2022 Reviews – Clifford the Big Red Dog

12-year-old Emily Elizabeth Howard (Darby Camp) has just moved to a posh school in New York City where she is bullied for receiving a scholarship. If only she had one friend, a companion of sorts, then everything would be better. When her Mum goes away on business, Emily must be supervised by her haphazard Uncle Casey Porter (Jack Whitehall), and on a morning walk to school, the pair detour to an animal rescue where they are ‘not really looking for a pet’. Emily comes across the cutest small red puppy, that somehow, as if by magic, finds its way back to Emily’s apartment in her backpack only to be discovered later that night. Emily wishes that she and her new friend could both be big and strong in the face of mean bullies, and well, then the puppy Clifford begins to grow… Director Walt Becker interprets this childhood staple for the big screen.

When the trailer for Clifford the Big Red Dog came out, I thought it was a pity that preschoolers couldn’t unionise and demand the studio change the CGI, like the SEGA nerds did with Sonic the Hedgehog. The original Clifford from Norman Bridwell’s book series always looked a bit cartoonish to me – he’s a big red dog after all, but anyone who has ever adored reading and collecting Clifford books, knows he’s supposed to have a long snout and big kind eyes. But the movie goes with the premise that Clifford technically never becomes a full-grown dog; he’s a puppy that gets big, so the adult Clifford we see most prominently in the books is never really present 🤔 I suppose it makes sense, for the movie to keep Clifford looking as realistically ‘doggish’ as possible too, as it means he can sit opposed the interactions of the real-life actors, and not add another layer to the ‘suspension of disbelief’ that this tale presents. He’s just not my Clifford, and not the design I would’ve liked brought to life from my childhood memories. Although, after seeing the movie, I can accept it; the creative team has spoken, and Clifford is more akin to a 2016 Pete’s Dragon creation, than a modern CGI take of a drawing, like the 1977 Pete’s Dragon.

More importantly, the actress who plays Emily is very good. I remember Darby Camp from The Christmas Chronicles 2, and although it’s probably not right to rank young actresses still honing their craft, if I was making a movie that required a little girl part, then Camp would almost be my first port of call. She is the heart of this movie; the protagonist who has to carry the relationship between herself and Clifford and lead the way with her bumbling uncle. If the audience doesn’t connect with Emily, then the movie doesn’t work. I’ll have to give credit to the writers here too, who give her intelligent and likable characterization right off the bat – knowing the Super (David Alan Grier) would like a bribe, and earnestly rocking up at school with a bag of cans, are the best parts. The writers may have stretched to produce a reasonable full-length movie out of the inconsequential short-story format of the source material, but they provide the movie’s gooey centre, and I always cared about Emily and Clifford. I’m a big softie really, as I never realise how awesome it’s going to be to see my literary adorations brought to the big screen – I loved seeing Emily meet puppy Clifford for the first time, and her riding Clifford through the park, just the same as if I were watching Spider-Man battle the Green Goblin. I had been looking forward to Clifford the Big Red Dog, but I didn’t expect it to hit me in the feels.

However, I’m not a huge fan of Jack Whitehall, and I’m shocked that the movie decides to take away his natural English accent for a shaky American one, especially after Emily’s mother is established to be English! They’re siblings, aren’t they, so why can’t Whitehall be English too?! His accent is almost his greatest source of natural charm, so with that gone, he simply has to act 😱 In the short stories, Emily has a loving father and mother anyway, so why she needs a smelly whipped-cream-guzzling key-losing irresponsible goof of a foil is beyond me, and must be for plot and movie reasons. But even through all this swirling negativity, Uncle Casey grew on me too, and I didn’t mind him when he shapes up near the end – like, right at the end. Like, even after the corner shop stock fight scene. I’m so forgiving; I’m a big softie, see?

The movie’s humour is hit and miss, but the band of merry neighbours are never annoying, and they quite easily could have been. I think I remember Clifford and Emily once lived in a close-knit high-rise block, so it makes sense that these people would play a part in each other’s lives. There’s a lot of cheap and reliable talents used here, like David Alan Grier, Paul Rodrigues, Horatio Sanz, Russell Peters, Tovah Feldshuh, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan to name a few. But to see Rosie Perez, and this movie’s villain, Tony Hale, were a surprise; Perez was terrific in Birds of Prey, and I almost gave Tony Hale a Slice Award nomination this year for his role in Being the Ricardos, by the way. Give these two greater roles, movies, please.

I guess it’s common for these sorts of childhood adaptations to go down the road of magic, a ticking clock, or an evil corporation that’s out to oppose the goodwill of our heroes; this movie employs all three, yet I still found it warm and colourful enough to not be tiredly cliché. I suppose the biggest concern is whether it moves fast enough for the little kiddies to enjoy, who are the most important, and often harshest critics of all. I hope they do, because I found Clifford the Big Red Dog entertaining enough for a lazy afternoon. And if I must watch a movie where an old man plays an aloof whimsical animal re-homer, then John Cleese is the cherry on top. He brings that same charm he had in Rat Race, and I’m happy about that because he’s ‘eccentric’. A high 3.0.

3.0