What’s It About
As middle schooler Emily Elizabeth struggles to fit in at home and at school, she discovers a small red puppy who is destined to become her best friend from a magical animal rescuer. When Clifford becomes a gigantic red dog in her New York City apartment and attracts the attention of a genetics company that wishes to supersize animals, Emily and her clueless Uncle Casey have to fight the forces of greed as they go on the run across New York City and take a bite out of the Big Apple. Along the way, Clifford affects the lives of everyone around him and teaches Emily and her uncle the true meaning of acceptance and unconditional love. Based on the beloved Scholastic character, Clifford will teach the world how to love big.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Hollywood has honestly run out of ideas when a live-action big red dog becomes a reality. To be fair, Clifford is not a bad movie. It’s just highly unnecessary. The plot is extremely weak, and the dialogue sounds like preschoolers wrote it. I guess this is supposed to be an origin story to explain where Clifford came from and how he got so big. The answer to both of those questions is the same answers a kid would give if you asked them. Where did you get that dog? Answer – I found him. Why is he so big? Answer – Because I wished him big. Yes, the answers are just that simple. In other words, the studio wanted to make this movie, and they didn’t care what it took to start the story about a giant red dog. In the film, Clifford’s owner, Emily, is the standard movie outcast at a new school that gets bullied by the mean girls. That means that everyone magically loves her by the end of the movie. As improbable as Clifford the Big Red Dog is, it is made for a young audience. And as torturous it may be for most adults, it has an appeal that kids will love. Adults will appreciate the morals it tries to convey, like being responsible, accepting others as they are, and standing up for yourself, to name a few. Every aspect of this movie seems to have been dumbed down for some reason to ensure the overall message doesn’t get lost. Clifford is a fun family film, but its main downfalls are the juvenile script, sub-par acting, and the insane ways they underestimate their demographic’s (kids 3-7) intelligence. If kindergarteners can program computer games, I’m sure they can handle a more adult-ish version of Clifford. For the next movie, and yes, there will be another one, how about making sure Emily cleans up after Clifford on their next walk through the neighborhood. (LOL)
OUR RATING – A SEMI-BIG RED 5
MEDIA
- Genre – Fantasy
- Street date
- Digital – December 14th, 2021
- DVD/Blu-Ray February 1st, 2022
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.00:1
- Sound – English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
- Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras
- Part of the Pack— Get a behind-the-scenes look at Clifford’s big movie with interviews from cast and crew.
- Acting is for the Dogs—There’s more to Clifford than meets the eye: meet the puppeteers who brought the giant red pup to life!
- The Magic of Bridwell – See where Clifford’s big adventure began from creator Norman Bridwell’s early drawings for the beloved Scholastic book series to Clifford’s worldwide fame.
- Tips & Tricks for Taking Care of a 10-Foot Dog – Get hilarious tips on how to take care of a giant dog!
- Deleted Scenes