Won't You Be My Neighbor? is a feature length documentary from filmmaker Morgan Neville which examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the beloved host of the popular children's TV show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
Believe it or not, but this is actually the first documentary I've reviewed here on my blog. That's primarily because I don't really watch documentaries, but also because the thought of reviewing one never occurred to me. With that being said, I figured it would be worth it for me to give the genre a chance after hearing so much goodwill being spread about Won't You Be My Neighbor?. With this film being heralded as a frontrunner for Best Documentary Feature in the upcoming awards season, it's likely that I'll try to watch and review any of this year's other notable documentaries.
Since Mister Rogers was before my time, I honestly had no idea who the man was prior to a few weeks ago when I first got wind of this documentary. However, my lacking knowledge made the experience even more interesting and informative. While the hour and a half documentary couldn't possibly have investigated all the intricacies of Mister Rogers' life, I certainly learned more about the man and his series than I could have ever hoped to glean from a quick Google search. The feature evaluates the subject matter through many different lenses, approaching just about every point of the man's life and series' history worth chronicling without feeling biased or invasive in the slightest.
Won't You Be My Neighbor? seamlessly compiles "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" footage, found footage, sit-down interviews with Rogers' close friends and family, and some animated segments to detail the psychology, philosophy, and origins of various element from the show and Fred Rogers as an individual. As a Christian, I certainly appreciated that the film never shied away from the importance of Rogers' faith which informed the approach of the show. These tid-bits were compelling in their own right, but are even more fascinating in the context which they're presented.
Rogers' willingness to tackle difficult topics such as grief, death, divorce, and racism is depicted as being one of Rogers primary motives behind the show. He felt responsible for presenting the information in a way that children could understand and enhancing their emotional intelligence whenever he could. He viewed the show as a channel for him to speak to children as equals rather than dumbing things down or talking down to them. To Mister Rogers, children deserved to know what was going on and why it was happening just like any other individual.
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