‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ Inspires Viewers with Kind Message

When people look back at their childhood, everyone has their own separate memories and experiences that shaped and influenced their lives today. However, sometimes there are cultural figures so great that many people share a commonality through the impact these figures had. The best demonstration of this comes from a man who is the definition of someone who has had a positive impact on the lives of numerous individuals: Mr. Rogers. A man that when mentioned brings light to people’s eyes as they remember a man who used television to touch the hearts of so many children and did whatever he could to spread his message of kindness through his show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood”.

The film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, based on a true story, revolves around Fred Rogers and his impact on a journalist with a less positive view of the world, Lloyd Vogel, while he goes through personal turmoil. Vogel deals with his difficult relationship with his father and his anger towards him while working on an assignment to interview Rogers for his magazine. While skeptical of Rogers’ views at first, Lloyd’s interactions with Rogers throughout the feature come to transform and develop his outlook on life. The sweet and heart-warming movie is made even more exceptional through every exact aspect weaved into the film.

The animation and graphics along with the camerawork were outstanding elements in the creation of the film. The spectacular work starts from the very beginning of the film with a precise reenactment of the opening theme of the original film with the toy-like model of the neighborhood. This continues on as many transitions in the film use these small models of objects like planes and buildings to transform into the more real-life locations of where the movie scenes take place. These transitions show how unique this film is by relating it back to the theme of its child-like roots to resemble the show the film stemmed from. In addition to these amazing graphics, the feature uses amazing camerawork to convey deeper meanings. Every frame makes an impact as the focus of the camera shifts in ways to show emphasis on the small actions of a character as well as any change in facial expression, no matter how seemingly minute at first. The precise camerawork conveys the emotions of the individuals in the movie to the audience to effectively immerse the viewers into the film.

The acting adds to the phenomenal impact of the film, this can be seen through the main characters. Tom Hanks brings Fred Rogers to life with remarkable accuracy by managing to express characteristics of the real Rogers through his light-hearted jokes and the kind tone in which his lines are spoken to bring to life Rogers’ gentile personality to the screen. This tough role is accomplished by Hanks through the smallest but most meaningful details by way of his facial expressions. The audience notices the way Hanks curiously looks at the individuals around him and pays attention to them as if they were the only person in the world, and he achieves this attitude with the audience as well by looking straight at the camera to the viewers, pinning down these exact signature mannerisms of the real Fred Rogers that made him connect to people so well. Bringing a brilliant dynamic of personality in contrast to Rogers is Matthew Rhys playing Lloyd Vogel. Rhys brings his own excellent acting to the table as the inner struggle he feels about his troubled relationship with his father is demonstrated through the flashes of anger and hurt on his face as well as through his actions moments where he yells in frustration or cries in pain about this familial trouble. His emotion-filled performance brings the viewer closer to his character and helps them understand Vogel through the development of his character and further connect them to understand the message he learned from Rogers.

Every aspect of the creation of this movie is purposeful in its ability to have an impact on the audience. While the movie may seem to go at a slower pace than others, that is precisely the point as Rogers himself valued the power of silence and time within his life and own show. One of the most compelling parts of the film is when Rogers asks Vogel to take a minute of silence to reflect on his loved ones, and this is such a powerful and heart-warming moment as it takes time for the viewer to reflect on their own life and ponder the kind messages from Mr. Rogers. Although the prime audience of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” was children, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood does a wonderful job in reminding the audience that even those who are all grown-up can find solace in the kindness Rogers worked to bring, and in the end, a loving message like that is the best impact a film can bring upon the world.