Fans of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' Share Mixed Opinions About an Animated Spinoff Series

Mister Roger's Neighborhood was a beloved classic children's show that aired on PBS for forty years. In 2009, PBS stopped airing the show after honoring Fred Rogers with the Children's Hero Award. Now, PBS Kids has a new show in the works that is to pay homage to the late educator and advocate.

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is an animated spin-off of the original show that is slated to start airing in the fall of 2012. Daniel Tiger is the four year-old son of the Tiger puppet from the original series. They live in the original Neighborhood of Make-Believe and all of the original characters are there. The former puppets are now animated and have all grown up, with children of their own. It's the new generation.

With the new generation comes a more modern approach to teaching children. Animation is theoretically going to be more appealing to children. With numerous other animated series, creators need to compete in the market. Interactive games and resources for parents and teachers will also be available on a cross-platform basis.

The show was developed by the Fred Rogers Company, which is dedicated to maintaining the vision of its founder and namesake. They aim to continue to revolutionize television and educational platforms for children. They also wish to branch out from current shows that strictly focus on academics by demonstrating appropriate learning and social skills to children.

Brilliant or Blasphemous?

Fans of the original Mister Rogers' Neighborhood are split on their feelings about the new version. Some feel it is a brilliant move to resurrect a cherished program that taught children so much. They have high hopes for it, especially as it is airing on PBS and being developed by the Fred Rogers Company. Others feel it is blasphemous to replace the father figure of Fred Rogers with a juvenile animated tiger. So many other programs and memories have been recreated over the years, only to lose their luster. Here are a few of their comments.

" I grew up with Mister Roger's Neighborhood and Mister McFeely so I kind of think it is blasphemous. As cool as Daniel, the tiger puppet on the original show, is I'm just not sure his son, another tiger puppet will do the show justice for kids. Perhaps it will. But I don't think anything can replace Fred Rogers singing, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.." and get kids excited about the day a head and all the little trivialities that might come to pass." - Linda, Blakeslee, PA

" It depends on the speed and changes to the actual programming. The good thing about Mr. Rogers was his focus on only one topic for the whole half hour and his slow speed - his I am not in a hurry and you matter to me tone of voice and pace of programming. A total opposite to the hyperactive commercial basis for Sesame Street which is not a good choice for preschoolers because it feeds them a short attention span rather than helping build a strong one." - Marie, MSBG 1980-2005 & AMS Board member - 1999-2004

" What's wrong with reruns? If they're smart, they'll keep the classic elements of the show. Or else there will be some parents boycotting them! Like when Bert and Ernie went claymation, I about fell off my chair. Don't like it." - Liz, Savannah, GA

" As someone who grew up with Mister Rogers and someone with younger kids and not a large variety of 'true' family oriented and educational shows, I would love to see some version on Mister Rogers come back on the air. Not sure I like the idea of it being animated, but I guess we will have to wait and see." - Deborah, Las Vegas, NV.

" With the weird crud on like 'Yo! Gabba Gabba,' I wouldn't be surprised at anything they did to Mr. Rogers. I am not liking changing with the times, so I probably won't be a fan of the new show. It's like the new 'Dr. Who' vs. the original one - no contest if you grew up watching the '60s version." - Derek, Colorado Springs, CO

"My kids are grown so I know I'm out of touch with today's youngsters. I just don't understand the supposed necessity of turning every life lesson into a cartoon. My kids understood the difference between cartoons and real people and truly knew that nothing that happened in a cartoon was real. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood taught lessons in a way that children could understand - they knew the puppets weren't real but still listened to them. I think I need to find DVD sets of the original Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood to save for my grandchildren." - Debbie, Centerburg, Ohio

"Mr. Roger's neighborhood played a huge roll in my childhood. I love it that there is now a chance it can do the same for my children." - Jacob, Kansas City, Mo

"As some one who grew up with Mr. Rogers, I have to say this is driving me nuts. Some things don't need to be 'modernized', and Mr. Rogers is one of them. Sure, it would be great to see a classic like this show come back, but why not simply re-air the series in its entirety? A revamp like this suggests the classic Mister Rogers is out of fashion, and that couldn't be further from the truth. The fact that it's animated is also, in my opinion, insulting to the modern generation of youth, who modern television seems to assume can't pay attention to anything unless it's full of flashing colors, peppy animation, and other ridiculous eye-catching yet mind-numbing junk! The reason Mr. Rogers made such a big difference wasn't because of his puppets and a bunch of flash and glitter-- it was Mr. Rogers himself." - Khara H., Flagstaff, AZ

Only time will tell if the program ends up being beneficial to the new generation or if it merely gets lost within all of the other animated series.

Resources:

Hibberd, James. "PBS announces 'Mister Rogers' next generation spin-off." July 2011. EW.com . http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/07/31/pbs-mister-rodgers-spin-off/

Nededog, Jethro. "Fred Rogers' Legacy Lives on With a 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' Animated Spin Off From PBS." July 31, 2011. The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fred-rogers-legacy-lives-a-217532

Van Gilder Cooke, Sonia. "'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' Gets an Animated Spinoff." August 1, 2011. Time. http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/01/mister-rogers-neighborhood-gets-an-animated-spinoff/