Clifford's Puppy Days

Clifford's Puppy Days
Created by	Norman Bridwell (characters)
Directed by	Bob Doucette
Voices of	Lara Jill Miller Grey DeLisle Cam Clarke Kath Soucie Masiela Lusha Orlando Brown LaTonya Holmes Ogie Banks Jess Harnell Lauren Tom Henry Winkler Candi Milo
Theme music composer	Jared Faber Emily Kapnek[1]
Opening theme	"Love Makes Little Things Grow" by Freedom Bremner
Ending theme	"Love Makes Little Things Grow" (Instrumental)
Composer(s)	Jared Faber[1]
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	39 (78 Segments)
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Production company(s)	Scholastic Entertainment Mike Young Productions
Distributor	Lionsgate
Release
Original network	PBS PBS Kids
Original release	September 15, 2003 (2003-09-15) – February 23, 2006 (2006-02-23)
Chronology
Preceded by	Clifford the Big Red Dog

Clifford's Puppy Days is an American animated children's television series that originally aired on both PBS and PBS Kids from September 15, 2003 to February 23, 2006.^[2] A prequel to the original Clifford the Big Red Dog, it features the adventures of Clifford during his puppy days before he became a big red dog and before moving to Birdwell Island.

The series was cancelled in February 2006 following low ratings, with very few PBS stations re-running it afterwards. Since then, occasional reruns continue to air.

In the UK the show aired on CBeebies from 2004 to early 2011 and like the original series, the show was dubbed with British voice actors, replacing the original American soundtrack.

Setting

Set two years before the events of Clifford the Big Red Dog, the series focuses on when Clifford is a tiny red puppy, the runt of the litter in a litter of puppies given birth to by the pet dog of Emily Elizabeth's neighbor, Mr. Bradley (who appeared in an episode of the first cartoon series, "Little Clifford") and after he had been adopted by Emily Elizabeth and before he grew up into a giant red adult dog, forcing the Howards to move to Birdwell Island so Clifford would have plenty of room, the series shows Clifford and Emily Elizabeth's life and friends before they moved from the city to Birdwell Island and all of their adventures.

Format

The show followed the same format as its predecessor, Clifford the Big Red Dog.

• The opening theme is followed by the first central story, which is about the dogs, and a problem they face.
• Storytime with Speckle – Between the first and second story, Emily Elizabeth reads Clifford the Speckle Story, a small 60 seconds (approximately) time filler about a fictional dog (Speckle), and his animal friends.
• This is followed by another central story, about Emily Elizabeth and her friends.
• Clifford's Idea to Grow On – Before the credits, another 30-second short takes place called Clifford's Idea to Grow On. The short is basically an animation of an etiquette, a proverb, or basic truth such as "Play Fair", "Help Others", etc., with narration by Emily Elizabeth. This short was called Clifford's Big Idea in the previous series.

