On Fred Rogers' 90th birthday, trailer drops for new doc on children's TV icon

Oscar-winner Morgan Neville directed Won't You Be My Neighbor? slated for theatrical release June 8

Children's TV icon Fred Rogers (1928-2003), subject of the documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Photo by Jim Judkis / courtesy Focus Features

Fred Rogers, the Presbyterian minister who purveyed humane and gentle values on public television to more than a generation of American children, would have turned 90 years old Tuesday.

On the occasion of his birthday, Focus Features released the first trailer for the upcoming Morgan Neville documentary about Rogers, titled Won't You Be My Neighbor? The film from the Oscar-winning director of 20 Feet from Stardom will be released in theaters June 8.
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An unlikely star... yet it worked.

--Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood producer Margy Whitmer on the success of the PBS show

"A portrait of a man whom we all think we know," Focus Features said of the documentary, "this emotional and moving film takes us beyond the zip-up cardigans and the land of make-believe, and into the heart of a creative genius who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination."

​The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and played last week at SXSW.

​Watch the trailer below:

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Related: Morgan Neville on the lasting importance of Fred Rogers: 'It's the kind of voice we're missing in our culture... an empathetic adult'

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