It took director and writer Waititi (who identifies as a Polynesian Jew) eight years to make and finish Jojo Rabbit, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In fact, he was the one who decided Jojo needed an imaginary friend, and that imaginary friend should be Hitler (Waititi) — the Hitler character doesn’t exist in the novel. It took a long, long time for the film to get made, with many producers and actors hesitant to get involved in a film about Nazis and a boy’s imaginary friend who happens to be Hitler. Despite what it might sound like, Jojo Rabbit doesn’t humanize the Nazis or Hitler — it mocks them, and instead shines a light on how beautiful compassion and kindness can be, and what a difference they make in such an ugly time in our history.