Taika Waititi started out making small films in his native New Zealand, and has made it to the wide world of Marvel cinema. His directing prowess has earned him love for rebooting Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and even an upcoming Star Wars feature.
But the director is still at his best when he can inject his projects with his unique humor. When watching one of his films, there is no doubt that it was created by Waititi. He has a style all his own, and a list of films so impressive it is almost impossible to rank. But that doesn’t mean we won’t try.
10. Wellington Paranormal
A spin-off from the vampire classic, What We Do In the Shadows, Wellington Paranormal is the Waititi series you probably haven’t heard of. Per Roger Ebert.com, Waititi and Jermaine Clement developed the series, which exclusively aired in New Zealand for a time before getting widespread release.
The series follows two Wellington police officers, Minogue (Mike Minogue) and O’Leary (Karen O’Leary). After encountering vampires in What We Do In the Shadows, the partners go on to solve more paranormal issues in the series, with Waititi’s trademark dry humor. While Wellington Paranormal is the more understated addition to the supernatural universe, it is a worthy addition to the What We Do In the Shadows world.
9. Boy
Waitit’s 2010 film, Boy, emerged early in his directorial career but still maintains all the hallmarks of the filmmaker. The movie centers around its protagonist nicknamed Boy (James Rolleston), who idealizes his absentee father during a bid in prison. Boy’s father – played by Waititi himself – eventually comes home, but only to recover a stash of riches he buried before getting arrested. In the coming-of-age story, Boy understands that his father is not who he built him up to be. When speaking to Sundance, Waititi explained the genesis of the film and his fascination with children coming of age on their own.
“Growing up in the country, most kids develop into these really cheeky, strong-willed young people. I just love seeing really young kids who are able to hold their own without any parental oversight.”
Waititi filmed the movie partially where he grew up, giving it a personal touch. Boy is somewhat rough around the edges, a quality that the director improves upon in later works.
8. What We Do In the Shadows (Movie)
The film version of What We Do In the Shadows was the first big feature that seemed to break Waititi into mainstream media. Filmed in the mockumentary style that was popular at the time, the movie follows Waititi’s vampiric character Viago, who is roommates with three other bloodsuckers.
Also starring Waititi’s frequent collaborator Jemaine Clement, What We Do In the Shadows demonstrates the director’s strengths that would soon be expanded on in the American television show. The film version shows Waititi’s ability as a comedic director, which gave way to an impressive career.
7. Jojo Rabbit
Waititi’s 2019 Oscar-winning film for Adapted Screenplay is a polished version of what his movies typically look like. Jojo Rabbit follows the titular 10-year-old boy (Roman Griffin Davis) who is fanatical about being in the Hitler youth in Nazi Germany. Though this may not seem like a prime recipe for laughs, Waititi does an expert balancing act between laughing at the Nazi’s expense and showing Jojo’s character development.
After discovering a Jewish girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), living in his wall, Jojo learns that he has been a subject of Nazi propaganda. Waititi pokes fun at white nationalism by playing Jojo’s imaginary friend, Hitler. Jojo Rabbit is one of the director’s more controversial feats but remains as heartwarming and devastating as his other films can be.
6. Reservation Dogs
In the FX television series, Waititi tackles the experience of Indigenous American teenagers. The filmmaker has typically found his niche in telling Maori stories, but throws his weight behind the young characters in Reservation Dogs. Creating the series with Native American director Sterlin Harjo (Mvskoke Nation), Waititi told The Hollywood Reporter that he was passionate about bringing authentic representation to the screen.
“One of the things we all connected on was our disdain for how we appear onscreen in white productions. Indigenous characters, they’re always stoic. They’re always the people who talk to trees and play flutes on mountaintops. They’re never funny, they’re never normal. Nerd has not been a choice. Or dorky. Where are the dorky Natives?”
Like previous stories from Waititi, Reservation Dogs is a coming of age, this time set on an Oklahoma reservation. Starring D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as the conflicted Bear, the show is an intimate and humorous look at an overlooked community.
5. Next Goal Wins
After trying his hand in the Marvel universe, Waititi dove back into more familiar waters. This time, he adapted a true story with his own specific twist. Next Goal Wins is a heightened version of the Maori soccer team in dire straits. After losing abysmally to Australia in 2001 30-1, the Maori team tries to make a comeback.
In 2014, they hired coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), to not even whip them into shape but coach them enough to just score a goal. Though considering taking a year off, Fassbender told Entertainment Weekly he agreed to do the role on the strength of the script. When Waititi is allowed to get creative and tell stories he is passionate about, he always elevates the material.
4. Thor: Ragnarok
When the third Thor film hit screens, audiences were ready for a reset. Marvel films had become so commonplace with predictable humor and ensemble films that the time had come to go in a different direction. Waititi was exactly the person to take on the challenge and did so with flying colors.
Thor: Ragnarok shows its title character in a refreshing new light and even revitalized Hemsworth’s appreciation for the role. In the film, Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are out of their element when exiled into the outrageous world of Sakaar. Paying homage to the Planet Hulk story from the comics, a new and hilarious version of Thor was what the brand needed.
3. Hunt For the Wilderpeople
Waititi’s eccentricities and trademark humor tangles together in a hilarious story set in New Zealand. Left to the devices of the foster system, young Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) finds himself at the home of Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hec in one of Sam Neill’s best movies. In Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Bella is a warm mother figure, while Hec is the opposite, clearly preferring to be out in the woods. This happy home becomes disrupted when Bella dies suddenly, and Ricky is left in the hands of Hec.
Aware that his foster father has designs on returning him to the system, Ricky hightails it to the wilderness, where he is vastly underprepared to survive. As Hec pursues him, he is accused of kidnapping Ricky, and these two characters, who could not be more different, have common ground. It is an unlikely father-son tale that resonates on many emotional levels, as well as being a barrel of laughs.
2. Our Flag Means Death
Long-time friends Rhys Darby and Waititi come together in a revisionist historical comedy about Stede Bonnet, the gentleman pirate (Darby), and Blackbeard (Waititi). The two collaborated in the mid-aughts for the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, but this time, they are both on screen. The pirate series veers widely into unpredictability, but that is where its strength is. The show is about two men who love each other, betray each other, and hopefully, will find some way to find a way back to each other again.
1. What We Do In the Shadows (television show)
Television series adapted from successful movies don’t always have the same glow, but What We Do In the Shadows is a different animal. The FX comedy takes the vampire mockumentary and improves on it. This time adding female flavor in the role of Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), the television series is more inclusive and somehow just as hilarious. It also adds the concept of Colin (Mark Proksch), an emotional vampire, which adds even more opportunities for humor. Waititi executive produces the series and even reprises his role as Viago from the feature film.