Neighborhood of Make-Believe
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The Neighborhood of Make-Believe is the fictional kingdom inhabited by the hand puppet characters on the children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, produced from 1968 to 2001. The show's principal puppeteer is Fred Rogers himself, who also developed many of the puppet characters in the 1950s for Josie Carey's program, The Children's Corner.
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[edit] Bio
The adventures of the citizens of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe appear in a short segment once in the middle of every episode. Mr. Rogers deliberately makes clear the distinction between the "real world" and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe by transitioning in and out of the Neighborhood segment via a model electric trolley which looks like a small, red San Francisco cable car that enters and exits through small tunnels in the wall, and by discussing what had happened with his audience after the end of each segment. The same storyline continues for a week or more (a la a soap opera), though Rogers is always sure to recap the plot for children.
[edit] Characters
The characters in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe are either played by actors or hand puppets.
[edit] Puppets
Most of the main puppet characters were voiced by Fred Rogers. Some of the characters include:
- King Friday XIII, the imperious monarch, and his faithful wife Queen Sara Saturday, who rule The Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
- Prince Tuesday, the young son of King Friday and Queen Sara.
- X the Owl, the resident pragmatic intellectual who lives in a tree and admires Benjamin Franklin; attends Owl Correspondence School.
- Henrietta Pussycat, X's distractable neighbor, who has the habit of randomly inserting "meow" into her words and sentences.
- Lady Elaine Fairchilde, the outspoken, cranky, and scheming operator of the "Museum-Go-Round"; oft known to say "Okay, toots."
- Daniel Stripèd Tiger, a shy introvert who lives in a clock.
- Cornflake S. Pecially, the ingenious, quirky proprietor of a factory specializing in rocking chairs.
- Donkey Hodie (a pun on Don Quixote), a soporific but fun donkey who lives in Someplace Else with Harriet Cow and operates a Washer Dryer Sorter Dumper there.
- Grandpere, a French tiger and bon-vivant who lives west of the castle in the Eiffel Tower.
- The Platypus Family, duck-billed platypuses who live in a playtpus mound. The family consists of Dr. Bill, who speaks with a Scottish accent, his wife Elsie Jean and their daughter "Ornithorhynchus Anatinus" (or Ana, as she is commonly known).
- Harriet Elizabeth Cow, the school teacher in Someplace Else.
- Edgar Cooke, the castle chef who sings everything he says.
- H.J. Elephant III, one of Prince Tuesday's buddies.
- Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones, the chatterbox who occasionally comes to visit from Southwood.
[edit] Non-puppets
The Neighborhood also features many characters played by actors wearing costumes. These characters are much larger than the puppet characters, and sometimes help the puppet characters with tasks such as lifting or moving large objects, which the small puppet characters are unable to do. Some of these full-sized characters include:
- Bob Dog, a simple-minded canine.
- Lady Aberlin, King Friday's comely niece and frequently the "main" character of the segments.
- Mr. McFeely, the delivery man, sometimes delivers letters to the citizens of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
- Robert Troll, the gibberish-speaking whimsical friend of the castle.
- Mayor Maggie, the Mayor of Westwood. Introduced in the 1970's to show that even a woman can run for mayor.
- Handyman Negri, the friendly, avuncular neighborhood fix-it man.
- Neighbor Aber (our Westwood neighbor), the associate of Mayor Maggie of Westwood.
- Hula Mouse, a Spanish-speaking mouse who can do anything with his hula hoop.
- Cousin Mary Owl, X the Owl's cousin.
- Keith the Carpenter, a carpenter from Southwood.
- Purple Panda, from Purple Planet; he can teleport.
[edit] Regions
The world of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe also features several other "regions." Along with King Friday's realm, there are also bordering territories, including the city of Westwood, the city of Southwood, the area Northwood where a goat lives, and the nebulous Someplace Else. Characters also frequently interact with the inhabitants of the Planet Purple, where everything is purple and exactly the same.
