WHAT’S IT ABOUT
From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), Won’t You Be My Neighbor? takes an intimate look at America’s favorite neighbor: Mister Fred Rogers. A portrait of a man whom we all think we know, this emotional and moving film takes us beyond the zip-up cardigans and the land of make-believe, and into the heart of a creative genius who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Anyone who knows about Fred Rogers, this is a must-see. For the small group of people that don’t know who he was, this is your chance. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” explores Fred Rogers’ life from the first day of his show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, to its last episode. A man that used his life making children feel better about themselves He talked to you as an intelligent person and tackled subjects no other children’s show would touch. This film shows us his vulnerabilities and fears. His wife and sons tell unknown facts about him, while the friends he worked with reveal the funny side of Fred. Most of his humanitarianism is told through clips and Mister Rogers himself. We see him defending PBS, his show and the fate of every child in America. The emotions felt within the hour and a half of this documentary are those most of us pushed to the wayside for fear of ridicule and shame. If we take away the false stereotypes of how we are supposed to act, we could all be better people. I know it’s hard for millennials to understand or even envision the level of caring this grown man had for children, but those of us that had the pleasure of seeing his show was blessed beyond words. If you want to know what true innocence, true love, and genuine compassion for every child in America looks like, you need look no further than Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Fifteen minutes into the documentary and all you could hear were the sniffles from the patron watching. The sincere empathy that comes from this Presbyterian minister is truly amazing. When I was a child, he always had a way of doing and saying the right things. His voice and mannerisms gave me a feeling of acceptance and allowed me to see the world not as a Black kid hated by the White majority but as a little boy that could grow up to be anything he put his mind too.
“Some days, doing “the best we can” may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn’t perfect on any front and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else.” – Fred Rogers
OUR RATING – A TRUE 9.5
mEDIA
- Genre – Documentary
- Street date
- Digital – August 21st 2018
- DVD/Blu-Ray – September 4th 2018
- Video – 1080p
- Screen Size – 1:85.1
- Sound – English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles – English SHD, Spanish, French