# Death to Smoochy
**Death to Smoochy** is a 2002 black comedy directed by [Danny DeVito](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-devito) and written by Adam Resnick, satirizing corruption in children's television through the rivalry between a disgraced kiddie-show host and the squeaky-clean fuchsia rhinoceros who replaces him. It stars [Robin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-williams) as Rainbow Randolph, Edward Norton as Sheldon Mopes (Smoochy the Rhino), Catherine Keener, DeVito, and [Jon Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-stewart).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62349) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_smoochy)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | March 29, 2002 (wide), Warner Bros. Pictures; R rating; 109 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62349) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Death-to-Smoochy) |
| Principal cast | Robin Williams (Rainbow Randolph), Edward Norton (Sheldon Mopes/Smoochy), Catherine Keener (Nora Wells), Danny DeVito (Burke Bennett), Jon Stewart (Marion Frank Stokes)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62349) |
| Production | Smoochy Pictures, Inc., in association with FilmFour and Senator Entertainment; a Mad Chance production; Germany, United Kingdom, United States[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62349) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-29-et-thomas29-story.html) |
| Box office | $8,355,815 domestic against a $50,000,000 production budget; opening weekend $4,266,463 in 2,164 theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Death-to-Smoochy) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 38 from 30 reviews (generally unfavorable); 42% on the Tomatometer against a 66% audience score[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-to-smoochy/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_smoochy) |
| Awards | 2003 Razzie Award nomination for Robin Williams, Worst Supporting Actor; 2002 Golden Schmoes nomination, Most Underrated Movie of the Year[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266452/awards/) |
| Home video | Shout Factory Blu-ray debut in August 2024 with a new 2K restoration and fresh interviews[7](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/one-of-robin-williams-darkest-comedies-starred-a-future-marvel-superhero-and-its-still-underrated/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Rainbow Randolph (Robin Williams), the corrupt, costumed star of a popular children's TV show, is fired over a bribery scandal, having taken payoffs from parents to put their children ahead of others on his show. KidNet television wants a replacement who is ethical and squeaky clean, and finds him in Sheldon Mopes ([Edward Norton](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-norton)), who performs as Smoochy, a puffy fuchsia rhinoceros. As Smoochy scores hit ratings and the affections of network executive Nora Wells ([Catherine Keener](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-keener)), Randolph makes the unsuspecting rhino the target of repeated attempts to exact revenge and reclaim his status as America's sweetheart.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_smoochy) • [8](https://dove.org/review/3674-death-to-smoochy/)
The revenge schemes include an elaborate attempt to smear Smoochy by tricking him into appearing at a neo-Nazi rally.[9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/death-to-smoochy-2002) Behind the scenes, the satire widens: Sheldon's agent Burke Bennett (Danny DeVito), a former network executive, and a mob-controlled charity sector become bigger problems than Randolph. In the film's world, even charitable agencies are run by thugs, and extortion is used to make deals; [Harvey Fierstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvey-fierstein) plays Merv Green, the gravel-voiced head of a charity called Parade of Hope.[8](https://dove.org/review/3674-death-to-smoochy/) • [10](https://www.salon.com/2002/03/29/smoochy/)
## Production
Screenwriter Adam Resnick, a former writer for *Late Show with David Letterman* and co-creator of *Get a Life*, wrote the role of Sheldon with Edward Norton in mind and took the script to him first. Resnick said the premise grew from the scale of money in children's marketing: wherever big money exists, he reasoned, there is a serious, no-nonsense attitude, and he modeled Sheldon on [Frank Serpico](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-serpico), an idealist who enters a situation expecting it to be about fighting for good and finds something quite different.[11](https://www.darkhorizons.com/adam-resnick-for-death-to-smoochy/)
DeVito, who directed and co-starred, described the film in production notes as "a black comedy, it's a satire, it's a social commentary and it's a love story." Choreographer Barry Lather incorporated Norton's own ideas about how Smoochy would move into the routines.[12](https://robin-williams.net/pn/smoochy.php) The crew included cinematographer Anastas Michos, editor Jon Poll, production designer Howard Cummings, and composer David Newman.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62349)
The film's songs carry much of its satire. Smoochy's number "My Stepfather's Not Mean, He's Just Adjusting" was repeatedly singled out by reviewers as a highlight of the script's game attempts at political correctness and psychobabble for children.[13](https://eppc.org/publication/death-to-smoochy/) • [14](https://dai.mun.ca/pdfs/muse/TheMusevol52no228April2002.pdf)
