Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

***Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood*** (known as ***Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood*** in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand abbreviated to ***Daniel Tiger***) is an American-Canadian animated musical children's television series produced by Fred Rogers Productions, 9 Story Media Group and 9 Story USA. It debuted on September 3, 2012 on PBS Kids, eleven years after *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood* wrapped up production and nine years after Fred Rogers died. The program, which is targeted at preschool-aged children, is based on the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from *Mister Rogers*, the long-running family-oriented television series created and hosted by Fred Rogers that aired from 1968 to 2001. In 2019, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on August 17, 2020 with *Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Won't You Sing Along with Me?*, a musical special that deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Premise

The series centers around Daniel Tiger (son of Mom Tiger and Dad Tiger). The series also features other children of the characters from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, such as Katerina Kittycat (daughter of Henrietta Pussycat), Miss Elaina (daughter of Lady Elaine Fairchilde and Music Man Stan), O the Owl (nephew of X the Owl) and Prince Wednesday (King Friday and Queen Sara Saturday's youngest son and Prince Tuesday's little brother). Two 11-minute segments are linked by a common socio-emotional theme, such as disappointment and sadness or anger and thankfulness. The theme also uses a musical motif phrase, which the show calls "strategy songs," to reinforce the theme and help children remember the life lessons. Many of the "strategy songs" are available in albums or as singles under the artist name "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood." The program is targeted at preschool-aged children; it teaches emotional intelligence, kindness, and human respect. Its content follows a curriculum based on Fred Rogers' teaching and new research into child development.

## Characters

### Tiger family

* Daniel Tiger (voiced by Jake Beale, Devan Cohen, Keegan Hedley) – A 5-year-old tiger who lives on Jungle Beach with his parents. In season 2, he became a big brother when his little sister Margaret was introduced. His favorite toy is a blue stuffed tiger named Tigey, which he named after "Tigey the Adventure Tiger," his favorite storybook hero. Daniel normally wears a red zipper cardigan sweater hoodie and red sneakers (in contrast to Mister Rogers' blue sneakers). He differs in physical appearance from the character he is based on from the Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood television show. In his house, the wardrobe and much of his home furnishings (such as the traffic light, shelves with the Neighborhood of Make-Believe models, and Picture Picture), are direct allusions to Mr. Rogers' studio house. He is allergic to peaches. His catchphrases are: "Grr-ific!" "Tiger-tastic!" "Ugga Mugga," "Wasn't that Grr-ific?" and "Grrrrrrrr!"
* Margaret Tiger (voiced by Kira Gelineau) - Daniel's little sister who was introduced in Season 2. Her favorite toy is Pandy, a stuffed panda. She is named after Daniel's favorite baby book, "Margaret's Music", and her great-grandmother with the same name.
* Mom and Dad Tiger (voiced by Heather Bambrick (Mom Tiger) and Ted Dykstra (Dad Tiger)) – Daniel's mother who works as a carpenter because of the new job in the first episode of season 4, "Daniel Finds Something to Do." In the first episode of season 2, she was pregnant and in the subsequent episode, she visited Dr. Anna and gave birth to Margaret. In *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,* there was a "Collette Tiger" who referred to her grandfather (as Daniel does to his) as "grandpere." Daniel's father who is a photographer who also works at the clock factory where he maintains various clocks and is responsible for "chime time." He wears a blue cardigan sweater and blue sneakers. He is loosely based upon the Daniel Striped Tiger puppet from *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,* a very shy orphan who lived inside a non-functioning grandfather clock. He mentions that he has a paternal grandmother named Margaret in the season 2 premiere.
* Grandpere Tiger (voiced by François Klanfer) – Daniel's grandfather ("grandpere" being French for "grandfather") who travels in his sailboat and has a French accent. He wears a blue pea coat and a blue beret. (The family tree in *Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood* diverges from that of *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,* in which Grandpere was actually the grandfather of Collette and Daniel Striped Tiger was an orphan.) In the season 2 premiere, he tells Daniel that his mother was named Margaret.

