Dr. Strangelove''. Soon, Rebel Wilson joined the project as ''Fräulein'' Rahm.

Casting in Prague was led by Maya Kvetny, with Kristýna Poliček assisting. Additional casting was done by Shayna Markowitz, Stephanie Gorin, and Stu Turner. Casting for the extras were done by Deedee Casting Management; children extras were cast by A-Casting.

Filming

''Jojo Rabbit'' was credited as a co-production between the United States, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic.

Principal photography for the film occurred between May 28 and July 21, 2018, at various places in Prague, Žatec, Úštěk, Kytín, Dolní Beřkovice, Hořín, Lenešice, and the Petschek Palace. The former Lenešice sugar factory was used to film the war scenes. Production designer Ra Vincent chose these pre-war, unbombed places "because it had so much character and it felt like the most German of all the Czech towns we visited, with lots of German-style baroque architecture" The Barrandov Studios were also used for filming most of the interior scenes, which Vincent thought of as a great choice, considering Nazi propaganda used to be filmed there. Vincent chose Úštěk to film the exterior due to the "ornate" color palette of the architecture, said to connect with Jojo's character.

Waititi prohibited cell phone usage on set in order to retain focus and create a calming environment. He allowed the crew and actors to experiment with their work or characters by themselves, as he had no strict edicts for how the film should unfold. This was also stated to be a third reason for the cell phone prohibition. Other directors, including Quentin Tarantino, have used this rule before. By minimizing directions for the cast members, Waititi hoped to avoid stiff performances. He also did not show the full picture of Rosie when she was hanged, thinking it was unethical to showcase the deaths of family members.

Due to labor laws on child actors, the crew was only able to film eight or nine hours a day, causing stress for the adult actors as they would have to work with body doubles for certain periods of time. The actors described having a fun experience on set, saying Waititi was engaging to work with. McKenzie further elaborated that it was "easy-going and fun", as it allowed her to "explore the character and try different things". These, along with doing rehearsals, were part of an effort to make the child actors feel comfortable so they would act more naturally.

Reshoots were done starting in February 2019. They mainly focused on scenes set during winter.

Cinematography and visual effects

Mihai Mălaimare Jr. was enlisted as the film's cinematographer while he was doing reshoots for '' The Hate U Give'' in Atlanta, and he joined the project five days later. He agreed to depict ''Jojo Rabbit'' in a colorful and vibrant way, a primary motif of the film, taking inspiration from several colorized documentaries. He also took inspiration from a film he had previously worked on, '' Youth Without Youth'' (2007), which featured colorful World War II footage, contrasting the typical desaturated and grayscale historical footage. ''Cabaret'' (1972) was also a visual reference used for the cinematography. Despite this, Mălaimare arranged for the melancholic scenes to look more desaturated, corresponding to Jojo's emotions and showing the passage of time. He and Waititi also agreed not to visually exaggerate scenes with Adolf. Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa's images of children during World War II also served as inspiration for the cinematography style: "They were still playing, and they were still doing normal kid stuff, utthe closer you look at the photo, ..you realize something is wrong—like, 'Oh, in this one, they are wearing gas masks,' or 'They are playing close to a pile of bomb'—all these situations that we felt were very close to 'Jojo Rabbit''" Around 60 similar stills from Magnum Photos and Flickr were also printed to be analyzed for inspiration.

Mălaimare and Waititi also agreed on the decision not to use hand-held cameras, in order to retain the film's classical style. Equipped with a dolly (a golf cart for scenes in the forest), an Arri Alexa SXT and Mini with Super 35 format was used. Around five tests were implemented to determine the aspect ratio for the film; a 1.85:1 anamorphic format was chosen, considering that there were lots of scenes with two people indoors. The anamorphic format was favored due to its "velvety" tone, focus breathing, as well as authentic bokeh. Lenses include the Hawk V-Lite 1.3x anamorphic, Vantage One T1 spherical, and Leitz Summilux-C. The stopped down T1 was used for scenes in small or low-light areas, in order to give them a wide feel. Mălaimare worked with digital imaging technician (DIT) Eli Berg to seamlessly transition between scenes using different lenses. Though point-of-view shots were used, the main approach in making the film first-person on Jojo is to lower the camera to Davis's height. Waititi also allowed the actors to also give cinematographic advice, some of which were better than Waititi's suggestions, per Mălaimare. Symmetry and horizons are the main composition approaches to the cinematography, a major contributor to the narrative flow. The film was mostly shot using a multiple-camera setup so that close-up and wide shots could be done simultaneously.

