Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000 TV series)

Clifford the Big Red Dog
Also known as	Clifford
Genre	Educational Comedy Urban fantasy
Based on	Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Developed by	Deborah Forte Martha Atwater Jef Kaminsky
Directed by	John Over
Voices of	John Ritter Grey DeLisle Cree Summer Kel Mitchell Cam Clarke Kath Soucie Gary LeRoi Gray Terrence C. Carson Ulysses Cuadra Earl Boen Edie McClurg Nick Jameson Susan Blu Tony Plana Haunani Minn
Theme music composer	Josh Mancell Mark Mothersbaugh
Opening theme	"Clifford the Big Red Dog" performed by Jason Michael
Ending theme	"Clifford the Big Red Dog" (instrumental)
Composers	Josh Mancell Mark Mothersbaugh
Country of origin	United States[1] United Kingdom[1]
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	65 (130 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Deborah Forte
Producers	Martha Atwater Jef Kaminsky (season 2)
Running time	26 minutes (US version) 15 minutes (UK version)[2]
Production companies	Scholastic Productions[3] Mike Young Productions
Original release
Network	PBS Kids (United States) CBeebies (UK)
Release	September 4, 2000 (2000-9-4) – February 25, 2003 (2003-2-25)
Related
Clifford's Puppy Days Clifford the Big Red Dog (2019)

Clifford the Big Red Dog is an

Internationally, German-based TV-Loonland AG handled broadcast rights to the series, while Entertainment Rights held merchandising and home media rights.^[2]

Though production of Clifford ended before Ritter's death, voice actors for the main characters have reprised some of their roles for the Ready to Learn PBS Kids PSAs. Clifford's Really Big Movie served as the series finale, Clifford's Puppy Days still continued to air until its cancellation in 2006.

On May 16, 2018, Scholastic announced a reboot of the series, which was announced on December 5, 2019, to be released on December 6, 2019, on Amazon Prime Video and December 7, 2019, on PBS Kids, starring Adam Sanders as the new voice of Clifford.^[7][8] PBS Kids continued to air reruns of the 2000 series on some PBS stations until 2022. Select PBS member stations still continue to carry the show.

As of 2021, the show is currently distributed worldwide by 9 Story Media Group.

Two stories made up each half-hour episode. Usually, one story featured Clifford and his canine friends, Cleo, T-Bone, and Mac among them; the other story would focus on Clifford's owner, Emily Elizabeth and her friends, Jetta, Vaz, and Charley. During scenes focusing on the dogs' perspective, human speech would replace barking to show the storyline from the dogs' point of view.

• Emily Elizabeth Howard, also known as Emily for short, (voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin in the US and Joanna Ruiz in the UK), is Clifford's 8-year-old^[9] owner. Emily Elizabeth adopted Clifford when he was a very small puppy, when her parents gave him to her on her 6th birthday.^[10] Emily Elizabeth's love apparently caused Clifford to grow enormous, thus starting their new lives on Birdwell Island. Emily Elizabeth was named for creator Norman Bridwell's daughter and based on the imaginary adventures of Bridwell's wife.^[11]
• Caroline Howard (also voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin) is Emily Elizabeth's mother and the wife of Mark Howard. She owns and works at the Sea Shell, which is a small store on Birdwell Island.
• Mark Howard (voiced by Cam Clarke) is Emily Elizabeth's father and the husband of Caroline Howard.
• Charley (voiced by Gary LeRoi Gray) is Jamaican-American who is Emily Elizabeth's friend. He lives on a houseboat with his father, who owns a restaurant.
• Samuel (voiced by Terrence C. Carson) is Charley's father and the Jamaican owner of Samuel's Fish and Chips. He runs most of the pier.
• Jetta Handover (voiced by Kath Soucie) is Mac's owner. She is an Italian-American girl and a friend of Emily Elizabeth. She tends to be snobby towards others. Soucie also voiced Jetta's mother who owns one of the island stores. She often wears her sweater as a poncho. She is Cosmo's big sister.
• Cosmo Handover (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is the infant brother of Jetta. He is first seen in the episode "Baby Makes 4".
• Vaz (voiced by
  Spanish American
  boy who is friends with Emily Elizabeth and Charley.
• Sheriff Lewis (voiced by Nick Jameson) is T-Bone's owner. The island's sheriff and the soccer coach.
• Mrs. Diller (voiced by Cree Summer) is Cleo's owner.
• Horace Bleakman (voiced by Earl Boen) is Violet's husband. Generally referred to as 'Mr. Bleakman', he has strong on-and-off dislike towards Clifford and other dogs but sometimes shows sympathy for his neighbors and their pets.
• Violet Bleakman (voiced by Edie McClurg) is the first neighbor of the Howards to introduce herself and Horace's wife, generally known as Mrs. Bleakman.
• Mary (also voiced by Kath Soucie) is Emily Elizabeth's friend who sits in a wheelchair due to her disability of walking and standing up. She plays piano.
• Dan (voiced by Susan Blu) is one of Emily Elizabeth's classmates.
• Laura Howard (voiced by E. G. Daily) is Emily Elizabeth's cousin who owns a dog named Rex.
• Miss Carrington (voiced by Grey Griffin) is the schoolteacher on Birdwell Island.
• Monique (voiced by Simbi Khali) is Jetta's friend.
• Victor and Pedro (both voiced by Tony Plana) work at the ferry dock.
• Ms. Naomi Lee (voiced by Haunani Minn) is the librarian at the Birdwell Island Library.
• Dr. Dihn (also voiced by Haunani Minn) is the island's vet. She later adopts a dog named Bob.

