Clifford The Big Red Dog
Today’s guest post was written by Kelly Erb. You can read more great posts by Kelly over at www.tinytreasury.com
The popularity of some children’s programming ebbs and flows. Some
are faddishly popular for a few weeks and then overstay their
welcome. Others percolate along with a small band of dedicated
viewers. Others are destined to be classics. Clifford the Big Red
Dog is one those destined to be a classic.
The television series, Clifford the Big Red Dog is based on the
children’s book series of the same name. The original book series
was penned by Norman Bridwell beginning in 1962. The television
series didn’t begin its run until 2000 - with a host of recognizable
voices at the helm. Most notably, the late John Ritter was the voice of Clifford. Also lending their voices were Cree Summer (Freddie in the Cosby spinoff A Different World), Kel Mitchell, Grey DeLisle and Edie McClurg.
Each half hour episode consists of two stories with an educational
message in each, referred to as Clifford’s Big Ideas. The lessons are
usually short and predictable and are along the lines of the value of
sharing or telling the truth. The biggest lesson of all, though, is
what it means to love someone or some dog (!) unconditionally. You
see, Clifford wasn’t always big - he was the runt of the litter. But
Emily Elizabeth loved him, and her love, the story goes, made him grow.
The show is designed for children ages 3-7. The simple, flat
animation drawn in primary colors and short episodes are cleverly
tailored towards the toddler and elementary education set. And it’s
not so bad for parents either.
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