Exterior scenes rarely used artificial lighting: scenes in the forest, for example, solely used the sun. The final sequence of the battle scene, which took five or six takes to accomplish, used three extra lights, but they were merely supplements to the sun. The scene where Jojo is having dinner with Rosie used an extensive lighting kit, mainly consisting of a chandelier and two practical lights, lighting the entirety of the setting; one of them dimmed, and tungsten lights to give the characters a softer and warmer lighting in the close-up shots. Small five-watt LED lights were used as lighting for the actors in scenes at Elsa's secret room. In that setting, Mălaimare decided to use a medium-bright petrol lamp as the key light, whereas a lighting was used to indicate dusk; candles act as supplements.

Visual effects supervisor Jason Chen had previously worked with Waititi. He joined the project after working on ''Bumblebee''. The goal was to create a "seamless illusion", balancing realism and surrealism. In total, there were about 200 visual effects shots, "about half of which were big invisible set extensions and often done by a ..team of in house compositors" led by previous Chen collaborator Kenneth Quinn Brown. Chen worked with Clear Angle Studios to set up 3D scanners on tripods at Žatec. The scanners shoot laser beams, rotating 360 degrees, scanning the surrounding architecture in order to give an accurate representation of them. They also scanned Czech streets with historical relevance to ''Jojo Rabbit'', especially the square used for Jojo's town, which was once a frequent place for Hitler to hold rallies. A major contributor to the visual effects was Luma Pictures, which split work between Los Angeles and Melbourne. Luma used blue screens to incorporate elements like explosions, tanks, smoke, and gunfire in post-production. The glow of bombs going off in the distance, meanwhile, used matte paintings. They also incorporated snow into scenes that were actually shot during the summer, but were supposed to depict winter in ''Jojo Rabbit'''s universe. This was achievable by photographing snow on the streets and adding it to the film, a technique known as "background plate." Additional effects were done by Picture Shop VFX. In total, visual effects took a year to finish.

Fashion design

Mayes C. Rubeo, who had previously collaborated with Waititi in ''Ragnarok'', became ''Jojo Rabbit'''s costume designer. In an "intensive" conversation about the costumes, Waititi favored "formal, elegant" fashion, as it matched the kind of clothing people wore in that era, according to his research. He also wanted a design that symbolized the joy of childhood: bright, vivid colors, stressing the ambition to contrast typical historical films. Rubeo interpreted these as Italian neorealism, a filmmaking style popular in the 1940s.

Rubeo thought of Rosie's character as open: "She represents ..life, ndshe doesn't want to hide hat" Rubeo started by scouring vintage Italian houses for Rosie's wardrobe, though she also created several blouses and dresses by herself. She wanted Rosie's clothing to be distinctive so it would resonate with the audience throughout the film and assist them in the scene where Rosie is found hanged. Concerning that specific scene, Rubeo chose a pair of single lace-up red and white spectator shoes made by the Toronto shoemaker Jitterbug, based on a sketch she made. Imagining Rosie as "the friend of Elsa Schiaparelli", Rubeo flew to New York City, where she discussed the costume with actor Johansson. Rosie's short-sleeved sweater was characterized by "plaid and zigzag Missoni-style patterns". She was completed with high-waist baggy pants and several other accessories, offering her character a "chic" look. This is in stark contrast to Elsa's clothing palette which, being a confined character, was made monochromatic.

Jojo's ''Jungvolk'' uniform was based on the assumption that he is "trying to be the policeman of his household", especially when he wears it even in his house. Though Rubeo found vintage ''Jungvolk'' uniforms in Berlin, she noted the need for more sizes for the extras, causing her and the clothing department to sew them, a total of 250, themselves. For Adolf, Rubeo chose the typical brown Nazi Party style, in order to highlight the absurdities of his character, though a "voluminous" pair of riding pants was used to highlight his imaginary state and insecurities. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' described it as "paper-bag colored", "khaki", and "safari-style". In total, three Adolf uniforms were sewn. Portraying Captain Klenzendorf, Rockwell reached out to Rubeo and showed her a photo of Murray on ''Saturday Night Live'', saying that he wanted such design. For an experimental uniform Klenzendorf was written to wear in the screenplay, Rubeo went for a "glitzier", "heroic", and "flamboyant" approach, creating for him an "unorthodox" outfit, showcasing the character's creativity despite "know ngalmost nothing about the rules of design." She said that creating Klenzendorf's outfit "was fun to do".

