Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Won’t You Please?

Focus Features

The world lost one of its biggest and most beloved children’s television programming advocates when it lost Mr. Fred Rogers in 2003 after a lengthy battle with stomach cancer. But perhaps we lost quite a bit more than that, judging by director Morgan Neville’s new documentary from Focus Features titled Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

On the air from 1968 to 2001, his influential television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood lives on in the hearts of many primarily because just about every kid in America – and around the globe – wanted to be one of his neighbors. His trademark brightly colored cardigans may hang idly in the closet and his tennis shoes may lie forlornly on their shelf, never to be worn again. And it’s true that the trolley hasn’t made any memorable trips to the ‘Neighborhood of Make-Believe’ in over 15 years. Yet several generations of fans will never, ever forget the man who first taught them invaluable lessons about life, learning, adolescence, imagination, fostering an appreciation for the arts and sciences, and perhaps most importantly, about unconditional love for your fellow man (and woman).

Week after week, Mr. Rogers (an ordained Christian minister before becoming involved in the wondrous world of puppetry and children’s TV) expounded on the concept of ‘it’s you I like,’ telling millions of boys and girls that they were special, loved and accepted just for being themselves. While some would argue that this may have created a certain sense of false entitlement among his legions of young fans, I would argue that his main message was one of acceptance, of both yourself and of others, no matter what differences may appear on the surface of things. And that’s a lesson that I think we could all use in today’s world of growing intolerance. The children and people represented in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood made up all races, religions and ages – and Mr. Rogers had a big enough heart to love them all equally as his neighbors. What’s more, he strove to help them understand what made each and every one of them unique, so that they’d never forget their worth no matter what others in society may have thought.

This documentary does a fairly good job of presenting a more complete, enigmatic picture of the well-respected childhood icon, drawing from old home movies, photos and interviews with Mr. Rogers himself, as well as new interviews with his friends, family and former cast and crew from his long-running show. If you’re among those who are quick to dismiss Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as an antiquated, corny children’s program of yesteryear with very little relevance to today’s society, I humbly think you’d be wrong. The very first episode of his program dealt with the fictitious King Friday building a wall constructed of barbed wire around his castle to keep out those who would disagree with his opinions and challenge his despot rule. (Does this sound like anyone you currently know in U.S. politics?)

While it was certainly wholesome in spades, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood wasn’t afraid to tackle tough topics that other children’s programming shied away from. Francois Clemmons was among the first African-Americans to have a regularly occurring role on children’s television thanks to Mr. Rogers. In a time of segregated swimming pools, Mr. Rogers invited his friendly neighborhood policeman to wash his weary feet together with him in his backyard tub, censors be damned. Death was also a topic brought up many times, ranging from the assassination of Robert Kennedy to the Challenger Explosion to 9/11. Mr. Rogers understood that children comprehend far more than adults think they do and curiosity and apprehension about death and turbulent world events are perfectly natural. What I’ve always admired most about him was his ability to really communicate with children in a way that didn’t seem condescending. He genuinely seemed to care about their feelings and their overall development, even coming out of semi-retirement in the late ‘70s because of his increasing concerns about children injuring themselves in their attempts to mimic superheroes like Superman due to a lack of quality programming.

Although Mr. Rogers may no longer be with us in body, a part of him will always be with us in spirit. If you manage to leave the theater without shedding at least a tear during the footage of his heartfelt testimony before the U.S. Congress about the value of continuing to fund public broadcasting services that was akin to a real-life Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, then I question your empathy for humanity. While we may have lost our gentle guide into the unknown waters that lie ahead for us as a nation and as a globe at large, perhaps it’s up to us as individuals to once more find our way and become the people – neighbors – we should all aspire to be. The gauntlet has been thrown. Surely, humanity can strive to be better than this. Won’t you be one of his neighbors, won’t you please?

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? has a run time of 1 hour 34 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and language.