There’s a lot of hype over Daniel Tiger in my daughter’s age group (3). She’s been completely hooked on him for way longer than I want to admit. About a year ago or so, I tried to introduce her to the original-Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and failed miserably. Then, a few weeks ago as I was watching the trailer for the movie coming up about him, my daughter was immediately interested when I told her that Mr. Rogers was the same guy behind her beloved Daniel Tiger. She let me put it on again and has been hooked ever since.
As a child of the 80’s, I grew up with him, but I was not prepared for the bombardment of feelings I’d get watching it again with my daughter.
In this four-part blog series, I’m going to talk about why your kids should be watching Mr. Rogers… and why you should too.
The first thing I want to talk about are the operas/plays within the Land of Make Believe. How awesome. Did you know that Fred was a composer and wrote the songs for his show?
Windstorm in Bubble Land- aired in 1980
– This guy!
This is definitely one of the highlights for me about this opera. His evil laugh at the end is THE. BEST. Also, way to use tinsel as facial hair. Amazing.
– Metaphor for society?
This song is great because it teaches a lesson that it’s not helpful to be blissfully ignorant. Trouble is going to come anyway and it’s how you react to trouble that really matters.
– The music
Everyone could actually sing. Did you ever notice that as a child? They’re all really talented.
– Inspires your kid’s curiosity
Hailey now wants to learn about hummingbirds! Too bad I’ll have to tell they’re not actually “as strong as the wind.”
Potato Bugs and Cows- aired in 1973
– Self acceptance
This musical is a great lesson about self acceptance. Priscilla Cow wants to be a “groovy” potato bug. In the end, she realizes that cows can be groovy too!
– Songs
I challenge you to not get this song in your head. It’s awesome. It makes my infant son smile when I sing it!
Josephine, the Short-Necked Giraffe -aired in 1989
The entire episode is actually on YouTube, but it’s also on Amazon Prime-season 7!
-Self acceptance again
This one has some pretty strong parallels to the last one. It’s again about wanting to be something you’re not/wanting to be something else. In this case, Jo the giraffe has a short neck and wants to have a long one like all the other giraffes. She’s not happy with her appearance. In the end, she realizes she’s just fine as she is.
– A highlight
I love that Chuck Aber is in this one. He plays J.R. who is a shy giraffe and helps Josephine accept herself for who she is. Not sure if it’s just me, but I kind of got a love vibe between the two characters. Either way, he and Betty Aberlin seem to have some chemistry!
There were so many more operas. More than I realized (13 from what I can find!), but the ones above are the ones I remember best and rewatched with my daughter on Amazon Prime.
Mr. Rogers was an amazing talent. He always sought to teach us a lesson, mostly about ourselves. Doing it through song and story is a great way to help us to remember to be kind to ourselves and to others.
If you have Prime already, you can watch any of these episodes for free, but if not the links are below!