Family-Unfriendly Case File #2: Death To Smoochy  Family-
Unfriendly Case File #2: Death To Smoochy  Ideally, children’s
entertainment doesn’t just entertain; it also teaches its
audience how the world works. But since the world can be a
scary, sad, unknowable place, children’s entertainment often
resorts to little white lies to make it seem kinder than it
really is. This is why we tend to revere children’s
entertainment like Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street,
which manage to speak to children honestly and with integrity
rather than treating them as grubby mini-consumers. I suspect
that’s part of the reason 2002’s Death To Smoochy—which stars
Edward Norton as a costume-wearing children’s entertainer with a
pure heart and clear mind who wants to do good in a world that
makes that nearly impossible—was received less as a failed film
than as a cross between an insult and a public embarrassment. 
In the pitch-black comedy directed by Danny DeVito, the universe
is essentially an evil machine designed to c