Clifford The Big Red Dog Movie Review: Monstrously humourless

A still from Clifford The Big Red Dog

Clifford The Big Red Dog
U: Comedy/ family
Dir: Walt Becker
Cast: Darby Camp, Jack Whitehall, Izaac Wang
Rating: 2/5

Walt Becker's take on the Norman Birdwell authored classic children's book is rather tame and conspicuously inept. Setting it all up with a routine storyline, he starts by showing us that a preteen, Emily (Darby Camp), is having trouble fitting in with her new schoolmates in the private school located in the city of New York. She's bullied by a typical Mean Girl, and her single mother (Sienna Guillory), in lieu of an unexpected business trip, just happens to leave her in the care of her irresponsible brother Casey (Jack Whitehall), who lives in a van. So, it's just Emily and Casey marking their uncharacteristic relationship before Clifford, the red puppy, magically gets transported into Emily's home after an impromptu visit to an animal carnival run by the mysterious Mr Bridwell (John Cleese). Emily persuades Uncle Casey into letting her adopt the cute pup and prays that he grows big and strong. The next day, she wakes up to the unreality of a big red dog running helter-skelter in her apartment home.

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There are way too many flaws to overlook here. The central figure, the giant sized CGI-generated red Labrador is clumsy and ungainly. That might have been fun if the CGI was accomplished and convincing enough. Unfortunately, the tech aspects are mediocre. Even the puppy version of Clifford looks unrealistic and cartoonish. The writing appears rather unoriginal. Even kids who haven't experienced the wonders of Stuart Little or Paddington are unlikely to find this amusing enough.

Becker may have kept the narrative eventful but the dialogue and mismatch in comedic timing slackens the enjoyment. The end result is cringe worthy humour that is as unappetising as stale fungi-infected bread. The adult comedians in the cast including John Cleese, Kenan Thompson, Russell Peters, David Alan Grier, and Paul Rodriguez are akin to a show of hands. Their presence can be ignored. Even Darby Camp and Jack Whitehall fail to garner either empathy or enthusiasm. This one is idiotic, mindless, unimaginative, and appears more interested in creating a market for merchandise rather than generating heartfelt entertainment. You certainly need to suspend your critical thinking to sit through this monstrosity!

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