The film was screened unannounced on August 26, 2021, during the 2021CinemaCon event in Los Angeles. It was initially scheduled to premiere at the2021 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021, to be followed by a theatrical release in the United States on September 17 after being delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic byParamount Pictures, but was ultimately pulled from the festival and had its release date removed from Paramount's schedule due to the spread of theSARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. Ultimately, the film was simultaneously released theatrically and digitally onParamount+ on November 10, 2021, in the United States.[8] It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $107 million worldwide.
In New York City, 12-year-old Emily Elizabeth Howard lives with her mother Maggie and has only one friend, schoolmate Owen Yu. Maggie leaves Emily in the care of her uncle Casey before going to Chicago for a business trip.
Mr. Bridwell, who runs an animal rescue tent at a park, introduces Emily to a small red puppy whose family had been taken by dogcatchers. He says that the puppy will grow based on how much love he receives. Casey rejects the adoption due to dogs not being allowed in the apartment building. When Emily gets home from school, she finds the puppy in her backpack and names him Clifford. Casey allows her to keep Clifford only for one night.
The next morning, Clifford has grown to giant proportions. Clifford eventually chases and plays with a man in an inflatable bubble in a park. Word of his existence spreads online. After learning from a vet's secretary of Bridwell's past miracles with animals and their owners, the Howards plan to get information on his whereabouts. Clifford eventually escapes from Casey's truck and humiliates Emily's bully Florence by licking her, which soaks her, giving Emily the friends she always wanted.
Zac Tieran, the owner ofbiotechnology company Lyfegro, learns of Clifford from his assistant Colette. Wanting to discover the secret of the dog's stature, Tieran contacts the police, falsely claiming to havegenetically engineered Clifford, and leads a citywidemanhunt for him. Emily and Casey are evicted from their apartment by superintendent Mr. Packard, who Tieran also tipped off, and pursued by the cops and Lyfegro after Emily refuses hisbribe. Owen and Emily escape with Clifford in Casey's van, while their neighbors fend off Tieran's bodyguards. The three shelter in Owen's lavishpied-à-terre apartment, where Casey says that Clifford can stay with Emily provided that they find Bridwell and have him shrink the dog down to his original size. If Bridwell cannot be found, Clifford must be sent away toShanghai, where Owen's father, Mr. Yu, owns ananimal sanctuary. They race to the hospital, only to find a patient who says that Bridwell has died. Out of options, the two contact Mr. Yu, who arranges for atugboat to take Clifford to afreighter toChina. After Emily bids her companion a tearful goodbye, the tugboat sails away under the cover of night.
Law enforcement however intercepts the freighter due to Tieran's claim that Clifford was stolen; Clifford isairlifted viahelicopter to Lyfegro. Casey soon learns that the person who died at the hospital was a different man, meaning Bridwell is still alive, so he and Emily try to save Clifford frombeing experimented on at Lyfegro, once again aided by friends from their neighborhood. They break into Lyfegro's headquarters and rescue Clifford, who flees through the city with Emily riding on him.
At Manhattan Bridge Park, Emily reunites with Bridwell. He says that he cannot make Clifford small again as it was her love that made him big. Bridwell advises Emily toadvocate for Clifford and herself, and that being different is a gift. Emily explains to everyone the importance of love, regardless of differences. Tieran then arrives and says that Clifford's owner can be determined by scanning anID chip his scientists secretly implanted earlier. Bridwell makes the chip identify Emily as Clifford's rightful owner, leaving Tieran to be fined forlying to the police and wasting police resources. Emily and Casey reunite with Maggie. As Owen prepares to take a group photo of Clifford, Emily, Casey, Maggie, and the neighbors, Clifford spots two people in inflatable bubbles in the park and chases after them while Casey rides in horror atop Clifford's back.
Packard later reverses Emily and Maggie's eviction by making Clifford his new assistant in the apartment building. Casey leaves his van and goes to work forScholastic Corporation. He, Emily, and Packard paint a mural of Clifford, which resembles hishand-drawn counterpart, implying that Casey's new job is authoring and illustratingfictional books about Clifford. New York City residents band together to build Clifford a giant doghouse between the Jarvis & Jarvis law firm and Alonso's bodega.
