‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ Wreaks Havoc on New York in Trailer
The first full trailer for the live-action Clifford the Big Red Dog is here, and the clip goes to great lengths to show that having a giant red dog in New York City probably isn’t the best idea.
While the Clifford Scholastic picture-book series largely focused on the friendship between Clifford and his owner, Emily Elizabeth, the movie plays up the physical comedy and hijinks that such an impractical pet can cause. After magically growing from a tiny puppy into a car-sized canine, Clifford torments his owners by ripping up their pillows and sneezing on them. OK, that’s pretty typical dog behavior — but what about going after those people in giant inflatable balls in Central Park and throwing them around like a chew toy? Or accidentally almost swallowing another dog? To quote Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) in the trailer, “That’s something you don’t see every day.”
The live-action adaptation also stars Jack Whitehall as Uncle Casey, Emily Elizabeth’s uncle and guardian; Izaac Wang as Owen Yu, the boy living next door to them; John Cleese as Mr. Bridwell, the magical animal rescuer who first gives Clifford to Emily Elizabeth; and David Alan Grier as the voice of Clifford. The film opens in theaters on September 17th.