• Gordo (voiced by Frank Welker) is an Indian elephant that catches a cold but performs well with Clifford in one episode.
• Boomer (voiced by Frank Welker) is a brown capuchin monkey who performs in the circus with Gordo.

• Clifford (voiced by John Ritter in the US and Tom Eastwood in the UK) is a giant red Labrador Retriever Vizsla mix. The depiction of Clifford's size is inconsistent; he is often shown as being about 25 feet (7.6 m) tall from paws to head, but can appear far larger. The character is based on the imaginary friend of creator Norman Bridwell's wife.^[11]
  His owner is Emily Elizabeth Howard. Although his tremendous height sometimes tends to get him in trouble with others, Clifford never means any harm and is very friendly to everyone.
• Cleo (voiced by Cree Summer in the US and Regine Candler in the UK) is a hyperactive purple female poodle. Her owner is Mrs. Diller, but she mainly spends the day with her friends Clifford and T-Bone. Her catchphrase is "Have I ever steered you wrong?"; when the dogs would reminisce on a time that happened, she interrupts them in mid-sentence. She strongly dislikes baths until "No Baths for Cleo".
• T-Bone (voiced by Kel Mitchell in the US and Benjamin Small in the UK) is a timid yellow male bulldog. His owner is Sheriff Lewis, but he mainly spends the day with his friends Clifford and Cleo. He is very sensitive to loud noises.
  • T-Bone once had a friend named Hamburger (voiced by Mitchell's longtime comedy partner Kenan Thompson) who moved away before Clifford arrived.
• Mac (also voiced by Cam Clarke) is a blue male
  Machiavelli
  . His owner is Jetta Handover; much like his owner, Mac tends to be snobby towards his friends.
• K.C. (also voiced by Cam Clarke) is a male beagle who only walks on three legs. He is one of Clifford's, Cleo's and T-Bone's best friends. He later becomes an Assistance Dog for Mrs. Young, Bruno Young's elderly mother.
• Mimi (voiced by Tyisha Hampton) is a female brown poodle and T-Bone's love interest who occasionally visits Birdwell Island.
• Rex (voiced by Frank Welker) is Clifford's friend from the time when he was still a puppy.
• Manny (voiced by Frank Welker) is an
  elderly schnauzer
  who appears in some episodes from time to time.
• Kiki (voiced by Gabrielle Carteris) is Cleo's playful and energetic niece.
• Bob (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is Dr. Dinh's rambunctious dachshund.
• Tonya (voiced by Maria Canals) is a beautiful orange and white female collie.
• Frankie (voiced by Frankie Muniz)

• Betty (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is a playful yellow cat and sister of Billy.
• Billy (voiced by Susan Blu) is a playful orange cat and brother of Betty.

