The Neighborhood of Make-Believe is the fictional kingdom inhabited by hand puppet characters on the children's television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which originally aired on PBS (and its predecessor NET) from 1968 to 2001, and its predecessor Mister Rogers, which originally aired on CBC from 1963 to 1966. Principal puppeteer Fred Rogers developed many of the characters in the 1950s for Josie Carey's program The Children's Corner. Both shows were shot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Overview

The adventures of the Make-Believe Neighborhood citizens appear in a short segment once in the middle of almost every episode. Rogers deliberately makes the distinction between the real world and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe clear by transitioning in and out of the Neighborhood segment via a distinctive red and yellow model electric trolley that enters and exits through small tunnels in the wall or occasionally by setting up small tabletop models of the various Neighborhood of Make Believe buildings and by discussing what had happened with his audience after the end of each segment. The same storyline continues for a week or more similar to that of a soap opera, though Rogers always recaps the plot for the audience as well.

Characters

Characters in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe were portrayed by both hand puppets operated by puppeteers and on-screen actors. They would occasionally talk to the viewers in specific episodes.

Regular puppets

Live characters

These characters, some in costumes, are much larger than the puppet characters and sometimes help the puppets with tasks such as lifting or moving large objects, which the small puppet characters are unable to do. Some of these live characters include:

Geography

The Land of Make-Believe was staged with a theatrical set design, landmarks include (from left to right):

Bordering regions

The world of the Land of Make-Believe also features several other "regions." Along with King Friday's realm, there are also bordering territories including:

Planet Purple

Characters also frequently interact with the inhabitants of Planet Purple, where everything and everyone are purple and exactly the same. Every girl on Planet Purple is named "Pauline" and every boy is named "Paul." Purple Panda, a resident of Planet Purple, can return there "the purple way" (just by thinking). Moreover, all of the planet's inhabitants speak monotonously, often intoning, "We are people from the planet purple." Inhabitants of Planet Purple are forbidden to sit in rocking chairs and, if they do, they are not allowed to return home. In one visit to the Neighborhood, Purple Panda sits in one of Cornflake S. Pecially's rocking chairs. However, with the help of the rest of the Neighbors, it is agreed that sitting in rocking chairs is an acceptable activity for all people, and Purple Panda is allowed to return home. Planet Purple was discovered by Lady Elaine Fairchilde.

Theatrical productions

During the course of the series, the people and puppets in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe produced 13 "operas", with the assistance of John Reardon, and a play. These stories were told to the viewers by Fred Rogers.

Operas

The 13 operas are known as:

Play

There was one play that was done in the series that featured the people and puppets in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe:

Spin-offs

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

In July 2011, at the annual Television Critics Association summer press tour, PBS announced the production of a Mister Rogers' Neighborhood animated spinoff, which debuted on the network in Fall 2012. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is hosted by Daniel Tiger (son of Daniel Stripèd Tiger) and features Neighborhood of Make-Believe characters as adults with families of their own.

Donkey Hodie

In January 2020, it was announced that a puppet spinoff of the series called Donkey Hodie was greenlit and would premiere in early 2021. The series would be crafted by Spiffy Pictures creators David & Adam Rudman and Todd Hannart. On January 27, 2021, it was confirmed that the series would launch on May 3 of that year and the series' logo, website, and theme song were revealed.