Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Documentaries are a rare genre that I usually don't touch unless the subject matter intrigues me enough to check it out. These can range from exploring the workings/life of an important figure, discussing an impactful event, a historical period of surrounding wars, types of discrimination, etc. In regards to my own history with documentaries, one of the standouts that I can remember the most is Super Size Me (2004). However, that changed during the past couple of months when I saw a trailer for one such feature about the minister and TV personality, Fred Rogers, called Won't You Be My Neighbor?, which has been on my radar for a while. The marketing campaign for it showed enough to entice me and the critical reception has been very positive since its debut in festival circuits like Sundance. Entering into the auditorium, I wasn't aware of Fred, his nice personality, nor his work in front and behind his show (Mister Rogers Neighborhood) before watching this documentary and when it was finished, I was both impressed and drained by most of the tears I have shed when viewing this lovely feature.

Note: This is the first documentary I have covered on this blog and will be far different in how it's reviewed in comparison to everything else I have done up until this point.

Content: In terms of how far this feature goes in exploring Fred Rogers, it starts from when he entered into a seminary and jumping into some early children shows to help educate children, him getting the rights to his own program, the famous speech he made to defend PBS in order to keep its funding, the rising popularity of the program, and the end of his life (mainly the 1950s-2001). The interviews include his wife, son, crew members who worked with him, child psychologists he met with, and archived footage he did during that time. It should also be noted how much of a tearjerker this feature is with the extraordinary things he's done whether they are big or small, the amount of kindness shown is very compelling (especially for those who are more familiar with him than I am, though it did catch me off guard 3 or 4 times). It details how low budget the sets were, the manner in which he worked with the puppets, how they addressed critical events during the period in the episodes, the mindset he had when in character or regarding the rise of bombastic cartoons he despised due to the effects on it younger audiences. It even addresses the rumor that he served in the military, which promptly put to rest. It would have been nice if they showed a bit more of what obstacles he faced near the end of his life as it would have brought some more meat nearing the conclusion. Overall the journey shown here is endearing, sweet, and heartwarming to view how this kind man's determination to improve children's educational programming is affected by the surrounding harsh nature of the world as well as the effect he had through his actions.

Overall Consensus: Won't You Be My Neighbor is a kind hearted love letter to its subject matter that shows their honest good natured spirit whose actions shouldn't be underestimated and deserves recognition. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🎟🍿 Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You are familiar with Fred Rogers and/or have seen his educational show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood. You enjoy documentaries and want to take a break from current blockbusters. You want an something to shed some tears for. You haven't heard of him and want to see how his contributions affected the world.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike documentaries and prefer mainstream blockbusters. You don't want to see a tearjerking flick.

Coming up next: June has brought an unexpected gem as a love letter to a brilliant pioneer as his impact on education programming for children is excellent. It was an unique sweet heartwarming experience I haven't had in theater since I've seen Paddington 2 back in January. However, it's time to return to a blockbuster franchise whose first entry was monumental in exemplifying the summer extravaganza in cinematic history. The sequels, on the other, are anything but heartwarming as the main question becomes how bad will this one be or hopefully it won't be as painful as the last one. That will be answered next time as Screening Spectacles will watch and review the fifth entry in the Jurassic series, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom!!!