''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' is an animated

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

which is a reboot to the book series of the same name written by

Norman Bridwell Norman Ray Bridwell (February 15, 1928 – December 12, 2014) was an American author and cartoonist best known for the ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' book series. Early life Bridwell was born on February 15, 1928, in Kokomo, Indiana, to Leona and ...

, and the 2000 original series created by

Deborah Forte Deborah Forte is an American producer of family television series and movies, websites and digital media including ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'', ''Clifford's Puppy Days'', ''Maya & Miguel'', ''WordGirl'', ''The Magic School Bus'', the series ''Goo ...

and produced by Mike Young Productions, and is the third series in the franchise after the prequel spin-off ''

Clifford's Puppy Days ''Clifford's Puppy Days'' is an animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS Kids from September 1, 2003 to February 25, 2006. The prequel to the 2000–2003 series ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'', it features the adventures o ...

,'' 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 voiced by Adam Sanders, replacing

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...

in the role since the latter's death in 2003. It was released on December 6, 2019, on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

, and premiered a day later on

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

. Unlike the original TV series, the reboot has not yet aired in the UK, and it is unknown whether or not it will be dubbed for the British audiences if it ever premieres in the UK. The second part of season 1 was released on February 7, 2020. The executive producers of the show include

Jennifer Oxley Jennifer Oxley is an American author, illustrator, television writer/director, and songwriter. She is the co-creator of the PBS children's program ''Peg + Cat''. She was the creative director of '' Wonder Pets!'' and ''3rd & Bird'', as well as the ...

, best known for co-creating ''

Peg + Cat ''Peg + Cat'' is an animated children's television series based on the children's picture book "The Chicken Problem", which was published in 2012. The series, which featured the voice acting of Hayley Faith Negrin and Dwayne Hill, was created b ...

'', and Vince Commisso of

9 Story Media Group 9 Story Media Group Inc. (formerly known as 9 Story Entertainment) is a Canadian children's media production company and international distributor founded by Vincent "Vince" Commisso, Steve Jarosz, and Blake Tohana on September 1, 2002, and head ...

. 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 shirt 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 Julie Lemieux (born December 4, 1962) is a Canadian voice actress. Career Lemieux has provided the voice for characters such as Sammy Tsukino in '' Sailor Moon'', young Darien Shields in '' Sailor Moon R: The Movie'', and Peruru in '' Sailor Moo ...

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 Alison Brooks, (born 29 December 1962) is a Canadian-British architect. She is the founder and creative director of Alison Brooks Architects, based in London. Her awards include the RIBA Stirling Prize, Manser Medal, Stephen Lawrence Prize, an ...

) is Birdwell Island's lifeguard. * Mr. Basu (voiced by

Sugith Varughese Sugith Varughese (born 25 April 1957) is an Indian-born Canadian writer, director and actor. Background Born in Cochin, Kerala, India into a Syriac Saint Thomas Christian family ("Varughese," also sometimes spelled "Varghese" and "Verghese" an ...

) is Birdwell Island's mail carrier. * Fisherman Charlie (voiced by Sugith Varughese) is Hudson's owner.

Supporting (Animals)

* Bailey (voiced by

Bahia Watson Bahia Watson (born May 15, 1992) is a Canadian actress and playwright, best known for her recurring role as Brianna/Oferic in the television series ''The Handmaid's Tale''. She grew up in Carman, Manitoba, the daughter of a Canadian father and a ...

) is one of Clifford's dog friends. She is an

Australian Shepherd The Australian Shepherd is a breed of herding dog from the United States. The name of the breed is technically a misnomer, as it was developed in California in the 19th century; the breed was unknown in Australia at the time. It is claimed that A ...

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 ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' is an American children's book series about the adventures of a precocious girl named Emily Elizabeth and her titular pet: a giant, red-furred dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by No ...

'' was announced on May 16, 2018, by Scholastic, and released in late 2019. Scholastic and 100 Chickens Productions in the United States, and

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

's performance as Clifford, stating that Ritter portrayed the character as very optimistic, very youthful and compassionate.

Episodes

The series has 39 22-minute episodes.

Reception

''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' received generally mixed reviews from critics, with parents praising it for its songs, morals, and format; but older fans of the original disagreed, responding with negative reviews. Reasons for criticism included the removal of all the previous characters, switch of format and the inclusion of the

LGBT parenting LGBT parenting refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people raising one or more children as parents or foster care parents. This includes: children raised by same-sex couples (same-sex parenting), children raised by single LGBT ...

, among other reasons.

Accolades

Broadcast

The first seven episodes of ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' were released on

on December 6, 2019, while

began airing the series the next day. In Canada, the series aired on

Knowledge Network Knowledge Network, also branded as British Columbia's Knowledge Network, is a Canadian publicly funded educational cable television network serving the province of British Columbia. It is owned by the Knowledge Network Corporation, a Crown co ...

and set to air it on

TVOKids TVOkids (short for TVOntariokids and stylized as tvokids) is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by TVOntario (TVO) in Canada. It was launched on April 1, 1994 and runs from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. The brand also operat ...

on January 9, 2023.

References

External links

* on