Like many children of the 80s and 90s, when we were growing up, we enjoyed watching the television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Although it wasn’t flashy or animated, it was something we looked forward to watching. We’re not sure why exactly. Maybe it was how kind Fred Rogers was, how he didn’t talk down to children but seemed to understand them.

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” filmed its last episode in 2001, and Fred Rogers died of stomach cancer in 2002. He was 74 years old, yet his legacy lives on.

Like any good fan of the show, we enjoyed the documentary that was released in 2018 called “Won’t You Be My Neighbor.” We loved reminiscing about the show and learning about the life of Fred Rogers. The documentary helped us realize just how popular the show was and that Mister Rogers probably had a bigger impact on our lives than we ever realized.

Our kids get to enjoy the magic of Fred Rogers in the animated PBS series “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.” The show is about the children of the puppet characters in the Land of Make Believe. The main character is Daniel Tiger, the son of Daniel Striped Tiger, which was the main puppet in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and according to the documentary, the one that Rogers used to say what he was thinking and feeling.

Now, there’s a new movie in the works about the life of Fred Rogers. It’s set to release on November 22, 2019, and it stars Tom Hanks at Mister Rogers. The new film, which is called, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” is based on an article that was written by Tom Junod. The story is partly fiction, but it was filmed mainly in Pittsburgh, which is where Rogers lived and filmed his famous show.

Mister Rogers’ was born on March 20, 1928, and in celebration of his birthday, Sony Pictures/TriStar released a picture of Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers. The picture captures an iconic moment that happened in every single episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” It’s when Rogers changes into a sweater and then changes from dress shoes to tennis shoes. Every single time, he tossed a shoe from one hand to the other. Hanks captures Rogers’ persona spot on.

But, seriously, is there any role Tom Hanks can’t do? He has had such a varied career playing such a wide variety of roles, all with amazing talent, truly becoming the character each time. We aren’t terribly surprised that he’s able to recreate one of our favorite childhood role models so well.

Are you surprised at how much Hanks looks like Rogers? Are you going to see “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood?”