Mister Rogers (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)

"Do you know what that means? To forgive? It's a decision we make to release a person from the feelings of anger we have at them."

- Fred Rogers

"VOGEL: This piece will be for an issue about heroes. Do you consider yourself a hero? ROGERS: I don't think of myself as a hero, no, not at all. VOGEL: What about Mister Rogers? Is he a hero? ROGERS: I don't understand the question."

- Lloyd Vogel and Fred Rogers

Fred McFeely Rogers is the heroic primary antagonist of the 2019 drama film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Rogers was known to young children as Mister Rogers as the creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and was adored nationally for his gentle demeanor.

In 1998, Rogers strikes a friendship with Lloyd Vogel, a renowned yet cynical journalist who is assigned to interview him for the magazine Esquire. After learning that Vogel assaulted his father Jerry for cheating on his cancer-stricken mother and abandoning his family, Rogers challenges Vogel to forgive Jerry and acknowledge his emotional problems, breaking through the journalist's callous front and slowly winning him over through his gentle kindness, patience, friendship, and preternatural empathy.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood employs Rogers and the format of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as storytelling devices, framing its events within an episode of Rogers' show to make it an access point to Rogers' friendship with the Vogel family.

Rogers, who is based on his real-life counterpart, is portrayed by Tom Hanks, who also voiced Woody and portrayed Forrest Gump.

Opening
"Someone has hurt my friend Lloyd. And not just on his face. He’s having a hard time forgiving the person who hurt him."

- Fred Rogers Rogers begins the film by singing the opening song to his television show and performing the routine he has on almost every episode: changing out of his suit and into a sweater and slipping on his sneakers while greeting the viewer, whom he regards as his neighbor. Rogers shows a picture board with doors that reveal pictures of several of his friends and cast members of the show. He opens two doors that reveal King Friday XIII and Lady Aberlin, two residents of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, and another door that reveals Mr. McFeely, his mailman. He introduces the viewer to a "new friend" of his, Lloyd Vogel, by opening a fourth door to reveal Lloyd's bloodied face. Rogers explains that Lloyd is unable to forgive and invites the viewer to visit him.

Receiving a visit from Mr. McFeely
After Lloyd's scuffle with his father Jerry, the film returns to Rogers, who explains to the viewer that there are healthy ways to deal with anger. He receives a visit from Mr. McFeely, who has a magazine and a video cassette that details the creation of magazines. Rogers explains what magazines are, and he and McFeely play the tape on Picture Picture, through which they eventually see Lloyd walking into his office at Esquire.

Interviewing with Lloyd
When Esquire seeks out subjects for Lloyd to profile for its article about heroes, the magazine reaches out to Rogers and several other candidates. Rogers and Family Communications president Bill Isler read all of Lloyd's articles before Rogers agrees to the interview. In fact, Rogers was the only candidate to agree to interview with Lloyd after knowing the journalist's reputation.

"Do you know what this is? It's Lloyd! L-Lloyd! Hello, Lloyd. Oh, it's nice to meet you. What -- are you alright?"

- Fred Rogers going off-script after he notices Lloyd from on set

Lloyd first conducts a phone interview with Rogers, who explains that he wants to "look through the camera into the eyes of a single child" on his show and that talking to Lloyd is the most important thing to him at the moment. Rogers meets with Lloyd the next morning at the WQED studio in Pittsburgh for an in-person interview, where Rogers dismisses his fame and displays concern for Lloyd's nose injury. Rogers presses Lloyd, who lied about his nose contusion by claiming it was a "play at the plate", into revealing its true origin: Lloyd had started a fistfight with Jerry over Jerry's actions in the past. Rogers becomes genuinely disturbed at this revelation, but before he can continue his interview with Lloyd, an associate calls him back on set for more filming.