Characters

• Clifford (voiced by Lara Jill Miller; Lizzie Waterworth in the British version as a puppy) – Pet number 2 (but dog number 1) of Emily Elizabeth. A small puppy who is highly playful and always looks forward to meet new friends. He loves to play with his toys, eat dog treats, and like Daffodil he loves to take naps. His best friend is Jorge and his older sister is Daffodil (who is a rabbit), who cares very deeply for him.
• Emily Elizabeth Howard (voiced by Grey DeLisle; Joanna Ruiz in the British version) – The affectionate 8-year-old owner of Clifford and Daffodil. Her best friend is Nina.
• Daffodil (voiced by Kath Soucie) – A Holland Lop, pet number 1 of Emily Elizabeth, and also Clifford's helper, protector, and sister. She is portrayed as a very neat rabbit. She loves to take walks, take naps, eat carrots, and play with Clifford and her toys. Her catchphrase is "Sure I'm sure". She sometimes gets annoyed by Clifford, but whenever Clifford is crying, scared, needs help, or just feels alone, she is always there for him. In the first half of the series she was originally pink but her fur was changed to white in the second half.
• Nina (voiced by Masiela Lusha) – is the sweet and enthusiastic owner of Jorge. Her best friend is Emily Elizabeth. Sometimes, however, Nina is shown to be insensitive to others' feelings, which causes rifts between her and her friends, although they always make up in the end.
• Evan Thomas Taylor (voiced by Orlando Brown) – A boy who looks a few years older than Emily Elizabeth but nevertheless one of her best friends. He loves to play basketball. He is also a great skater and Emily learned how to skate from him.
• Shun (voiced by Lauren Tom; Benjamin Small in the British version) – A young Japanese-American boy who is quiet, intelligent, and very proud of his Japanese heritage. He is a very close friend of Emily Elizabeth and Nina. Although he is not good at sports, he is always willing to give new things a try.
• Flo and Zo (voiced by LaTonya Holmes and Ogie Banks, respectively) – Brother and sister, but twins of kittens who are very playful. They usually love to play with each other or play with their other friends. They are owned by Mr. Solomon. In the episodes "The Big, Big Present/Hanukkah Plunder Blunder," it is revealed that they and Mr. Solomon are Jewish.
• Jorge/George (UK) (voiced by Jess Harnell; Benjamin Small in the British version) – A brown dachshund who loves to have fun with his best friend, Clifford. His owner is Nina.
• Norville (voiced by Henry Winkler; Tom Eastwood in the British version) – A bird who always has problems. He often calls Clifford "little red" or "pup".
• Mr. Solomon (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) – A wheelchair-bound writer. Flo and Zo are his two pet kittens. In the episodes "The Big, Big Present/Hanukkah Plunder Blunder," it is revealed that he, Flo, and Zo are Jewish.
• The Sidarskis – A family of mice who live in the laundromat. They have five playful children, Lucy, Lewis, Sophie, Sid, and a new baby.
• Tricksie (voiced by Russi Taylor) - An elderly dog who once performed in the circus with her owner, Mrs. Z. She has little interaction with Clifford and his friends, but is still very friendly to them.
• Mrs. Z - An elderly Italian woman who was once in the circus, and Trixie's owner. She is shown to be quite kind towards the kids.
• Bebe (voiced by Jill Talley) – A Golden Retriever Seeing-eye dog, who joins in on Clifford and his friends' fun whenever she can spare the time. She belongs to a blind girl named Jenny.
• Jenny (voiced by Dionne Quan) - A blind girl and Bebe's owner. While she is blind, Jenny has unusually high situational awareness, being able to tell where things are without even touching them. She demonstrates expertise in botany and gardening, helping the kids to plant a willow tree.

Stories

Each half-hour episode was divided into 2 stories.

Season 1

1. Keeping Cool / Socks & Snooze
2. The Monster in 3-B / Cat-tastrophe
3. Jorge and the Dog Run / Clifford's Clubhouse
4. Paw Print Picasso / Hup Hup
5. Sock It to Me / My Toy
6. Friends of All Ages / Clifford's Super Sleepover
7. Clifford's Field Trip / Helping Paws
8. Nina's Perfect Party / Just the Right Size
9. Something Special / Shun Gets in the Game
10. Clifford's Winter Spirit / Flo-Motion
11. No Small Parts, Only Small Puppies / Fine Feather Friend
12. Sing-a-Song Norville / Tell Me a Tale
13. Hoop Dreams / Doggie Duds
14. The Best Nest / Practice Makes Perfect
15. Your Secret Valentine / Perfect Pet
16. My Blanky / With Friends Like You
17. Time Out / Sniff, Sniff
18. A Promise Is a Promise / Share and Share Alike
19. Fall Feast / Norville's New Game
20. Oh, Brother / Up, Up, & Oops!
21. Moving On / Fair Is Fair
22. Grooming Gloom / The Letter
23. Adopt-a-Pup / Jokes on You
24. Lights, Camera, Action / Basketball Babysitter
25. The Halloween Bandit / An Honest Spin

Season 2

1. Puppy Dog Power / Extra! Extra!
2. Small Packages / Clifford's Magic Lamp
3. Finders Keepers / You're Famous
4. Sandcastle Hassle / School Daze
5. Celebrating Spring / Garden Delights
6. Clifford the Scary Puppy / Things That Go Bump
7. The Big Surprise / Be My Guest
8. But I Really, Really Saw It! / The Perfect Pancake
9. Clifford's Little Friend / Tricky Business
10. The Big, Big Present / Hanukkah Plunder Blunder
11. Show and Tell / What a Story
12. Heroes and Friends / The Cookie Crumbles
13. Lost and Found / Basketball Blunders
14. Valentine Schmalentine / Sweethearts Dance

Broadcast

After the show's cancellation in 2006, the show aired reruns on very few PBS stations. However, it airs occasionally on the new 24/7 PBS Kids Channel, which is carried on many PBS member stations.

Opening theme

The opening theme, "Love Makes Little Things Grow", was composed by Jared Faber and Emily Kapnek and performed by Freedom Bremner.^[1]

References

External links

• Clifford's Puppy Days on IMDb
• Clifford's Puppy Days at TV.com
• Clifford's Puppy Days at PBS Kids