Clifford the Big Red Dog, created by Norman Bridwell, has been a staple of children’s literature for nearly 60 years, and he’s also been well-represented in animated TV shows and even a theatrical movie. Next month, though, will mark the character’s live-action debut, and following the trailer released in June, a new preview for Paramount's’ Clifford the Big Red Dog movie is now here. It shows off the heartwarming mayhem of the title character, along with a sprinkling of the trouble he’ll run into.
This Clifford the Big Red Dog adaptation follows Darby Camp’s Emily Elizabeth Howard, a middle schooler who’s living with her Uncle Casey, played by Jungle Cruise’s Jack Whitehall, who struggles to fit in at both at home and school. Luckily for her, she scores a new friend in the form of Clifford, a red puppy given to her by John Cleese’s Mr. Bridwell, who, as seen in the above trailer, tells her the dog’s ultimate size will depend on how much Emily loves him. Well, clearly she loves Clifford a lot considering how large he grows in such a short amount of time.
As a family-friendly movie, it stood to reason that Clifford the Big Red Dog would be packed with shenanigans, and we get plenty of that teased in the trailer, from Case appropriately freaking out over Clifford becoming huge to a pretty awkward trip to see the veterinarian, played by SNL’s Kenan Thompson. And it doesn’t take long for Clifford to make New York City his playground, though the inhabitants of Emily and Casey’s neighborhood quickly take a shine to him.
But when a 10-foot red dog (who doesn’t talk) surfaces, naturally that’s going to attract attention, and not all of it will be good. Along with the police offering a $25,000 reward for Clifford’s capture, a corporate goon named Peter Tiernan, played by Veep’s Tony Hale, wants to apprehend the dog, leaving it up to Casey, Emily, her friend Owen (Izaac Wang) and some of the neighbors banding together to protect Clifford. So rest assured, you’ll get a lot of lighthearted moments in the live-action Clifford the Big Red Dog movie, there’ll be some adversity along the way. Hey, you have to keep people on their toes!
Originally the plan was to release Clifford the Big Red Dog in November 2020, but naturally the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in that being scrapped and moved to its new release date, just weeks away. And while the movie’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival also ended up being cancelled, there was a surprise screening at CinemaCon back in August. The movie’s cast also includes Rosie Perez, Russell Wong, Paul Rodriguez, Russell Peters and Sienna Guillory.
Clifford the Big Red Dog premieres both in theaters and on Paramount+ on November 10. Don’t forget to look through our 2021 release schedule to learn what other movies are left this year, or get a head start on next year with the 2022 release schedule.
