Movie Review by Neils Hesse
Starring: John Ritter, Wayne Brady, Grey DeLisle, Jenna Elfman, John Goodman
Director: Robert C Ramirez
The Rugrats, SpongeBob Squarepants and now Clifford the Big Red Dog makes the big leap from the small screen to the big screen, so does the end product make the grade?
Clifford (voiced by the late John Ritter) overhears a conversation that leads him to believe that he eats more food than the family can manage to provide so he takes his two loyal friends T-Bone and Cleo on an adventure to win a contest for a lifetime supply of Tummy Yummies. The happy trio pretend to be strays so that they can join Larry’s team of special animals, with the aim of joining and winning the Tummy Yummy contest for talented animals. Clifford has to overcome a jealous ferret and a little girl obsessed with anything that’s big before he can be reunited with his beloved Emily Elizabeth (Grey DeLisle).
The direction by Robert C Ramirez is excellent and ensures that the movie stays true to the ongoing TV series, but he also enables anyone not familiar with Clifford to easily understand the whole theme of the film. It is definitely for young children and it scores on all the points that it should. The story has a very positive message with plenty of laughs for its young audience.
For all the accompanying adults out there, as long as you go in with an open/cynic-free mind you might just find yourself being won over by the charm of Clifford, the Big Red Dog, I know I was.
The late John Ritter, John Goodman, Judge Reinhold and Jenna Elfman are just some of the cast that provide the voices for this lovely cartoon. Sweet, funny and refreshingly simple enough for even the youngest of kids, CLIFFORD’S REALLY BIG MOVIE is a good, old fashioned children’s animation.
