• IMDB: 8.5/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes: 8.8/10
  • CP: 8.3/10

Won’t You Be My Neighbor is a documentary about the man behind the beloved television show and character, Mr. Rogers.

If you’re like me and grew up watching Mr. Rogers as a wee lad, then this movie will bombard you with nostalgia and warm and fuzzy feelings that one just can’t get from today’s television programming. When the documentary opens, the first thing that hit me was just how long it’d been since I’ve even heard Mr. Rogers’ voice. But at the same time, his voice was so familiar and took me back to the days of drinking apple juice and eating crackers and cheese as a snack while I watched his show. If you’ve never seen the show, believe me, we could use Mr. Rogers these days. A show that taught compassion and love, friendship and sharing…and did I say love? And these messages were all intended for the most impressionable members of our society, children.

If you ever spoke to Mr. Rogers through the t.v. and told him, “Hell yes I’ll be your neighbor Mr, Rogers!”, then the documentary does an awesome job of reminding you of why you ever loved the show in the first place. But even more importantly, it gives you insight into the man who created the show and his passion for protecting and educating children. The filmmakers make it a point to connect Fred Roger’s real life experiences, self doubt and insecurities with his ability to translate that into lessons for children who deal with the very same issues.

As a fan and former neighbor, I got so caught up in the sentimentality of the film and the man, that I became a little protective during segments of the film that discussed topics like parodies of Mr. Rogers (including the fan favorite Eddie Murphy skit from SNL), criticisms about his philosophy or allegations of him being gay. By the time those segments show up in the film, you’ve been reminded so many times of why you loved the show that you can’t believe anyone would take such pot shots at him and you feel a little bit guilty if you ever laughed at one.

After an hour and a half of trying to keep my allergies from acting up, there’s no doubt in my mind that growing up with this show and others like it, impacted my life and the kind of person I turned out to be. Me and probably millions of other kids my age. And it makes me sad that with the abundance of television programming out there right now, nothing comes close to what Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was. And that’s a big loss for all of us. Meow Meow.

p.s. – have your allergy medicine ready for the end.

Memorable Moment: In 1969 when Nixon was trying to take away funding for PBS, Mr. Rogers had to testify before a Senate Sub-Committee that would decide if PBS would keep their funding or not.