The series was produced by Mike Young Productions and

The TV series takes place in the fictional island of Birdwell Island, where Clifford lives. The name is inspired by Norman Bridwell, the author of the books (who otherwise was not involved in the production of the series) but the letters I and R are switched. Birdwell Island was inspired by Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, where Bridwell lived.^[12]

Emily Elizabeth used to live in an apartment in New York City, but she moved away with her parents and Clifford to Birdwell Island because Caroline told her that a small apartment is no place for a big dog like Clifford.

The series has at least 4 segments in the show.^[13]

1. First story: The opening theme is followed by the first central story, which is usually about the dogs, and a problem they face.
2. Storytime with Speckle: (See the main Speckle section below)
3. Second story: Another central story, usually about Emily Elizabeth and her friends.
4. Clifford's Big Ideas: Another 30-second short, which demonstrates a moral lesson such as "Play Fair" or "Help Others", with narration by Emily Elizabeth.
5. Live action segments starring real kids and their dogs (Optional).

In the UK version, only one story is shown, with either the Storytime with Speckle or the Clifford's Big Ideas segments at the end, shortening the show to about 15 minutes.^[2]

Discovery Kids LA airings omit the Storytime with Speckle segments, going straight to the second story, and the Clifford's Big Ideas segments and even the optional segment, going straight to the closing credits. This results in those airings lasting 22 minutes to comply with Discovery Kids LA's rule of 22 minutes per airing.

Storytime with Speckle is a segment that comes between the first and second story. The segment has 22 episodes for season 1, as well as 25 episodes for season 2. In the segment, Emily Elizabeth reads Clifford a short story (depending on the episode of Storytime with Speckle) about a dog named Speckle and his animal friends.

Storytime with Speckle cast:

• Speckle – The main character, Speckle is a yellow and brown spotted puppy dog.
• Luna – Luna is an orange and brown raccoon.
• Ravi – Ravi is a blue and white panda cub.
• Reba – Reba is a gray bunny rabbit.
• Darnell – Darnell is a yellow and white duck.

Clifford the Big Red Dog has received generally positive reviews from television critics and parents of young children. Lynne Heffley of Los Angeles Times wrote, "Clifford: The Big Red Dog focuses on positive messages with a fantasy approach. Based on the classic children's books by Norman Bridwell, this animated series is about a red dog who is the size of a jumbo jet to match the outsized love that his owner, a little girl named Emily, has for him."^[14]

Clifford the Big Red Dog was shown on

On May 16, 2018, Scholastic announced a reboot of the series, which premiered on December 6, 2019, for both Amazon Prime Video and PBS Kids.^[7][8] Scholastic, 100 Chickens, 9 Story Media Group and Brown Bag Films produce the series.^[16] Excepting Clifford, Emily Elizabeth and Birdwell Island, the new series is a complete departure from the predecessor show's character base.

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In 1988, before the television series, six

In 2004, Warner Bros. Pictures distributed a feature-length animated film based on the show, Clifford's Really Big Movie. In the film, Clifford, Cleo and T-Bone join an animal show to win a lifetime supply of dog food to provide for Clifford. This was one of John Ritter's last films as he died on September 11, 2003, after completing voice work for the film. Clifford's Really Big Movie was released posthumously and dedicated to his memory.^[17] The movie also stars Wayne Brady as Shackleford the Ferret, Judge Reinhold as Amazing Larry, John Goodman as George Wolfsbottom, and Jenna Elfman as Dorothy the Cow. Due to Ritter's death, the film also serves as the series finale, as no new episodes were produced after the film was released, until the reboot premiered on PBS Kids in 2019.

• Clifford's Reading
• Clifford's Thinking Adventures

• Clifford's Learning Activities
• Clifford's Musical Memory Games
• Clifford's Phonics
• Clifford's Big Puzzle Game (A Wendy's Kids' Meal DVD game, available for a limited time only)

• Kix (2000–2003)
• Chuck E. Cheese's (2001–2012)
• Milton Bradley (2002)
• Lipton (2003–2005)
• Danimals (2003–2006)
• Buffets, Inc. (2013)

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000 TV series).

• Clifford the Big Red Dog at BBC Online
• Clifford the Big Red Dog at
  IMDb 
• Official site