Rubeo made six different versions for a paper uniform Yorki wears in the final battle scene. She made it out of paper and cardboard, with some cotton. As the war ensues, Yorki's uniform degrades, with only a vest left as the war concludes.

The film's make-up artist was Danelle Satherley, also a frequent collaborator of Waititi's. On Adolf's looks, she envisioned them to be those of a 10-year-old imagination and not an exact replica of Hitler's looks. Despite this, they had some similarities for familiarity purposes. The hair, mustache, and ears shared similarities with Hitler's, whereas the skin and eyes had some alterations. Waititi's skin, specifically, was toned down a bit to not make his character look Caucasian. Blue eyes were chosen to match the propaganda Jojo saw.

Production design

Vincent, who lived in New Zealand, was flabbergasted to be offered the role of the film's production designer, but he had read the script when it was still unproduced and already had some ideas for the set design. He stayed in the Czech Republic for some time to get a feel for European architecture, and took to locals who told generational stories about World War II in order to depict wartime Europe authentically, whilst giving aesthetic touches to symbolize the joy Jojo's character feels about Nazi Germany. Vincent recalled that the interaction with locals was easier than one might think because they see their Nazi history as something it is important to remember, not cover up. He also said that he thinks the locals might have even felt sad when the set decorations were torn away, since his team had "transformed the village back into its former glory days, when it was a beautifully unsullied town." Mălaimare commented that the practice in the Czech Republic of being very cautious about installing air conditioners and antennas on historical buildings – things that would have ruined the historical look of the film – allowed for a 360-degree set without having to remove much other than cars and street signs. Helping the research were military advisors and specialists; Filip Stiebitz was officially credited as one.

The fully handcrafted set design for the Betzler's house, a Baroque stone cottage filmed at a Barrandov Studios soundstage, is characterized by elegant details, such as thick door frames, windows recessed deeply into the stone walls, a wood-paneled hallway, and a curved staircase. Broadly, it features Art Deco architecture popular in the 1930s. Victorian architecture and a muted color palette were used for Inge's bedroom in order to provide a neutral space in which Jojo and Elsa could bond. According to Vincent's research, Inge's bedroom being in the attic is historically accurate, because certain families in World War II had new types of insulation replacing the method of pitched roofs, meaning they could build rooms up to the attic. This makes Elsa's hideout "obvious, but not-so-obvious". It is conceptualized that the Betzlers are a middle-class family, wealthy enough to own a two-floored, three-bedroom house. With a more modernized interior, another notion is also formed that the house was at some point renovated. Creating the house was said to be the trickiest thing throughout the film's production design. To not make it claustrophobic, the house was given an open layout plan, "and one with viewing portals through to other spaces so that you never felt like you were going to individual little sets. We wanted you to feel you were journeying through a proper house." The house was built on a stage to allow for adequate space to film using a multi-camera setup.

According to Vincent, a woman named Cheng Liang, who was the film's art department assistant, drew ''Yoohoo Jew''. She took inspiration from some of the artwork from the screenplay, as well as Waititi and Vincent's descriptions. Though the book was planned to be about 12 pages long, Liang ended up drawing 42 pages. Her drawings also became inspirations for the cast's acting style, according to Vincent.

Editing

Editor Tom Eagles said that Waititi had been talking to him about the project "for a long time", though he read the screenplay much later. He recalled that Waititi did not sit by his side to judge his editing while it was ongoing. "He's interested in what you have to say and what you might bring to the edit," Eagles said. Eagles was given two weeks to edit ''Jojo Rabbit'' after being given some initial suggestions, which Eagles "cautiously" implemented. The film was edited using Avid Media Composer. Eagles used ScriptSync to compare scenes with the screenplay. He stated that the main challenge in editing the film was to give it a tonal balance for every transition between scenes: The rough cut was 165 minutes, with the director's cut being the finalized, 108-minute version. Eagles said that "We didn't want it to look like ''Titanic''". Trimming took eight months, with test screenings implemented: "We needed to test different versions of things and iterations of jokes." It was also observed that some audiences were shocked by a scene when Hitler is scolding Jojo over his degrading patriotism; one person began quietly reciting a prayer. Dailies were also screened to the entire film team once or twice a week in a "small" screening room to let everyone judge the film's qualities, something said to be rare in modern filmmaking.

