Donkey Hodie and Daniel Tiger
Fred Rogers’ legacy lives on for today’s children through "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" spin-offs "Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood", the Emmy-winning animated show now in its 7th season, and "Donkey Hodie", the Emmy-nominated puppet series inspired by Fred’s quirky, funny side. The new crossover special of Donkey Hodie, produced by Fred Rogers Productions and Spiffy Pictures reimagines Daniel Tiger and his dad as puppets once again (Dad Tiger is actually Daniel Striped Tiger from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) when they leave the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and hop aboard Trolley to visit Donkey Hodie and her pals in Someplace Else for the very first time!.
The special, which will be premiere on PBS KIDS on August 11, features a new version of the iconic “Look and Listen” song, a Fred Rogers classic, reinforcing for young viewers the importance of looking and listening to figure things out, and asking lots of questions to get to know someone better.
Re-envisioning the animated characters for Donkey Hodie was a true labor of love and every detail of the Daniel and Dad Tiger puppets was thoughtfully designed to maintain the characters’ familiar trademarks – from Daniel’s watch to the texture and uneven drawstrings of his signature red sweater.
The Daniel and Dad Tiger characters on Donkey Hodie are voiced by the same actors who play them on "Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood" and Dad Tiger is puppeteered by Frankie Cordero, the puppeteer who brings Purple Panda to life in "Donkey Hodie", while Daniel Tiger is puppeteered by Ryan Dillon, the puppeteer behind Sesame Street’s Elmo.