## Reception
**Critical response was largely negative.** The Metacritic metascore of 38 from 30 reviews falls in the site's "generally unfavorable" band, with 6 positive, 11 mixed, and 13 negative reviews.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-to-smoochy/) Roger Ebert, the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) critic and 1975 [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize) winner, gave one of the most-quoted pans, opening: "Only enormously talented people could have made 'Death to Smoochy.' Those with lesser gifts would have lacked the nerve to make a film so bad, so miscalculated, so lacking any connection with any possible audience."[9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/death-to-smoochy-2002) Stephanie Zacharek of Salon wrote that "you can feel desperation buzzing around Danny DeVito's 'Death to Smoochy' like flies around a corpse."[10](https://www.salon.com/2002/03/29/smoochy/)
Some critics defended it. J. Hoberman of the Village Voice called it "often very funny" and praised "the integrity of DeVito's misanthropic vision"; the Christian Science Monitor's David Sterritt named it the most refreshingly outrageous movie of the season.[15](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-to-smoochy/critic-reviews/) The Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus holds that "the talent involved can't save a script that has nowhere to go with its promising premise."[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_smoochy)
**Audiences rejected it at the time and have since warmed to it.** The film opened to $4,266,463, ranked seventh, and sank 62 percent to $1,612,420 the following weekend after a C CinemaScore, losing most of its theater count soon after.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Death-to-Smoochy) • [16](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2002-2/death-to-smoochy/) Total domestic gross was $8,355,815 against a $50,000,000 production budget.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Death-to-Smoochy) On Rotten Tomatoes the audience score stands at 66 percent from more than 50,000 ratings, against the 42 percent critic score, and recent ratings trend positive.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_smoochy) • [7](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/one-of-robin-williams-darkest-comedies-starred-a-future-marvel-superhero-and-its-still-underrated/) The film received a 2003 Razzie nomination for Williams as Worst Supporting Actor, and a 2002 Golden Schmoes nomination as Most Underrated Movie of the Year.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266452/awards/)
## Cult standing
The film's reputation has improved over the two decades after release. A 2024 Guardian retrospective called it a "blacker-than-black satire of the children's TV industry that's never received proper kudos," noting that DeVito and Resnick inject revenge and organized-crime subplots into what should be a scrupulously clean industry while commenting on corporatization and the prioritization of dollars over ethics.[17](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/apr/03/death-to-smoochy-robin-williams-brings-his-manic-energy-to-gleefully-twisted-childrens-tv-revenge-o-rama) DeVito has said he has rewatched Smoochy more than any of his own films, and the August 2024 Shout Factory Blu-ray with a new 2K restoration is cited as a signal of its rising stock.[7](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/one-of-robin-williams-darkest-comedies-starred-a-future-marvel-superhero-and-its-still-underrated/) Commentators have also argued the satire aged into relevance: a story about corporate machinery devouring a sincere children's entertainer, merchandising rights, and charity fraud plays differently decades after its release.[7](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/one-of-robin-williams-darkest-comedies-starred-a-future-marvel-superhero-and-its-still-underrated/)
## References
1. [Death to Smoochy (2002), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62349)
2. [Death to Smoochy, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_to_smoochy)
3. [Death to Smoochy (2002), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Death-to-Smoochy)
4. [Satirical Overkill in 'Death to Smoochy', Los Angeles Times (Kevin Thomas, March 29, 2002)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-29-et-thomas29-story.html)
5. [Death to Smoochy Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-to-smoochy/)
6. [Death to Smoochy (2002) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266452/awards/)
7. [One of Robin Williams' Darkest Comedies Starred a Future Marvel Superhero, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/one-of-robin-williams-darkest-comedies-starred-a-future-marvel-superhero-and-its-still-underrated/)
8. [Death to Smoochy, Dove.org review](https://dove.org/review/3674-death-to-smoochy/)
9. [Death To Smoochy movie review, RogerEbert.com (Roger Ebert, March 29, 2002)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/death-to-smoochy-2002)
10. ["Death to Smoochy", Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek, March 29, 2002)](https://www.salon.com/2002/03/29/smoochy/)
11. [Adam Resnick for "Death to Smoochy", Dark Horizons interview](https://www.darkhorizons.com/adam-resnick-for-death-to-smoochy/)
12. [Death to Smoochy (2002) Production Notes, Robin-Williams.net](https://robin-williams.net/pn/smoochy.php)
13. [Death to Smoochy, Ethics & Public Policy Center](https://eppc.org/publication/death-to-smoochy/)
14. [The Muse, Arts and Entertainment, April 8, 2002](https://dai.mun.ca/pdfs/muse/TheMusevol52no228April2002.pdf)
15. [Death to Smoochy critic reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-to-smoochy/critic-reviews/)
16. [Death To Smoochy (2002): Death to FilmFour, Bomb Report](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2002-2/death-to-smoochy/)
17. [Death to Smoochy: Robin Williams brings his manic energy to gleefully twisted children's TV revenge-o-rama, The Guardian (Luke Buckmaster, 2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/apr/03/death-to-smoochy-robin-williams-brings-his-manic-energy-to-gleefully-twisted-childrens-tv-revenge-o-rama)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2000 to 2002 › Comedies of 2001*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license