Clifford the Big Red Dog (2019 TV series)

Clifford the Big Red Dog is an animated children's television series which is a reboot to the book series of the same name written by Norman Bridwell, and the 2000 original series created by Deborah Forte and produced by Mike Young Productions, and is the third series in the franchise after the prequel spin-off Clifford's Puppy Days, which was also produced by Mike Young Productions.

In addition to being a reboot, it is also a sequel, because PBS lists it as being the third season. Clifford is now voiced by Adam Sanders, replacing John Ritter in the role since his death in 2003.

It was released on December 6, 2019, on Amazon Prime Video, and premiered a day later on PBS Kids. The second part of season 1 was released on February 7, 2020. The executive producers of the show include Jennifer Oxley, best known for co-creating Peg + Cat, and Vince Commisso of 9 Story Media Group.

The series revolves around Emily Elizabeth Howard, a young girl who owns Clifford, a big red dog who can speak to her for the first time since the late 1980s-early 1990s direct-to-video series. Together the two friends explore their island home, Birdwell Island, and embark on adventures.

Characters

Main

• Clifford (voiced by Adam Sanders) is a big red dog that grew once Emily, his owner, gave him massive amounts of her love and affection. He now wears a studded collar. Unlike the books, the 2000 television series, and Clifford's Puppy Days, Clifford can speak to Emily, but only when they're alone, much like the original 1988 home video series.
• Emily Elizabeth Howard (voiced by Hannah Levinson) is an affectionate 8-year-old girl and the owner of Clifford. Unlike the original series and Clifford's Puppy Days, she now wears a light yellow dress and black leggings, and has a cyan hair clip, bracelets, socks, and shoes.
  • Mrs. Howard (voiced by Alison Brooks) is Emily's mother. Like in the books, Mrs. Howard has black hair, while in the original TV series and Clifford's Puppy Days, she was a blonde.
  • Mr. Howard (voiced by John Cleland) is Emily's father. Like in the books, Mr. Howard has short brown hair and wears glasses, while in the original TV series and Clifford's Puppy Days, he had fully grown brown hair and perfect eyesight.

Supporting

• Samantha Mulberry (voiced by Jenna Weir) is Emily's best friend and Bailey's owner. She wears an orange shirt, blue jeans, bracelets, and blue shoes.
  • Rayla Mulberry and Dr. Mulberry (voiced by Julie Lemieux and Maggie Cassella): Samantha's mothers.
• Jack Morgan (voiced by Jasiah Stewart) is one of Emily's friends.
• Pablo Flores (voiced by Niko Ceci) is one of Emily's friends. He has a blue shirt, blue pants and green shoes. In addition, Pablo is Hero's owner.
• Fire Chief Franklin (voiced by John Cleland) is Tucker's owner. He is Birdwell Island's principal firefighter.
• Ms. Clayton (voiced by Raven Dauda) is Willa's owner, and Birdwell Island's librarian. She owns the Library, which is located on a boat.
• Ms. Ellerby (voiced by Alison Brooks) is Birdwell Island's lifeguard.
• Mr. Basu (voiced by Sugith Varughese) is Birdwell Island's mail carrier.
• Fisherman Charlie (voiced by Sugith Varughese) is Hudson's owner.
• Rose (voiced by Bryn McAuley)

Supporting (Animals)

• Bailey (voiced by Bahia Watson) is one of Clifford's dog friends. She is an Australian Shepherd who wears a pink bow. Samantha is her owner.
• Tucker (voiced by Julie Lemieux) is one of Clifford's dog friends. He is a Dalmatian who wears a yellow collar. Fire Chief Franklin is his owner.
• Willa (vocal effects provided by Hannah Levinson) is a grey kitten who is owned by Ms. Clayton, the librarian. In segments between Emily Elizabeth and Clifford's adventures, she is seen having her own adventures with animals who are more her size.
• Hero (voiced by Matt Folliott) is Pablo's dog. He is a beagle. His name derives from Pablo's hobby of reading about superheroes in comic books.
• Hudson (voiced by Markeda McKay) is Charlie's dog. She is a Yorkshire terrier.
• Shelly is Samantha's hermit crab.

Production

A reboot of Clifford the Big Red Dog was announced on May 16, 2018, by Scholastic, and released in late 2019. Scholastic and 100 Chickens Productions in the United States, and 9 Story Media Group in Canada produce the series.

On November 22, 2019, the theme song and a sneak peek clip of an episode were released.

In preparing for the role of the voice of Clifford, Adam Sanders stated that he watched episodes of the 2000s television series and studied John Ritter's performance as Clifford, stating that Ritter portrayed the character as very optimistic, very youthful and compassionate.

Episodes

The series has 40 22-minute episodes.

Reception

Clifford the Big Red Dog received generally positive reviews from critics with parents praising it for its songs, morals, and format; but some older fans of the original disagreed, responding with negative reviews. Reasons for criticism included the removal of previous characters, switch of format and the inclusion of LGBT parenting, among other reasons.

Accolades

Controversy

Samantha's two mothers caused the series to be controversial among anti-LGBT crowds. In May 2023, the Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, vetoed a measure to provide state funding to Oklahoma Educational Television Authority for three years, due to their broadcasting of Clifford (and of Work It Out Wombats!, which also features same-sex parents) and the claims that it is "overly sexualizing" kids. The characters in questions are adults.

Broadcast

The first seven episodes of Clifford the Big Red Dog were released on Amazon Prime Video on December 6, 2019, while PBS Kids began airing the series the next day.

References

External links

• Clifford the Big Red Dog on Amazon Prime Video
• Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS Kids
• Clifford the Big Red Dog at IMDb