Hanks plays the cherished Us children’s TV star Fred Rogers in this surprisingly moving drama about his transformative encounter with a hardbitten reporter
Has anyone in Britain ever heard of Fred Rogers? He was an American children’s TV presenter whose folksy show for toddlers, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, ran from 1968 to 2001 and made him a national treasure in the Us, much admired for the way he encouraged children (and adults) to talk and think about their feelings. But unlike Sesame Street, it was not shown in the UK and so Rogers, played here with extraordinary Zen self-possession and force by Tom Hanks, may be unfamiliar. The equivalent would be showing Americans a biopic of Blue Peter’s John Noakes. (To cast this imaginary Bafta-winner, I suggest Jamie Bell as Noakes, Erin Doherty as Valerie Singleton, Daniel Radcliffe as Peter Purves and Meryl Streep as Biddy Baxter.
Has anyone in Britain ever heard of Fred Rogers? He was an American children’s TV presenter whose folksy show for toddlers, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, ran from 1968 to 2001 and made him a national treasure in the Us, much admired for the way he encouraged children (and adults) to talk and think about their feelings. But unlike Sesame Street, it was not shown in the UK and so Rogers, played here with extraordinary Zen self-possession and force by Tom Hanks, may be unfamiliar. The equivalent would be showing Americans a biopic of Blue Peter’s John Noakes. (To cast this imaginary Bafta-winner, I suggest Jamie Bell as Noakes, Erin Doherty as Valerie Singleton, Daniel Radcliffe as Peter Purves and Meryl Streep as Biddy Baxter.
- 1/30/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Alex Westthorp Sep 14, 2016
Did fantasy dramas Chocky, The Box Of Delights and Dramarama leave an impression on you as a kid? Revisit those nightmares here...
Spooky, always magical and occasionally downright scary dramas are the bedrock of kids' television. For me, the pinnacle of this sort of programme was reached in the 1980s. The decade saw a new approach to both traditional and contemporary drama by both UK broadcasters: ITV committed itself to regular seasons of children's plays with Dramarama (1983-89), a kind of youth version of the venerable BBC Play For Today (1970-84), which saw the 1988 television debut of one David Tennant. The BBC, building upon an impressive body of work from the early 70s onwards, produced some of its very best family drama in this era, embracing cutting edge technology to bring treats like The Box Of Delights (1984) and The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (1988) to the screen.
Did fantasy dramas Chocky, The Box Of Delights and Dramarama leave an impression on you as a kid? Revisit those nightmares here...
Spooky, always magical and occasionally downright scary dramas are the bedrock of kids' television. For me, the pinnacle of this sort of programme was reached in the 1980s. The decade saw a new approach to both traditional and contemporary drama by both UK broadcasters: ITV committed itself to regular seasons of children's plays with Dramarama (1983-89), a kind of youth version of the venerable BBC Play For Today (1970-84), which saw the 1988 television debut of one David Tennant. The BBC, building upon an impressive body of work from the early 70s onwards, produced some of its very best family drama in this era, embracing cutting edge technology to bring treats like The Box Of Delights (1984) and The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (1988) to the screen.
- 8/15/2016
- Den of Geek
Ang Lee’s tale of survival at sea beats three animated features to win best film.
BAFTA announced the winners of the British Academy Children’s Awards at a ceremony in London last night.
In the Feature Film category Brave, Paranorman and Wreck-It Ralph were all beaten by Life of Pi, the critically acclaimed box-office hit adapted from the best-selling novel.
The results were also announced for the BAFTA Kids’ Vote. Hundreds of thousands of votes were cast by 7-14 year-olds who had their say in a nationwide poll to choose their favourite film, television programme, website and game.
The winners included Despicable Me 2, which beat the likes of Monsters University, Twilight and The Hobbit to win best feature film; and game Despicable Me: Minion Rush, which proved more popular than entries including Angry Birds Star Wars and Lego Lord of the Rings.
