The writer and director of the documentary Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe Robert McCallum discusses the life of Ernie Combs, his new film, and more, with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

One of the most anticipated films of the fall is the documentary Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe. It screened to great acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival, and there’s a screening for the Vancouver International Film Festival, Thursday night, 6.15pm at Park Theatre. The film’s writer and director Robert McCallum joins me now to talk about this terrific movie. It’s a marvelous look at the life and times of Ernie Coombs, the beloved Mr. Dressup, as well as the people that were closest to him personally and professionally. Coombs’s children are featured in the film, as well as many of the talented collaborators on the long running children’s television favourite. We see the importance of the imagination in Coombs’s early life, and how he moved into television production, and a collaboration with Fred Rogers. They both left the United States to work on programming for young people here at the CBC, with Rogers starring, and Coombs working as a puppeteer. Later when Rogers goes back to the United States, he recommends Coombs stay and develop his own program, and for over thirty years he was a fixture on Canadian television and a friend to generations of children. As we see in the film, it’s a who’s who of Canadian popular culture and society that speak to Mr. McCallum’s cameras about what Ernie Coombs meant to them and why. Everybody from the Barenaked Ladies, Peter Mansbridge, Eric McCormack, Michael J. Fox, Bif Naked, Scott Thompson and many more are in the film, as well as terrific archival footage and interviews with Coombs himself. And featured throughout the film is Judith Lawrence a legendary performer in her own right, who voiced and portrayed Casey and Finnigan. The film has already played to other festivals, and will be available on Prime Video next Tuesday, October 10^th 2023. The film is produced by marblemedia in association with Hawkeye Pictures and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Rob McCallum is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmaker, who joined me from London, Ontario one week ago. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Robert McCallum; Mr. McCallum, good morning.

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