Review: 'Clifford the Big Red Dog' is too silly for adults, perfectly suited for children

Clifford the Big Red Dog
3 out of 5 Stars
Director: Walt Becker
Writer: Jay Scherick, David Ronn, Blaise Hemingway, Norman Bridwell
Starring: Darby Camp, Jack Whitehall, Izaac Wang
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Rated: PG for impolite humor, thematic elements and mild action

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) —Synopsis: A lonely girl’s oversized love for a little red puppy causes the dog to grow into a gigantic dog.

Review: Emily (Darby Camp) feels like an outcast at school. Her mother does her best, but being a single parent is never easy. When Emily’s mom (Sienna Guillory) is forced to go on a business trip, Casey (Jack Whitehall), Emily’s delinquent uncle, is asked to take care of her. On their first day together, Emily finds a tent filled with unusual pets. Amongst the animals is a small, red dog. A dog that will only grow as large as the amount of love Emily gives it.

When I was a kid, I had a stuffed red Clifford that I loved. I loved it so much that I still have Clifford. He’s not-so-gently loved and worse for wear. Still, when I look at him, I see a much different world. I can’t claim to know much of what I would have been thinking when I was two years old. I do know what that little boy would face in the coming years.

“Clifford the Big Red Dog” is a film that would like to entertain parents and children alike, but ultimately, due to some of the humor being particularly juvenile, the film will likely only play well to younger audiences with active imaginations.

It has a nice story that is populated by misunderstood characters who don’t change as much as they simply become better at being uniquely them by the time the narrative runs to its end. Unlike in Norman Bridwell’s novels, Emily is a tween, rather than a 6-year-old girl and while that is a major shift, it doesn’t change what Emily needs from Clifford or what Clifford needs from Emily. This is a film about needing attention. Needing to be loved.

There’s a lot of slapstick humor and bad adult decision making by Uncle Casey to keep things moving quickly and in the silliest way possible. There's alsoTony Halewho offers an over-the-top performance as Tieran, the owner of a big tech firm who is more interested in making money than he is in making the world a better place. When he learns of Clifford, Tieran sees an opportunity to make a lot of money.

There’s a whiff of something real here, but it gets lost in the mania of Hale’s performance (he’s doing exactly the performance he was asked to do) and the general chaos of the hootenanny of the film’s narrative that places a giant red dog in the middle of New York City and lets his puppy instincts and impulses take over.

Izaac Wang co-stars as Owen, the boy who has a crush on Emily. Owen is an outcast too. We tend to flock together.

The film also includes John Cleese as Bridwell (a tribute to Norman Bridwell) as the magical pet dealer who gives Emily Clifford in the first place. He’s the one who tells her that Clifford will only get as big as her love for him allows.

I wish that I could tell you that my love for Clifford made the movie as enjoyable as it would have been for me as a child. It didn’t. It did, however, have my crying my way through the trailer the first time I saw it because I knew how much the tiny version of me would have loved to see the film. And, in a strange way, a reminder of being young and full of dreams was all I really needed from the film and it delivered that in spades. I’m nostalgic for a time I don’t remember. I bet it was fun when I was able to believe in the love of a giant red dog.