### Owl family

* O the Owl (voiced by Zackary Bloch, Stuart Ralston, Parker Lauzton, Benjamin Hum) – A little blue owl with green sneakers who lives with his uncle, X, in the Treehouse, loves books and has books about everything in his room. His catchphrases include "Hoo hoo!" and "Nifty galifty!"
* X the Owl (voiced by Tony Daniels) – O's uncle whose feathers are still the same dark blue color as they were in *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.* He wears a green bowtie and brown loafers. He works at the neighborhood library. X's catchphrases are "How in the world are you?" and "Nifty galifty!"

### Cat family

* Katerina Kittycat (voiced by Amariah Faulkner, Jenna Weir) – Katerina is one of Daniel's classmates and lives with her mother, Henrietta Pussycat, in the treehouse and loves dancing. She is O the Owl's next-door neighbor. Her catchphrase is "meow-meow." Her favorite toy is Penelope Pig.
* Henrietta Pussycat (voiced by Teresa Pavlinek) – Katerina's mother. She is a supporting character who shares her love of dancing with her daughter.

### Royal family

* Prince Wednesday (voiced by Nicholas Kaegi, Jaxon Mercey, Niko Ceci) – The Royal Family's youngest son who lives in the Castle. He is one of Daniel's four classmates and his best friend, has a rock collection and often pretends to be various animals. He frequently uses the adjective "royal" to refer to objects in his possession and says "Boop-she-boop-she-boo" when he is happy. His stuffed animals are Mr. Lizard, Sir Jumpy Frog, Bananas Monkey, and Polly Wolly Parrot.
* King Friday XIII (voiced by Jamie Watson) – Ruler of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, married to Queen Sara, has two sons—Prince Tuesday and Prince Wednesday—and is Chrissie's uncle. His arrival is often preceded by trumpet fanfare and he makes all the public announcements in the neighborhood. He enjoys bowling in his spare time, one of the rare instances he does not wear royal garb. He usually greets others with "Royal Greetings, royal greetings." He is a 2D animated model while his puppet model is voiced by Matt Vogel for *Donkey Hodie*.
* Queen Sara Saturday (voiced by Catherine Disher) – King Friday's wife, Prince Tuesday's and Prince Wednesday's mother and Chrissie's aunt. She is a supporting character, not seen as often as the other members of the royal family.
* Prince Tuesday (voiced by Tommy Lioutas) – Prince Wednesday's older brother, King Friday's heir apparent and Daniel Tiger's babysitter. He also works at the neighborhood restaurant as a waiter, at the market as a cashier, a crossing guard near the school, is a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool and cleans Trolley.
* Chrissie (voiced by Matilda Gilbert) – Prince Tuesday and Wednesday's cousin and King Friday and Queen Sara's niece. Her legs cannot work on their own, so she has to use braces on her legs and crutches on her arms. Occasionally, she needs some help, but mostly, she likes doing things for herself. She has a horse named Peaches. She also attends the neighborhood school. As a part of the Royal family, she would be princess of the family. She was introduced in ‘Daniel’s New Friend’. Chrissie is based on Chrissy Thompson, a regular visitor on *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.*

### Museum-Go-Round family

* Miss Elaina (voiced by Addison Holley in Seasons 1-4, Markeda McKay in Season 5) – Miss Elaina enjoys doing things backwards and lives with her parents, Lady Elaine and Music Man Stan, in the Museum-Go-Round. She is one of Daniel's five classmates and often imagines space travel and robots. Her favorite toy is "Astrid the Astronaut" and her catchphrase is "Hiya, Toots!"
* Music Man Stan (voiced by Jeremiah Sparks) – Miss Elaina's father who owns the Neighborhood Music Shop, one of Daniel's favorite places to visit. He is also a firefighter with Dr. Anna and is in the musical duo "Bread and Jam" with Baker Aker. Music Man Stan is based on the actor Stanley Bennett Clay and his character he played on *Christmastime with Mr. Rogers* called The Music Man.
* Lady Elaine (voiced by Teresa Pavlinek) – Miss Elaina's mother who works at the crayon factory and is a curator of the Museum-Go-Round.

