The story of “Clifford The Big Red Dog,” the live-action CGI adaptation of the children’s books, goes a little bit like this. A meme was created with a still from the movie of the gigantic red Clifford dog walking with and towering above a big boy on the street, saying, “This looks like a commercial for anxiety medication.” And I have not been able to get that out of my head ever since. I assume the movie is kind of about that now and about a fictional dog, a boy’s imagination, and a soothing and or terrifying dog that makes everything either much worse or much better; take your pick.
Directed by Walt Becker, the other main movie story of “Clifford The Big Red Dog” was that it was supposed to make its premiere at this past Toronto International Film Festival in September, and then suddenly and without little explanation, the film was pulled from the line-up, much to cries into the sky from most cinephiles (it was apparently because of the big COVID spike in August that got some studios scared, Paramount being one of them). “Clifford” is an adaptation of the Scholastic Book Series “Clifford the Big Red Dog” by Norman Bridwell. The film stars Jack Whitehall, Darby Camp, Tony Hale, Sienna Guillory, David Alan Grier, Russell Wong, and John Cleese and Tom Hardy as Clifford, or, at least, I’m guessing on that last part, he likes to do strange things, right?
Here’s the official synopsis:
When middle-schooler Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) meets a magical animal rescuer (John Cleese) who gifts her a little, red puppy, she never anticipated waking up to find a giant ten-foot hound in her tiny New York City apartment. While her single mom (Sienna Guillory) is away for business, Emily and her fun but impulsive uncle Casey (Jack Whitehall) set out on an adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat as our heroes take a bite out of the Big Apple. Based on the beloved Scholastic book character, Clifford will teach the world how to love big!
“Clifford The Big Red Dog” hits theaters and is on Paramount+ November 10, 2021. Let’s hope it helps us all with our collective nerves, fears, and anxieties. Maybe your kids will love it!