Our Neighbor, Fred Rogers

Fred ”Mister” Rogers is a kid-TV institution, and children and adults alike will be entertained by Our Neighbor, Fred Rogers, a behind-the-scenes look at the history of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. David Hartman’s narration is faintly embarrassing (”Fred’s affection flows through his puppets ”), but you can ignore it. Just concentrate on the visuals: black-and-white footage of the earliest version of Neighborhood: The Children’s Corner, in 1954, which oldsters will recognize as owing a lot to Kukla, Fran & Ollie. There’s even a shot of Mister Rogers naked — on the traditional bearskin rug, at 5 months old.

What comes across is Rogers’ seriousness of purpose, his intention to teach and amuse while instilling trust in his youthful audience. B+