### Platypus family

* Jodi Platypus a.k.a. (JoJo Bean) (voiced by Laaibah Alvi) – A 4-year-old platypus who is shy around new friends but is silly when she has adjusted. She loves to play hide-and-seek and is resourceful with a well-stocked pocket of supplies. Her catchphrase is: "Yippee Skippy!" Her favorite toy is Benji.
* Dr. Platypus (voiced by Miku Graham) – Jodi's mother and the new town dentist and a painter. Sometimes, she calls her daughter Jodi (JoJo Bean).
* Teddy Platypus (voiced by Bryn McAuley) – A two-year-old twin to Leo and one of Jodi's younger brothers who is fast, rambunctious and loves to play hide-and-seek.
* Leo Platypus (voiced by Milo Torriel-Gibbon) – A two-year-old twin to Teddy and one of Jodi's younger brothers who is careful and shy, but loves to cheer on his family.
* Nana Platypus (voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) – Jodi's grandmother who lives with her grandchildren Jodi, Teddy and Leo and works as a hairdresser.

### Teacher Harriet's family

* Teacher Harriet (voiced by Shawne Jackson) – The schoolteacher who works at the neighborhood school. Her class consists of six students: Daniel Tiger, Miss Elaina, Prince Wednesday, Princess Chrissie, O the Owl, Katerina Kittycat and Jodi Platypus. Teacher Harriet the human may be based on the *Mister Rogers* character Harriet Elizabeth Cow from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, who appears in *Donkey Hodie*, another spin-off.
* Max (voiced by Israel Thomas-Bruce) - A 9-year-old boy at school who is Teacher Harriet's nephew. He has autism.
* Amira - The niece of Teacher Harriet and Max's big sister.

### Other neighbors

* Baker Aker (voiced by John Filici) – Baker Aker owns and runs the neighborhood bakery. He is Cuban, as he says in a 2016 segment called "A Visit with Baker Aker." He has baked pastries for Daniel and his family on various occasions and plays with Music Man Stan in Bread & Jam. He is based on the *Mister Rogers* character Chef Brockett and his name is an homage to Neighbor Aber, Charles R. Aber, of *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood*.
* Mr. McFeely (voiced by Derek McGrath) – The neighborhood mailman who is often on his bicycle delivering parcels and arrives and departs by saying "Speedy delivery!" He is the only human character from *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood* to be brought to *Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood*.
* Dr. Anna (voiced by Laara Sadiq) – The neighborhood physician; she is Indian. She assisted Mom Tiger give birth to Baby Margaret, got new eyeglasses for Prince Wednesday and has helped various characters with injuries or illnesses to recuperate. She is also a firefighter with Music Man Stan. She is allergic to peanuts. Though human, she shares several characteristics of the platypus family of *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood*: their patriarch, Bill Platypus, was the neighborhood physician and spoke with a foreign accent (Scottish, in his case) and his daughter was named Ana.
* Trolley – A red, autonomous, semi-sentient trolley which transports Daniel and his friends anywhere in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. It understands verbal commands clearly and replies by ringing its bell and blowing its whistle twice, which Daniel often imitates. It is the same trolley from *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood*.

## Production

The series is co-produced by the Pittsburgh-based Fred Rogers Productions (formerly the Fred Rogers Company and Family Communications), New York City-based Out of the Blue Enterprises and with animation produced in Canada by 9 Story Media Group with Adobe Animate (formerly Adobe Flash) and music created at Voodoo Highway Music & Post.

## History on Cartoonito UK

The show make its debut on Cartoon Network UK's sister pre-school channel Cartoonito on March 1, 2016.