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''Won't You Be My Neighbor?'' is a 2018 American
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
about the life and guiding philosophy of
Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...
, the host and creator of ''
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...
'', directed by
Morgan Neville Morgan Neville (born October 10, 1967) is an American film producer, director and writer. His acclaimed film '' 20 Feet from Stardom'' won him the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014 as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. H ...
. The trailer for the film debuted on what would have been Rogers's 90th birthday, March 20, 2018. The film premiered at the
2018 Sundance Film Festival The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017. Awards The following awards were presented: * U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: '' Th ...
and was released in the United States on June 8, 2018. It received acclaim from critics and audiences and grossed over $22 million, becoming the top-grossing biographical documentary ever produced and the 12th largest-grossing documentary ever produced. It was nominated for numerous awards, won the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature The Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It is given to the director(s) of the film and since 2014 it is also given to the producers. It was first presented in 2000, with Marc Singer ...
, and was chosen by ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine as one of its top ten films of 2018.


Premise

Filmmaker Morgan Neville examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the beloved host of the popular children's television program ''
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...
''.


Production

One of the film's producers was
Nicholas Ma Nicholas Ma (born circa 1983) is a film director and producer who is best known for producing the 2018 award-winning documentary '' Won't You Be My Neighbor?.'' He was born around 1983 to Yo-Yo Ma and Jill Hornor. He has one sibling, Emily Ma w ...
, son of the famed cellist
Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
. As a child, the younger Ma appeared twice as himself in ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''.


Appearances

* Joanne Rogers (Fred's widow) * John Rogers (Fred's son) * Jim Rogers (Fred's son) * Elaine Rogers Crozier (Fred's sister) * Margy Whitmer (Fred's producer from 1979 onward) * Hedda Sharapan * François Scarborough Clemmons *
Tom Junod Tom Junod (born April 9, 1958) is an American journalist. He is the recipient of two National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Early life In 1980, Junod graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the S ...
*
Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
*
Joe Negri Joseph Harold Negri (born June 10, 1926) is an American jazz guitarist and educator. He appeared as himself and as "Handyman Negri" in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. He appeared on the 1959 children' ...
*
David Newell David Alexander Newell (born November 24, 1938) is an American television actor known primarily for his portrayal of Mr. McFeely, the delivery man on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. He also worked in the public relations department of Fred R ...
(Mr. McFeely) * Howard and Pam Erlanger (parents of
Jeff Erlanger Jeffrey Clay Erlanger (November 30, 1970 – June 10, 2007) was an American advocate and activist for disability rights. He is known for appearing on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' when he was 10 years old, talking about his electric whe ...
) *
Jeff Erlanger Jeffrey Clay Erlanger (November 30, 1970 – June 10, 2007) was an American advocate and activist for disability rights. He is known for appearing on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' when he was 10 years old, talking about his electric whe ...
in archival recordings *
Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...
in archival recordings *
Koko Koko or KOKO may refer to: Animals *Koko (gorilla) (1971–2018), a gorilla trained to communicate in American Sign Language *Koko (dog) (2005–2012), the Australian kelpie in the 2011 film ''Red Dog'' *Koko (horse), an Irish racehorse that won ...
in archival recordings *
Hilary Hahn Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. She has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemporary classical music, and several ...


Release

''Won't You Be My Neighbor?'' was shown at many film festivals including on January 19, 2018, at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
, February 24, 2018, at the
Boulder International Film Festival The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF), sponsored by the Colorado Film Society, is held annually on Presidents Day Weekend in Boulder, Colorado USA, and has developed a reputation as one of the most compelling young film festivals in the ...
, March 2, 2018, at the
True/False Film Festival True/False Film Fest is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The Fest occurs on the first weekend in March (sometimes beginning in late February), with films being shown from Thursday evening to Sunday nig ...
, March 16, 2018, at the Miami Film Festival, and May 5, 2018, at the
Montclair Film Festival Montclair Film is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit most well known for organizing the annual Montclair Film Festival (MFF) usually held in late April, early May in Montclair, New Jersey. The festival showcases new works from American and inter ...
. It had a limited release in US theaters on June 15, 2018.
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
aired the film on February 9, 2019, as part of the network's ''
Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Ho ...
'' series. In November 2018, director
Morgan Neville Morgan Neville (born October 10, 1967) is an American film producer, director and writer. His acclaimed film '' 20 Feet from Stardom'' won him the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014 as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. H ...
revealed that the original title of the film was ''The Radical Mister Rogers'', but after the election of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, the term "radical" had a negative connotation according to Neville.


Reception


Box office

''Won't You Be My Neighbor?'' made $475,419 from 29 theaters in its first weekend, and $1 million from 96 theaters in its second. Expanding to 348 theaters the following week, it grossed $1.9 million, finishing tenth at the box office. It was added to an additional 306 theaters in its fourth weekend (for a total of 654) and made $2.5 million, again finishing 10th. It made $2.6 million the following weekend, becoming the highest-grossing documentary of 2018 in the process with $12.4 million. On July 27, the film became the highest-grossing biographical documentary of all-time, and on August 12 passed ''
Bowling for Columbine ''Bowling for Columbine'' is a 2002 documentary film written, produced, directed, and narrated by Michael Moore. The film explores what Moore suggests are the primary causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and other acts of gun ...
'' to become the 12th-highest-grossing documentary overall.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Won't You Be My Neighbor?'' takes a fittingly patient and honest look at the life and legacy of a television pioneer whose work has enriched generations." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Leslie Felperin of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave the film a score of 4 stars out of 5, writing that the film "revel's that ogersreally was just what he seemed to be at first innocent sight: a kind-hearted, square but saintly man who genuinely loved and understood children." Amy Nicholson of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote: "Neville's fantastic archival footage reveals the man through his work—or at least, it reveals his philosophies, if not the childhood memories that gave Rogers the ability to understand a four-year-old's brain, almost as if he still carried his in his cardigan pocket." David Edelstein of ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine wrote: "the most important thing we’re meant to take away is that no matter how we look or feel (sad, mad, plaid), we’re special, each of us, loved unconditionally by this nice, nice man." He concluded: "''Won’t You Be My Neighbor?'' is a wonderful breather from reality, from which you come back more conscious of — and dismayed by — the hate that more than ever runs the world." Peter Travers of the ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' wrote, "funny, touching...and timeless." J. R. Jones, writing for the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
'', was more critical of the film in his review, saying: "Nobody wants to hate on Mr. Rogers, so Neville quickly brushes aside the conservative criticism that ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''...may have helped foster our modern American culture of self-involvement and hypersensitivity. This gentle, positive treatment of Rogers coincides with the show's values but devalues his enormous social importance." In December 2018, former
US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
listed the film as one of his favorite films of 2018.


Accolades


See also

* ''
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'' is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, inspired by the 1998 article "Can You Say... Hero?" by Tom Junod, published in ...
'', a 2019 biopic about Fred Rogers starring
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Won't You Be My Neighbor? 2018 films American documentary films Biographical documentary films Documentary films about children Documentary films about television Films directed by Morgan Neville 2018 documentary films Films about Fred Rogers Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Focus Features films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films