“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

For most of us in Australia, the ABC’s Play School was the high watermark for children’s television and has been for anyone still alive and reading this! The secret to Play School’s longevity has been its simplicity and “dagginess” that cuts through to all children, demonstrating how to have fun and be creative without technology. It was the cardboard box to the expensive present on Xmas Day. How many times did you see kids get bored with a Xmas gift and start building a cubby house with the packaging?

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.“

Mr Rogers Neighbourhood, written and performed by Mr Fred Rogers, ran on US television from 1968-2001. Like Play School, Mr Rogers was hugely successful through his simple messages and encouragement to children to be proud of themselves and be grateful for who they are. Like the many terrific actors like John Waters and Noni Hazelhurst who came through Play School, Mr Rogers’ gentle manner and vocal tones engaged his audience immediately. Rogers, who passed away in 2003, wasn’t someone who delivered “fluff”. Despite his almost meditative delivery were strong messages around dealing with adversity and the realities of life ahead for children such as bullying and divorce. In 1969, he also famously broke down racial discrimination for the kids by having a joint foot bath with black actor Francois Clemmons at a time of heightened unrest and black segregation in the US.

Fred Rogers and François Clemmons in an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, 1993

“Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people.“

The story isn’t a biopic but moreso the true story of hard nosed journalist Lloyd Vogel (Tom Junod in real life) being tasked the job of interviewing and writing a piece for Esquire magazine. Vogel initially dismisses the job given his serious award winning credentials but ends up meeting Rogers and getting absorbed into something much deeper.

I’ve gotta say that I’ve never been a big fan of Tom Hanks personally, so I approached this film with much trepidation and my usual dose of scepticism. There’s no doubting his talent but I’ve just found his work to be too “apple pie” and “white bread” with little range. I guess he likes to play to his strengths and this film is right in his sweet spot. It’s a brilliant portrayal and no matter how “smaltzy” Tom Hanks can be, I would love my daughters to meet someone as nice as this guy!

The supporting roles are very good. I had never seen Welshman Matthew Rhys before but he is excellent as the grumpy New York journalist Vogel and Chris Cooper jumps in with another superb angst ridden supporting role as Vogel’s dysfunctional father.

The encounter that the real life journalist Tom Junod had with Rogers ultimately changed his life. I felt this film is a nice accompaniment to the book I recently reviewed by Hugh Van Cuylenburg, The Resilience Project. In these times of mobile phones, “likes” and “followers”, how do we give our kids the values and tools to deal with adversity and live a healthy, positive life? What comes across in Mr Rogers’ philosophy is very similar to what’s contained in Hugh’s book, Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. Pretty simple really, but I’m one parent who failed to execute this properly and prioritised other thigs such work to the detriment of family. I’m now playing catch up as a consequence.

The Resilience Project – Discovering kindness through simplicity

A beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood is a genuine surprise packet of a film. It’s a lovely tribute to a man who devoted his life to the betterment of all children and received no less than 40 honorary degrees from US Universities as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The interaction he has with Tom Junod became the Esquire article “Can you say hero?” and the inspiration for the film.  Here is the link:

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27134/can-you-say-hero-esq1198/

This is a warm, intelligent and at times a tear jerker of a film. Oh and wait for the credits to end! 9/10

To gain a bit more insight into the qualities of this beautiful man, these are 2 videos I’d like to share. The first is Fred’s interaction with a 5 year old quadriplegic, Jeff during his TV show, and the second is his speech when he was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame. Watch as Jeff turns up on stage 25 years on and how Fred requests 10 seconds of mindfulness from the billions of dollars worth of celebrities in the audience!