In May 2012, it was reported thatUniversal Pictures andIllumination Entertainment would produce a live-action/animated film based on the book. Matt Lopez was hired to write the script whileChris Meledandri andDeborah Forte (creator and executive producer of the television series) were to produce,[13] but in July 2013, it was reported that Illumination cancelled the project.[14] On September 13, 2013, it was reported that the film was still in development at Universal Pictures withDavid Bowers in talks to direct the film.[15] Like the 2011 filmHop, the titular dog character will be animated while the other characters will be live-action.[15]
In 2016,Paramount Pictures had purchased the rights to develop a live-action and animated hybrid film.[16] On September 25, 2017, it was reported thatWalt Becker had been hired to direct from a script being re-written by Ellen Rapoport, and from the original written by Justin Malen, which would be produced by Forte through her Silvertongue Films banner.[17] On June 20, 2019, Paramount closed a deal withEntertainment One to co-finance the film. Under the deal,Entertainment One Films would distribute the film in Canada and the United Kingdom excluding TV broadcast rights for the latter country, while Paramount would distribute in all other territories including the United States.[1] On December 25, 2019, a photo from the film was leaked, revealing the computer-generated form of Clifford in the live-action scenery.[18][19] In May 2019, Camp and Whitehall signed on to star in the film.[20] In June 2019, Cleese, Guillory, Wang, Grier,Rosie Perez, Keith Ewell, Bear Allen-Blaine andLynn Cohen joined the cast.[12][21]Principal photography began on June 10, 2019, inNew York City[22][23][24][25] and wrapped on August 23, 2019, after 55 days of shooting.[26] The visual effects were made byMoving Picture Company.[27] On November 18, 2020, it was announced thatJohn Debney would compose the film's score.[28] The song "Room for You" performed byMadison Beer, was released on November 5, 2021.[29]
Clifford the Big Red Dog was simultaneously released in theaters inDolby Cinema and streaming onParamount+ on November 10, 2021, in the United States.[8] It was initially scheduled to have its world premiere at the2021 Toronto International Film Festival in September,[30] followed by a theatrical release on September 17 byParamount Pictures,[31] but the festival premiere was cancelled and the studio removed the film from its release schedule due to the rise of theDelta variant ofCOVID-19.[32] It was originally scheduled to be released November 13, 2020, before being delayed to November 5, 2021[33][34] due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[35] Prior to that,Universal Pictures initially slated the then-unproduced film for April 8, 2016, and then pushed back to December 31, 2016.[36][37] The film had a surprise unannounced screening on August 26, 2021, during the 2021CinemaCon event in Los Angeles.[3] The film was then released in the UK on December 10, 2021, byEntertainment One. The film was also dedicated toRichard Robinson, the former CEO ofScholastic Corporation, who died on June 5, 2021.
Clifford the Big Red Dog was released on digital download byParamount Home Entertainment on December 14, 2021, which features deleted scenes and special features including a behind-the-scenes look with interviews from the cast, and how Clifford's adventures began from the book series to the big screen. It was also released on February 1, 2022, onBlu-ray andDVD.[38]
Clifford the Big Red Dog grossed $49 millionin the United States and Canada and $58.4million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $107.4million against a $64 million budget.[6] In the United States and Canada,Clifford the Big Red Dog was projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,695 theaters over its first five days.[39] The film made $2.3 million on its first day and $3.3 million on its second.[40] It went on to debut to $16.4 million (and a total of $22 million over the five days), finishing second behind holdoverEternals.[41][42] In its second weekend the film fell 51% to $8.1 million, finishing third.[43] The film made $725,000 onThanksgiving and then $5 million in its third weekend, placing sixth.[44][45] The film went on to make $1.9 million in its fourth weekend,[46][47] $1.3 million in its fifth,[48][49] and $404,068 in its sixth.[50][51]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 95 reviews with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "It may get younger viewers to sit and stay, butClifford the Big Red Dog is nowhere near as charming as its classic source material."[52] OnMetacritic the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[53] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those atPostTrak gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.[42]
Owen Gleiberman ofVariety wrote: "Clifford the Big Red Dog becomes a rowdy chase film-- as agreeable as Clifford himself, as simultaneously cute and in-your-face and as genially random in its ability to create chaos."[54] Angie Han ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote: "It's not reinventing the wheel or breaking new ground; [and] it's unlikely to wow audiences with its bold artistic vision or profound emotional depths. But there's a place for sturdy and familiar entertainment that delivers exactly what it intends, andClifford the Big Red Dog is just that."[55]
Comic writer Georgia Ball and illustrator Chi Ngo adapted the film into agraphic novel entitledClifford the Big Red Dog: The Movie Graphic Novel. The graphic novel adaptation was originally scheduled to be published on August 23, 2021, but was pushed back to December 7, 2021 (one month after the film's release).[56]
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