A young girl’s love for a tiny puppy named Clifford makes the dog grow to an enormous size
Chuck says:
There’s no question that Clifford the Big Red Dog is cute. As such, I’m tempted to go easy on the new film bearing his name. After all, what kind of heartless guy would I be to beat up on such an innocuous character? Well, I could care less about all that, so hard truths it is where this effort from Paramount Pictures is concerned – it’s a real dog. (You saw that coming, right?)
I don’t think I have a high bar regarding kids’ films – they should entertain the young set and not bore the adults. If they can entertain all involved and maybe provide a meaningful lesson and some resonance for all concerned, all the better. Unfortunately, Clifford does none of that. Simplistic to the extreme, Norman Bridwell’s canine creation is blandly rendered and given very little to do, other than traipse around and create havoc in the Big Apple. His new owner (Darby Camp) wishes her pooch were bigger and boy does that come true! A heavy-handed message about bullying and embracing other’s differences is delivered, which will appeal to the seven-and-under crowd. All others will likely catch a nap.
2 Stars
