Courtesy of TIFF
In an exceptionally strong slate of documentaries at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the new Canadian-made project Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe stands out for its remarkable arts and craftsmanship.
Not only is Mr. Dressup one of the best documentaries at TIFF 2023, chronicling the history of Canadian television host Ernie Coombs and his popular children’s program, but it’s also flat-out one of the year’s best movies, period.
There’s almost certainly a regional bias influencing my opinion here, being a writer from Canada writing about a Canada (and Toronto) centric film at Canada’s headlining film festival, having seen the premiere in, you guessed it, Toronto.
But even audiences without any of these personal connections will be emotionally awestruck by the empathy, gravity and astounding attention to detail filmmaker Robert McCallum has invested into this biographical project. This look at the life and work of Ernie Coombs is detailed, balanced, and so vulnerable it will almost certainly make you weep.
If you’ve never heard of Coombs or his character Mr. Dressup, they were the focus of a CBC children’s show of the same name for nearly 30 years from 1967-96. Think of the show like the Canadian Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood - but with a starting connection.
Fred Rogers and Ernie Coombs worked together in Pittsburgh in the early 1960s, and their complimentary programs continued their friendship for decades. This is a focal point for much of the documentary’s first act, and comparisons between this film and the 2018 Fred Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? may be inevitable.
Yet Mr. Dressup works better than the Rogers doc because McCallum’s thesis statement from researching his subject is stronger; this thesis is that crafting kindness on television was a science. And it’s amazing how consistent the work of creating the science of kindness was on the set of Mr. Dressup for 30 years.
Courtesy of TIFF
The breath, warmth and personality through dozens of interviews are breathtaking, including those from the show’s cast and crew. Coombs’ own children provide a well-balanced amount of detail through their heart-wrenching screen time - enough to be engaging and unique without being overindulgent and superfluous.
Fans of the series and its more than 4,000 episodes will also be treated to some incredible archive footage, and facts few likely know. (Have YOU, for instance, ever heard of the Coombs’ first TV series in the 1960s called Butternut Square? I certainly hadn’t.)
This is a terrific time to reinvigorate the morals of Coomb’s work to modern audiences, including children and adults. There's a great power in the intersection of creativity and self-control that makes people better listeners, better creators and better people.
Mr. Dressup is both well-suited to Toronto’s local audience and well-suited to the global audiences who will soon get to see it streaming next month. This masterful documentary will leave you in joyous tears with a renewed and refreshed imagination.
Among the great titles of the festival so far, like Swan Song, Defiant, Summer Qamp and Nickelback: Hate to Love, there’s a lot of great chatter from the documentaries program. That makes it all the more impressive that Mr. Dressup remains the clear standout. Do everything possible to get a ticket for either of the remaining public screenings.
Viewers of all kinds will be greatly rewarded by this rich film, but there’s also an endlessly emotional core for those who’ve kept their crayons sharp, tape untangled and markers capped.
Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe
10 out of 10
PG, 1hr 30mins. Biography Documentary.
Directed by Robert McCallum.
Starring Ernie Coombs.
Begins streaming on Amazon Prime for subscribers on Friday, Oct. 10. Also plays TIFF again on Sept. 10 and 15, with tickets available here.
Afterword on this story: Part of the magic of attending TIFF in person each year is getting to engage directly with filmmakers at their film's premiere, often with post-screening Q&As.
This one after the first show, including Ernie’s children and several members of the show’s crew in attendance, was among one of the most emotionally arresting I’ve ever attended at any film festival. Being part of it was a truly special experience.