Best comedy in the main competition was won by BBC series [link=tt...
BAFTA announced the winners of the British Academy Children’s Awards at a ceremony in London last night.
In the Feature Film category Brave, Paranorman and Wreck-It Ralph were all beaten by Life of Pi, the critically acclaimed box-office hit adapted from the best-selling novel.
The results were also announced for the BAFTA Kids’ Vote. Hundreds of thousands of votes were cast by 7-14 year-olds who had their say in a nationwide poll to choose their favourite film, television programme, website and game.
The winners included Despicable Me 2, which beat the likes of Monsters University, Twilight and The Hobbit to win best feature film; and game Despicable Me: Minion Rush, which proved more popular than entries including Angry Birds Star Wars and Lego Lord of the Rings.
Best comedy in the main competition was won by BBC series [link=tt...
- 11/25/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Biddy Baxter's experiences as a student helped to mould her concern that the programme should reach and involve all children. Today Durham returns the compliment
Large numbers of students from points south are one of the key means of squashing outdated images of the north. Very few seem disappointed by their experiences in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle or our other cities and towns with universities. Quite the opposite. In spite of recession, the retention rates of young people who stay on after graduating remain impressive.
There's a different slant on that today, though, via an honour bestowed by Durham university on an alumna who left back in 1955, when the world of the Hovis advertisements made by Ridley Scott in 1973 was much closer to reality.
She is Biddy Baxter, the former editor and effectively soul and guardian angel of Blue Peter, the BBC TV programme whose influence on generations of young...
Large numbers of students from points south are one of the key means of squashing outdated images of the north. Very few seem disappointed by their experiences in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle or our other cities and towns with universities. Quite the opposite. In spite of recession, the retention rates of young people who stay on after graduating remain impressive.
There's a different slant on that today, though, via an honour bestowed by Durham university on an alumna who left back in 1955, when the world of the Hovis advertisements made by Ridley Scott in 1973 was much closer to reality.
She is Biddy Baxter, the former editor and effectively soul and guardian angel of Blue Peter, the BBC TV programme whose influence on generations of young...
- 6/27/2012
- by Martin Wainwright
- The Guardian - Film News
The decision to withhold certification for the horror flick The Human Centipede II in Britain won't stop people from getting hold of it. So does censorship mean anything these days?
The release of a sequel is rarely unalloyed good news in the film world. This rule has once again been demonstrated by The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), a horror film by the Dutch director Tom Six, which was due to be released in the UK on DVD but refused a certificate by the British Board of Film Classification – not trimmed, not cut, but every single horrible minute found to be objectionable. The BBFC decision has startled many, with some even suggesting that in this new Conservative era, censorship has become politically fashionable once more.
In the first film, a sadistic surgeon kidnaps and drugs three young people and, detaching their entrails on the operating table, uses these to connect...
The release of a sequel is rarely unalloyed good news in the film world. This rule has once again been demonstrated by The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), a horror film by the Dutch director Tom Six, which was due to be released in the UK on DVD but refused a certificate by the British Board of Film Classification – not trimmed, not cut, but every single horrible minute found to be objectionable. The BBFC decision has startled many, with some even suggesting that in this new Conservative era, censorship has become politically fashionable once more.
In the first film, a sadistic surgeon kidnaps and drugs three young people and, detaching their entrails on the operating table, uses these to connect...
- 6/9/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Former Blue Peter chief Biddy Baxter has accused the BBC of attempting to sabotage the show. Baxter, who was the programme's editor from 1965 to 1988, suggested that BBC executives are axing some of the most popular segments as part of a plot to bring down viewing figures. "What I gather is [the programme-makers] don't want to bother with the garden or makes or cooking," Baxter explained. "They don't want to do animals. It is wrong to discard areas of enormous interest to pre-pubescent children. "It almost seems they are letting it go pear-shaped on purpose, so they can say it doesn't work. It seems they want it to go out (more)...
- 9/6/2008
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
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