Do you like big dogs? Do you or anyone you know wish to watch a dog that is really big, thanks to the power of his owner loving him very much? Do you or someone you know want to watch that really big dog interact with normal-sized dogs and regular-sized people? If you answered yes to these questions about big dogs, then you should go watch Clifford the Big Red Dog! Clifford the Big Red Dog is an early 2000s animated educational children’s show, based on the book series of the same name by Norman Bridwell. Produced by Scholastic Productions in association with Mike Young Productions, the show was broadcast initially on PBS Kids in the United States, BBC Two in the UK, and TV-Loonland AG internationally.
Clifford the Big Red Dog takes place on the fictional Birdwell Island, a name inspired by the author of the books, Norman Bridwell, and follows the titular character Clifford, his 8-year-old owner Emily Elizabeth, and their large cast of animal and human friends. Among these characters are Clifford’s friends, Cleo the hyperactive purple poodle, T-Bone the shy yellow dog, Mac the snobby blue greyhound, and Emily’s friends, Jetta Handover, Charley, and Vaz.
Episodes of the series were usually half an hour long, with each episode being split into two main stories, and occasionally having two shorter segments at the end of each main story. The main stories focus on either Clifford and the dogs or Emily and her friends. For the segments focused on Clifford and friends, they usually spend the episode encountering a problem, solving it, and learning lessons such as being honest and the value of having faith in friends. The sections focused on Emily and her friends have a similar formula of encountering a problem, solving it, and learning a lesson. The first short segment, usually placed after the first main story and before the second one, is called Storytime with Speckle.
Around 60 seconds, it involves Emily reading Clifford a short story following Speckle the yellow and brown spotted dog and his animal friends. The second short segment is a 30-second short called Clifford’s Big Ideas, which demonstrates a moral lesson, such as respect or sharing.
Clifford the Big Red Dog is a nice comfort show with a strange premise. Although it only ran from September 4, 2000 to February 25, 2003 and only had 2 seasons, the series managed to reach a total of 65 episodes, along with getting a animated film fittingly named Clifford’s Really Big Film, a prequel show in Clifford’s Puppy Days, and a 2019 reboot series also titled Clifford the Big Red Dog. The early 2000s series can still be watched on YouTube, or services such as PBS Kids or Tubi. If you ever wanted to see a nostalgic animated show about the daily life of a big red dog and his owner, then check out Clifford the Big Red Dog!
