By John Corrado

★★★½ (out of 4)

The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 7th to 17th.

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe (which was voted the winner of the TIFF People’s Choice Award for Documentary) is a heartwarming documentary about a childhood icon, that also touches on the history of Canadian children’s television in general.

Directed by Robert McCallum, the film tells the story of children’s entertainer Ernie Coombs. Born in Maine, Coombs gained fame when he was adopted by Canadians as Mr. Dressup, first on Butternut Square and then on his own show Mr. Dressup, a low-budget children’s program made by the CBC featuring marker drawings, construction paper crafts, and a Tickle Trunk full of costumes.

McCallum’s film is built around scenes on a recreation of the show’s set, including bringing back original puppeteer Judith Lawrence as Casey and Finnegan, which gives a warmly nostalgic feel to The Magic of Make-Believe. In telling Coombs’ story through interviews with close family members and collaborators, McCallum also works in appearances by a number of Canadian stars, that serve as testimonials to the impact that Mr. Dressup has had across generations.

The film touches on Coombs’ early collaboration with Fred Rogers working as an assistant puppeteer on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood precursor The Children’s Corner (a shared history that several in the film remark has gone largely forgotten), and how the show Mr. Dressup was forced to change over the years due to CBC budget cuts. Threaded through is the love story between Coombs and his wife Lynn, with the documentary at its most poignant when showing the circumstances in his personal life during the latter years of the show.

It’s hard to imagine many Canadians of a certain age who didn’t grow up with Mr. Dressup (I certainly remember watching it on TV as a young kid), and McCallum’s film provides a nice way to relive these memories. And yes, the nature of Casey’s gender never being revealed is discussed, which takes on different meaning in hindsight.