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Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (known as Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood in Canada) is an American-Canadian animated children's television series produced by The Fred Rogers Company, 9 Story Media Group, and Out of the Blue Enterprises. It debuted on most PBS stations on September 3, 2012. The program, which is targeted at preschool-aged children, is based on the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the long-running family-oriented television series created and hosted by Fred Rogers.
The series centers around Daniel Tiger, the son of the original Daniel Striped Tiger on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. 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 Fairchild 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, or being thankful and appreciative. 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 first two albums are Big Feelings and Life's Little Lessons. The series is co-produced by the Pittsburgh-based Fred Rogers Company (formerly Family Communications) and Out of the Blue Enterprises, with animation produced in Canada by 9 Story Media Group and music created at Voodoo Highway Music & Post.
In 2006, three years after Fred Rogers' death, and after the end of production of Blue's Clues, The Fred Rogers Company contacted Angela Santomero to ask what type of show she would create to promote Rogers' legacy. That conversation led to the creation of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. PBS initially ordered 40 episodes, which were broadcast between September 3, 2012, and February 21, 2014. PBS Kids has renewed the show for a second season of 25 episodes, which premiered on August 18, 2014. On July 7, 2015, the show was renewed for a third season of 25 episodes. Cartoon Network UK's sister pre-school channel Cartoonito premiered Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood on March 1, 2016. The series had previously been available for streaming on Netflix before July 1, 2016, when a multi-year agreement for the catalog of many of PBS's children's series with Amazon Prime Video went into effect. A smaller selection of current episodes is also available through the PBS Kids app on several digital media player and tablet/smartphone platforms.
The program is targeted at preschool-aged children; it teaches emotional intelligence and human respect. Its content follows a curriculum based on Fred Rogers' teaching and new research into child development.
Tiger family
Daniel Tiger (voiced by Jake Beale & Devan Cohen) - Daniel lives on Jungle Beach with his parents. In season 2, he became a big brother when Baby Margaret was born. His favorite toy is a stuffed tiger named Tigey, which he named after "Tigey the Adventure Tiger", his favorite storybook hero. Daniel normally wears a red cardigan sweater and red sneakers. 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.
Mom Tiger (voiced by Heather Bambrick) - Daniel's mother. She is a homemaker. In the first episode of season 2, she was pregnant, and in the subsequent episode, she visited Dr. Anna and gave birth to Margaret.
Dad Tiger (voiced by Ted Dykstra) - Daniel's father works at the clock factory where he maintains various clocks and is responsible for "chime time". He's also a photographer. 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 grandmother clock.
Baby Margaret - Daniel's new baby sister who was introduced in Season 2. Her favorite toy is a stuffed panda.
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.)
Royal family
Prince Wednesday (voiced by Nicholas Kaegi) - The Royal Family's youngest son who lives in the Castle. He is one of Daniel's four classmates, has a rock collection, and often pretends to be various animals. He frequently uses the adjective "royal" to refer to objects in his possession.
King Friday XIII (voiced by Jamie Watson) - Ruler of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, King Friday is married to Queen Sarah and has two sons—Prince Tuesday and Prince Wednesday. 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.
Prince Tuesday (voiced by Tommy Lioutas) - Prince Wednesday's older brother and King Friday's heir apparent. Prince Tuesday is Daniel Tiger's babysitter. He also works at the neighborhood restaurant as a waiter, and at the market as a cashier.
Chrissie (voiced by Matilda Gilbert) - Prince Tuesday and Wednesday's cousin, and King Friday and Queen Sarah's niece. Her legs can't 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. Chrissie is based on Chrissy Thompson, a regular visitor on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Queen Sarah (voiced by Catherine Disher) - King Friday's wife. She is a supporting character.
Museum-Go-Round family
Miss Elaina (voiced by Addison Holley) - 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 four 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. He 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.
Lady Elaine (voiced by Teresa Pavlinek) - Miss Elaina's mother. She works at the crayon factory and is curator of the Museum-Go-Round.
Cat family
Katerina Kittycat (voiced by Amariah Faulkner) - Katerina is one of Daniel's four classmates and lives with her mother, Henrietta Pussycat, in the tree house and loves dancing. She is O the Owl's next-door neighbor. Her catchphrase is "meow-meow".
Henrietta Pussycat (voiced by Teresa Pavlinek) - Katerina's mother. She is a supporting character who shares her love of dancing with her daughter.
Owl family
O the Owl (voiced by Zackary Bloch, then Stuart Ralston) - A little blue owl with green sneakers. O lives with his uncle, X in the Treehouse. He loves books and has books about everything in his room. His catchphrase is "Hoo hoo!".
X the Owl (voiced by Tony Daniels) - X is O's uncle. X's 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!"
Other neighbors
Teacher Harriet (voiced by Shawne Jackson) - The schoolteacher who works at the neighborhood school. Her class consists of five students: Daniel Tiger, Miss Elaina, Prince Wednesday, O the Owl, and Katerina Kittycat. Teacher Harriet the human may be based on the Mister Rogers character Harriet Elizabeth Cow from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Baker Aker (voiced by John Filici) - Baker Aker owns and runs the neighborhood bakery. He is Mexican. He has baked pastries for Daniel and his family on various occasions and plays with Music Man Stan in Bread & Jam.
Mr. McFeely (voiced by Derek McGrath) - Mr. McFeely is the neighborhood mailman. He 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 Saadiq) - Dr. Anna is 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. 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-anthropomorphic 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 twice, which Daniel often imitates. It is the same trolley from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Awards and nominations
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood has won and been nominated for several awards in children's broadcasting. It won Silver Parents' Choice Awards in 2013 and 2014, was nominated for the Television Critics' Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming in 2013 and 2014, and was a 2014 Prix Jeunesse International Selection.