The film's title sequence was created by the New Zealand production company Assembly. It features footage from the 1935 Nazi propaganda documentary ''Triumph of the Will''. The text letterforms were handcrafted to correspond to the film's historical aesthetic. The film's end titles were created by Scarlet Letters.

Ai-Ling Lee was the film's sound editor, designer, and mixer. With the digital audio workstation (DAW) Pro Tools, she used "subliminal sonic enhancements" to strengthen the sense that the film was portraying Jojo's point of view. In an interview with ''Variety'', she referenced a scene in Jojo's kitchen where Waititi wanted to evoke the sound of Adolf rallying. To increase the tension in the scene, she added reverb to Adolf's dialogue. Accompanying Lee as sound editor was Tobias Poppe. Paul Apelgren was the film's music editor. Steve Baine of Foley One was the Foley artist, with Peter Persaud and Gina Wark mixing and assisting with the Foley, respectively. Bob Industries was credited for post-production services.

Digital intermediate work, specifically color grading, was done by Company 3's senior colorist Tim Stipan.

Music

''Jojo Rabbit'''s original score is composed by Michael Giacchino, in his maiden collaboration with Waititi. Giacchino used the approach of a melodious fairy-tale like score, evoking themes of love and losses after Waititi insisted to score similarly to what he did in '' Up'', Giacchino pledged to use music to emphasize the film's deep emotions instead of its humor, in order to retain the film's message, and to try to musicalize Nazi Germany from Jojo's perspective, who recalled this being a challenge. The score was recorded in December 2018 at the Abbey Road Studios, London, with the choir portions for the 11-minute suite (which was the film's theme music), composed by Giacchino, was the first to be recorded. Caludia Vašeková coordinated the choir, while the vocals, done by Trinity Boys Choir, were contracted by Susie Gillis for Isobel Griffiths Ltd. Freddie Jamison, part of Trinity Boys, was the vocal soloist in another version of the suite and adult vocalists were from London Voices.

Apart from contemporary German music, the score consisted of old-time European classical music, such as that of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Erik Satie. Instead of a 100-piece orchestra, the score was composed with a 22-piece orchestra, featuring string quartet and various instruments including guitar, brass and percussion, as according to Giacchino, "the smaller the orchestra, the more emotional the sound."

Incorporated music in the film was packaged as a soundtrack album, notably "Helden", the German version of " Heroes" by David Bowie, and " Komm, gib mir deine Hand", the German version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles. While watching documentaries on the Hitler Youth during research, Waititi noted "similarities between the crowd at Hitler's rallies and the frenzy at Beatles concerts". Giacchino helped secure the rights to the song by contacting Paul McCartney, with whom he had previously worked. Both this soundtrack and the original score soundtrack were released on October 18, 2019, the day of ''Jojo Rabbit'''s theatrical release, by Hollywood Records, Fox Music, and Universal Music Canada, with the vinyl version of the soundtrack released on November 22.

Themes and analysis

Waititi described the moral of ''Jojo Rabbit'' as "about learning to think for yourself and not falling into the trap of just following the group".

The dominant theme of the film is Nazism. According to GradeSaver, a study guide, the film uses humor to increase the stakes of the regime's impact on the characters and their freedom. Specifically in Jojo, whose loyalty towards Nazism shifts throughout the film due to a clash with innocence, the film also shows the dangers of propaganda to those who blindly abide by it, especially children. Then, the film focuses on the individual characters and their traits, highlighting their bravery and strength to show "how strong they were even in the face of horror"; this is most distinct in Elsa's character, who has been compared to Anne Frank. Thus, the film centers upon the concept of how ideologies can affect people and society. It is also a message that fascist groups like the Nazis are harmful to everyone, supporters and opposition. It also sends a message that war takes joy away from people and is "painstakingly ugly"; the ''Annals of the Romanian Society for Cell Biology'' described it as "a moral to the present uncertainties in the modern world."

