Clifford the Big Red Dog (TV series)

Clifford the Big Red Dog
Genre
Based on Clifford the Big Red Dog
by Norman Bridwell
Directed by John Over
Voices of
Composer(s)
Country of origin
  • United States[1]
  • United Kingdom[1]
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 65 (130 Segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Running time 30 minutes (15 minutes per segment) (approx. per episode)
Production company(s)
Release
Original network
Original release September 4, 2000 (2000-09-04)[3] – February 25, 2003 (2003-02-25)
Chronology
Followed by Clifford's Puppy Days

Clifford the Big Red Dog is an educational animated children's television series, based upon Norman Bridwell's children's book series of the same name. Produced by Scholastic Productions, it originally aired on PBS Kids from September 4, 2000 to February 25, 2003. The UK version (where it was dubbed with British voice actors replacing the original American soundtrack) originally aired on BBC 2 on 1 April 2002.[4]

John Ritter voiced Clifford in all episodes. This was originally done by Brent Titcomb in the 1988 direct-to-video series. Generally speaking, Ritter's schedule dictated the production of Clifford the Big Red Dog . By the time the last of the 68 half-hour cartoons and the subsequent film Clifford's Really Big Movie were completed, Ritter was back on ABC's prime-time schedule, starring in 8 Simple Rules. Ritter's death on September 11, 2003 came less than a week before PBS debuted Clifford's Puppy Days, a show that kept Clifford's legacy going.

While no new Clifford episodes have been released since Ritter's death in 2003, voice actors for the main characters have reprised some of their roles for the Ready to Learn PBS Kids PSAs. Clifford's Really Big Movie serves as the series finale due to Ritter's death, as no new episodes were made to continue from where it left off. However, Clifford's Puppy Days still continued to air until its cancellation in 2006.

On May 16, 2018, Scholastic announced a reboot of the series and is scheduled for a late 2019 premiere concurrently on PBS Kids and Amazon Prime.[5]

Overview

Two 15-minute stories made up each half-hour cartoon. Usually one story featured Clifford and his canine friends, Cleo and T-Bone among them; the other story would focus on Clifford's owner Emily Elizabeth and her friends. During scenes focusing on the dog character's perspective, human speech would replace barking to engage viewers in the storyline from the dogs' point of view.

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 40 September 4, 2000 (2000-09-04) December 5, 2001 (2001-12-05)
2 25 May 16, 2002 (2002-05-16) February 25, 2003 (2003-02-25)

Characters

Dogs

  • Clifford the Big Red Dog (voiced by John Ritter; Tom Eastwood in the British version): A giant red Labrador Retriever/Vizsla cross. The depiction of Clifford's size is inconsistent; he is often shown as being about 25 feet tall (7.6 m) from paws to head, but can appear far larger. The character is based on the imaginary friend of creator Norman Bridwell's wife.[6] Clifford is devoted to his owner Emily Elizabeth. He is friendly, shy, lovable, loyal, gentle and helpful but sometimes gets into trouble because of his size, or is tempted into trouble by his friends and those he meets. Despite being the protagonist, he seldom has episodes focusing on him, usually serving as the voice-of-reason for his friend's adventures.
  • Cleo (voiced by Cree Summer; Regine Candler in the British version): An energetic and playful, yet selfish and mischievous purple poodle with a tendency to not tell the truth. Her catchphrase is "Have I ever steered you wrong?" which she inadvertently does immediately after. She is one of Clifford's best friends. Her owner is Mrs. Diller.
  • T-Bone (voiced by Kel Mitchell; Benjamin Small in the British version): A male yellow and orange bulldog with a large appetite. He is often cowardly, clumsy, and cautious, but does have his moments of bravery. He is one of Clifford's best friends. T-Bone is in love with Mimi, another dog who visits from time to time. His owner is Sheriff Lewis.
    • T-Bone had a best friend named Hamburger (voiced by Kel Mitchell's longtime comedy partner Kenan Thompson) who moved away before Clifford arrived.
  • Mac (voiced by Cameron Clarke): A male blue greyhound with an inflated sense of self-importance, who shifts between aloofness and wanting to be part of Clifford, Cleo, and T-Bone's circle of friends. Mac competes in dog shows. He can be vain, bossy and selfish. However, he appears to be devoted to his owner Jetta. It is revealed in a few episodes that his name is short for Machiavelli.

