Death to Smoochy

Death to Smoochy is a 2002 satirical black comedy crime film directed by Danny DeVito and written by Adam Resnick. Starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, DeVito, and Jon Stewart, the film centers on "Rainbow" Randolph Smiley (Williams), a disgraced former children's television host who attempts to sabotage his replacement, Sheldon Mopes (Norton), and his character, Smoochy the Rhino.

Produced by FilmFour, Senator Entertainment and Andrew Lazar's Mad Chance Productions, the German-British-American co-production was released in the United States on March 29, 2002, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing $8.3 million against a budget of $50 million, but has since developed a cult following.

"Rainbow" Randolph Smiley hosts a popular children's television show on National Kidnet called The Rainbow Randolph Show, with his friendly and playful onscreen persona masking his alcoholism and criminal behavior. His career ended after he is arrested by the FBI at Patsy's Warehouse for accepting bribes, he is dismissed from the network, his show is canceled, and he is evicted from his corporate penthouse and left homeless. Ordered by the network's chairman to find a suitable replacement, executive Marion Stokes selects the naive Sheldon Mopes and his character Smoochy the Rhino. Sheldon is uniquely sincere and dedicated to providing quality children's entertainment with his show Smoochy's Magic Jungle, which puts him at odds with his new producer Nora Wells, Kidnet's vice president of development.

The immense instant popularity of Smoochy's Magic Jungle causes Randolph to fixate his anger on Sheldon. After Stokes declines to help him regain his job, the deranged Randolph hatches several unsuccessful, poorly-planned attempts to have Sheldon removed. Finally hitting rock bottom, Randolph turns to his former partner, Angelo Pike, for help. Angelo consents and allows him to stay at his apartment.

Feeling that he is losing creative control over his show to Nora, Sheldon hires corrupt talent agent Burke Bennett, who assists him in renegotiating his contract to make him the executive producer of his program. During dinner, Burke welcomes him to the dark side of the entertainment business by presenting him with a gun and introduces him to mob boss Tommy Cotter and her cousin Lawrence "Spinner" Dunn, a retired heavyweight boxer with brain damage who currently owns a nightclub and also functions as the mascot for the restaurant she and her fellow mobsters run. Tommy pressures Sheldon into casting Spinner as Smoochy's cousin Moochy, vowing to shield him from subsequent harm.

Increasingly impatient with Sheldon, Burke books him to star in a Smoochy ice show, run by Merv Green and his corrupt charity, Parade of Hope. When he declines despite Burke's warnings, Green personally threatens Sheldon into acquiescing, reminding him that the Parade of Hope has sponsored Kidnet ice shows since 1964. Meanwhile, Randolph manages to manipulate Sheldon into performing at a Neo-Nazi rally. Consequently, Sheldon is branded a racist and loses his job and show, and Nora declines to help him. Randolph visits Nora to ask for his job back but when he accidentally reveals that he set up Sheldon, she notifies Tommy. Tommy tracks down Randolph with her crew and forces him to confess that he tricked Sheldon, whose reputation and show are restored, with Randolph becoming vilified by the media. After Randolph angrily destroys Angelo's television, Angelo ejects him from his apartment. Nora and Sheldon reconcile and begin a romantic relationship.

Sheldon decides to host his own ice show, without the corrupt charities involved. Burke and Stokes, under pressure from Green, plot to kill Sheldon and hire a new host who will accommodate their corruption. Their plan backfires when Green's minions misidentify Spinner in his Moochy costume as Sheldon and murder him, causing an enraged Tommy to retaliatorily slaughter Green and his minions. Randolph confronts Sheldon and Nora in their apartment at gunpoint and reveals that Nora had sexually romantic affairs with several kid show hosts, including himself. Sheldon manages to calm Randolph down and disarm him, allowing Randolph to remain in the apartment until the matter is ultimately settled.

Burke and Stokes decide to hire Buggy Ding Dong, who formerly hosted the program Buggy's Bumpy Railroad but was dismissed when he became a courier for Turkish black mule heroin, to kill Sheldon during the ice show. Randolph intervenes and rescues Sheldon by killing Buggy. Realizing that he was set up, Sheldon threatens Burke with a gun, but Tommy arrives in time with her crew to stop Sheldon, and she decides to handle Burke herself. Sheldon and Nora share a kiss in Times Square in front of Kidnet Studios, and Smoochy and the redeemed Randolph launch a new show on Kidnet together alongside Nora, who becomes an ice skater.