Hegemonic and toxic masculinity are also themes expressed in ''Jojo Rabbit''. The main example lies in Jojo's desire to be a Nazi, which to do so he was taught to act fierce. It also shows how such mentality harms everyone, men and women. Jojo's clumsy attitude as seen throughout the film shows how he is inherently incompatible with the ideology. This also allows the other characters as well as the audiences who "eventually overlook his avowed Nazism and instead view him as a sympathetic, misguided character who should be allowed redemption." Adolf's buffoonish attitude is a way of showcasing how hegemonic masculinity can attack itself subversively. There's also the suggestion that " Komm, gib mir deine Hand" is used to compare the obsessive behavior of the Beatles' fans (Beatlemania) to that of the prejudicial behavior of the Nazis.

Irony runs throughout the film. In the opening scene, Jojo motivates himself to be "a man," yet is nervous. According to Tony S.L. Michael of the ''Journal of Religion and Film'', the way Falkenheim literature is German but the character dialogues are mostly English "sets up the dichotomy between the fact that what is outside may separate us, but what is inside should bring us altogether." This leads to another suggested theme of the film: human interaction. For example, as Elsa and Rosie began stressing to Jojo the importance of love and compassion in various dialogues, his viewpoint of Nazism begin to subtly shift, shown by the darkening attitude of Adolf. Klenzendorf's character, meanwhile, most embodies the film's use of hyperbole and sarcasm—seen in his distinct use of dry humor—which makes him important to the over-the-top portrayals of Nazism.

Psychoanalysis has been done on ''Jojo Rabbit''. Jojo, with his ideology, uses his psyche to create the character of Adolf. He never loses faith in him despite the many failures he had resulted in. Because of his indoctrinated nature, his prejudicial actions cannot be condemned. Eye-opening dialogues with Elsa and the discovery of Rosie's death culminates into an emotion expressed by kicking Adolf out of the window, erasing his ideology from his life. During this point, his ego has developed in that he can differentiate good and bad and be independent. Thus, the film's plot is said to be on par with Sigmund Freud's child psychoanalysis theory. Sociology author Eugene Nulman also observed that, in the film, Rosie and Elsa lie to preserve their psyche-self while Jojo lies to preserve his ego-self.

A main motif of ''Jojo Rabbit'' is shoes. They feature frequently in the film, either visually or audibly. According to Michael, it is a metaphor symbolizing Jojo's coming-of-age journey. During the scene where Jojo finds Rosie hanged, it suggests to Jojo that he should become more mature. Other motifs include the rabbit, symbolizing Jojo's inability to live up with the Nazi's expectations, and the dagger, symbolizing toxic masculinity. Meanwhile, dancing represents "pleasure in the face of adversity, relief when it is over, and hope for the future", as well as freedom. Nulman compares this to the misquoted phrase by Emma Goldman, "If I can't dance, it's not my revolution."

Marketing and release

In March 2019, distributor Fox Searchlight's parent company 21st Century Fox was acquired by Disney. As ''Jojo Rabbit'' featured mature themes, several Disney executives worried that releasing the film would ruin their reputation as a family-friendly studio; it was also said to be "too edgy" for Disney, as stated in '' Variety''. However, they remained optimistic about the film's success, with CEOs Bob Iger and Alan Horn arguing that it has a good message and would diversify their scope.

To market the film, Fox Searchlight released a scene from the German World War II film ''Downfall'', which had been a popular asset for memes, wherein subtitles would mistranslate the dialogue to something humorous, mostly known as the Angry Hitler meme. In the ''Jojo Rabbit'' version, Hitler is driven insane with the news of Waititi, a Polynesian Jew, creating a film poking fun at Hitler. Additionally, a teaser was released on July 24, 2019, and a trailer was released on September 3, 2019. Smith Brothers Media was in charge of making visual advertisements, including posters and web banners, primarily for Australia. Due to the film's quirky nature, a "vibrant" theme was chosen to "make the character images 'pop' for potential audiences." The poster was unveiled on September 5.

''Jojo Rabbit'' had its world premiere at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2019. It also screened at festivals at Austin, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia, Hawaii, New Orleans

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases