Won’t You Be My Neighbor? got the lion’s share of the attention as a theatrical release but it wasn’t last year’s only documentary about the man of the hour, Mr. Rogers. The other was made for PBS and I learned about its existence having spent all of last year at a public television station.
It’s You I Like only had an hour to play with and thus it didn’t go into as much depth regarding the whole of Mr. Rogers’ career. A reason for that besides the length might have been budget, as the PBS documentary might not have been able to license clips from his early days the way the theatrical film did. Then again, it might have cost no money. The question is whether the rights to his early programs were owned by the local stations or by PBS itself.
In any case, rather than trying to do the same thing as Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and tell a linear story about Mr. Rogers’ life in television, It’s You I Like is episodic in nature. It shares specific memorable moments from the show’s history (e.g. having a special-needs boy on to teach children not to be scared of those with disabilities, Big Bird making a cameo during the make-believe segment, Yo-Yo Ma’s performance) and commentary from those who have been touched by the content (e.g childhood fan Judd Apatow, Yo-Yo Ma’s son Nicholas).
The best part is the loving recollections from host Michael Keaton. Little did I know that one of this first gigs in the entertainment industry was as a production assistant and a minor cast member on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood!
This complements Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood perfectly. The longer documentary shows his impact on our world on a macro level, the short documentary on a micro level, and the feature film on an individual level.
Bottom Line: A must for fans of Fred Rogers (or any fans of feeling warm inside!)
%
Recent Comments