Humans

  • Emily Elizabeth Howard (voiced by Grey DeLisle; Joanna Ruiz in the British version): Clifford's eight-year-old[7] owner. A friendly, curious, and helpful girl. The best skater on the island, and also very good at soccer. Emily Elizabeth adopted Clifford when he was a very small puppy, when her parents gave him to her on her 6th birthday.[8] Emily's love apparently caused Clifford to grow enormous, thus starting their new lives on Birdwell Island. Just like Clifford, she rarely has episodes about her and ends up being the voice of reason. Emily was named for creator Norman Bridwell's daughter and based on the imaginary adventures of Bridwell's wife.[6]
    • Caroline Howard (also voiced by Grey DeLisle): Emily Elizabeth's mom who is friendly, clever, and skilled. She owns and works at The Conshell, which is a small store on Birdwell Island.
    • Mark Howard (voiced by Cameron Clarke): Emily Elizabeth's dad and the spouse of Caroline Howard.
  • Charley (voiced by Gary LeRoi Gray): Emily Elizabeth's best friend who is Jamaican American and the best soccer player on the Birdwell Birds (the school soccer team). He lives on a houseboat with his father, who owns a restaurant.
    • Samuel (voiced by Terrence C. Carson): Charley's father and the Jamaican owner of Samuel's Fish and Chips. He is a great storyteller and runs most of the pier.
  • Jetta Handover (voiced by Kath Soucie): Mac's owner. She is a wealthy, self-centered friend of Emily Elizabeth who is often oblivious to others' feelings. She is often shown leading parades and competing in talent shows as a majorette. Jetta often claims her accomplishments are bigger or better than others' and finds herself humbled when she aims too high to the point where she needs help. Her mother owns one of the island stores and seems somewhat oblivious to Jetta's behavior. She often appears to dislike Clifford, criticizing him for minor accidents caused by his size, but occasionally she will show that she really does like him.
    • Cosmo Handover (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is the infant brother of Jetta. He is first seen in the episode "And Baby Makes 4".
  • Vaz (voiced by Ulysses Cuadra): Somewhat clumsy and shy boy who is friends with Emily Elizabeth and Charley.
  • Sheriff Lewis (voiced by Nick Jameson): T-Bone's owner. The island's sheriff and the soccer coach. He feeds T-Bone often, (explaining why T-Bone is overweight).
    • He had a best friend named Deputy Wilson who moved away with T-Bone's best buddy, Hamburger.
  • Ms. Diller (voiced by Cree Summer): Cleo's owner.
  • Horace Bleakman (voiced by Earl Boen) lives with his wife Violet. He is often grumpy and impatient about the noise and mess Clifford inadvertently causes, but he is still a good neighbor and helps Clifford and the others from time to time.
  • Violet Bleakman (voiced by Edie McClurg) is the first neighbor of the Howards to introduce herself. She is a little more nice, calm, and patient than her cranky husband Horace.
  • Pedro and Victor (both voiced by Tony Plana) are dock workers who help unload the boat in "Welcome to Birdwell Island".

Production

This series was produced by Mike Young Productions and Scholastic Studios.

Setting

Birdwell Island
Series Clifford the Big Red Dog
Type Island
First appearance "My Best Friend"
Last appearance Clifford's Really Big Movie

The TV series takes place in the fictional island of Birdwell Island, where Clifford lives. The name is inspired by Norman Bridwell, the author of the books, but the letters I and R are switched. It is based on Martha's Vineyard, where Bridwell lived.[9]

Emily Elizabeth used to live in an apartment in New York City, but she moved away with her parents and Clifford to Birdwell Island because her mother told her that a small apartment is no place for a big dog like Clifford.

Format

The series has at least 5 segments in the show, which are:

  1. Theme Song
  2. 1st Story - The opening theme is followed by the first central story, which is about the dogs, and a problem they face.
  3. 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.
  4. 2nd Story - This is followed by another central story, about Emily Elizabeth and her friends.
  5. Clifford's Big Ideas - Before the credits, another 30-second short takes place called Clifford's Big Ideas. 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 Segment Was Cut On The New 24/7 PBS Kids Channel.

International Broadcast

Clifford the Big Red Dog was shown on BBC One and Tiny Pop in United Kingdom. It also aired in Canada on CBC and in Latin America on Discovery Kids.

2019 reboot

A reboot was announced on May 16, 2018 by Scholastic, and will premiere in late 2019.[5] Scholastic, Brown Bag Films and 100 Chickens will produce the series.

In other media

Direct-to-video

In 1988, before the television series, six direct-to-video episodes based on the Clifford the Big Red Dog children's book series by Norman Bridwell, were released on videocassette by Family Home Entertainment, The Scholastic Learning Library, Nelvana, Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd., and Mendelson-Melendez Productions. The animation for direct-to-video series, came from the Peanuts cartoon team of Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, giving them a look similar to the Peanuts cartoons, in contrast to the later television series which was animated by Film Roman Studios. Brent Titcomb voiced Clifford in the videos, and Alyson Court voiced Emily Elizabeth.

Film

In 2004, Warner Bros. Pictures distributed a feature-length animated film based on the show titled Clifford's Really Big Movie. It was about Clifford, Cleo and T-Bone joining an animal show to win a lifetime supply of dog food to provide for Clifford. This was John Ritter's last film as he died on September 11, 2003, after completing voice work for the film. The film was dedicated to his memory. The movie also stars Wayne Brady as Shackleford the Ferret, Judge Reinhold as Amazing Larry, John Goodman as George Wolfsbottom, and Jenna Elfman as Dorothy the Cow. The film also serves as the series finale.

Video games

Original series

  • Clifford's Reading
  • Clifford's Thinking Games

Modern series

  • Clifford's Learning Activities
  • Clifford's Musical Memory Games
  • Clifford's Phonics
  • Clifford's Big Puzzle Game (A Wendy's Kids' Meal DVD game, available for a limited time only)

References

  1. 1 2 "Clifford the Big Red Dog (TV series) (2000)". British Film Institute. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ "He's Big! He's Red! He's Coming to PBS Kids! Scholastic Productions' "Clifford the Big Red Dog" Animated Series Debuts on PBS Fall 2000" (Press release). PBS. January 7, 2000. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ Zurawik, David (July 13, 2000). "PBS gives kids new Saturday morning shows". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Search Results - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  5. 1 2 Sopan, Deb (May 16, 2018). "'Clifford the Big Red Dog' Returning to TV in 2019". New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Markstein, Donald D. "Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Clifford the Big Red Dog". www.toonopedia.com.
  7. ↑ "The Cast of Clifford the Big Red Dog®". PBS Kids. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Little Clifford" 19 September 2000, 6 candles on cake
  9. ↑ Alvarez, Victor Paul (December 16, 2014). "'Clifford the Big Red Dog' Author Dies at 86". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  • Richard Campbell, Christopher R. Martin and Bettina Fabos, Media and Culture, 5th ed. (1963).
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