The new documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor gives an intimate look into the country’s most beloved neighbor – Mr. Fred Rogers.

 

The documentary is directed by the Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville and will explore the legacy and lessons that Rogers left on America.

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“The Fred Rogers I discovered making this film is at once comfortably familiar and completely surprising,” Neville told The Hollywood Reporter. “I believe Mister Rogers is the kind of voice we need to hear right now.”

The filmmakers say it is “an emotional and moving film that takes you beyond zip-up cardigans and the land of make-believe, and into the heart of a creative genius, who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination.”

In the trailer, it shows how Rogers was able to take a simple set and concept of the show to teach children about complex topics like race, death and assassination. It also shows his most fundamental topic for Rogers – how to love the people around you.

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“Love is at the root of everything, all learning, all relationships, love or the lack there of it,” Rogers said in an old interview.

The documentary will be released this summer in select theaters on June 8, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of his show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and what would have been his 90th birthday this year.

You Are My Friend , a biopic of Rogers’s life is also in production, starring Tom Hanks. The release date has not been decided.

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