Clifford's Really Big Movie

No one approaching double digits, age-wise, will find much to enjoy in this gentle, innocuous, and very dull animated feature based on the popular PBS series adapted from Norman Bridwell's beloved children's picture books. Clifford (voiced by the late John Ritter in his most soothing tones) is an inexplicably gigantic red dog that lives on an island with his cute-as-a-button mistress Emily Elizabeth and her parents. When Clifford becomes convinced that his huge appetite is eating the family out of house and home, he and two canine friends paddle off to the mainland to join a small circus and compete in a contest offering the victor a lifetime supply of dog food. Clifford quickly becomes the show's main attraction--much to the chagrin of its former star, a ferret named Shackelford (Wayne Brady)--and there's an effort to generate some mild suspense near the end when the contest organizers try to claim the big mutt for themselves. Sporting Saturday morning TV cartoon-level animation, Clifford's Really Big Movie suffers from a lack of energy, just ambling along to a preordained happy ending, and while it may occupy toddlers for 73 minutes, everyone else will most likely find this to be a really big yawn. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include the seven-minute behind-the-scenes featurette “Inside the Dog House” (featuring the late John Ritter, the voice of Clifford), two read-along segments (“The Star of the Show” [4 min.] and “Amazing Animals” [6 min.]), the music video “Big Time” (with a sing-along version including onscreen lyrics), and a “Cleo's Crafts” art featurette (8 min.) with materials lists and instructions for making a “Cool Clifford Hat,” “Cleo's Classy Collars,” and a “Big Red Puppet.” Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lackluster kids' film.] (F. Swietek)