"Clifford Needed Emily, So She Chose Him For Her Own..."
Allow me to talk at length about a dog that is near-and-dear to my heart!
My son - now age 4 - himself chose Clifford a couple of years ago at a bookstore, when we were looking at kids' books and he became interested in the sight of this giant red pooch towering over the houses on the cover. He fell in love with the books, as many of us did when we were kids. Soon afterward I steered him toward the PBSKids TV series, which he watches as often as possible. He's a big fan of Clifford, enjoying the shows and asking for the stories at bedtime.
Naturally, when the first DVD ("Clifford Saves The Day/Clifford's Fluffiest Friend Cleo") came out, we snagged it right away. A couple of months ago saw the official release of the second DVD volume: "Happy Birthday, Clifford/Puppy Love". For some reason, at least in my area, this disc was in short supply on retailers' shelves until recently. Now the title appears to be out-and-about, and we had a chance to enjoy the new disc together.
For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Emily Elizabeth Howard lived in the city with her parents, who one day decided to get her a dog. She saw that a small puppy (Clifford) needed her, and she needed him, so it was a match. Well, the love Emily gave Clifford caused him to grow and grow and grow, until he was too big to keep in the city. So the Howards moved out to Birdwell Island, where Clifford had plenty of room to run and play (and not knock over too many houses).
The island's name is actually a play on the name of Clifford's inventor, Norman Bridwell, the son of an Indiana factory worker who was primarily an artist at first, aiming at illustrating kids' books...until he was told he wasn't very good at it(!), and got a suggestion from one editor who rejected him to write his own stories, since he'd never be allowed to illustrate the stories of others. A preliminary sketch of a small girl with a giant red dog was among his samples, so he built that into a story, and dubbed the dog "Tiny" at first. It was Bridwell's wife who suggested that the dog be named Clifford, which was the name of her imaginary childhood friend! Scholastic Books loved the concept, and the first of more than 60 books was published in 1962, which lead to a series of made-for-home video releases in the 1980's, and then to the daily PBSKids TV series that debuted in 2000.
The series has each half-hour show done in the usual layout style of PBSKids shows like Dragontales: there are two cartoon story episodes, book-ended around a segment featuring real-world stuff like "Clifford's Big Ideas" (which is described by the producers as "positive character traits modeled by the characters in the Clifford the Big Red Dog TV series") and "Real Life Doggy Friends". These are included as extras on the DVD, so more about these later.
The series is voiced by a number of folks who you do not realize you know! Here are some examples: Clifford's words are spoken by John Ritter, whom is best known as "Jack Tripper" on Three's Company (and incidentally is a distant cousin of mine, although I'm sure he doesn't know me from Adam). Cree Summer, who is widely recognized as Winifred/"Freddie" on A Different World, voices Cleo the poodle. Tom "Mr. C" Bosley plays crabby neighbor Horace Bleakman. And from time-to-time you will see the character of Manny, done by Frank Welker, known as the "Voice God of Hollywood", who has over 500 credits to his name...the most well-known being that of Scooby-Doo's Freddie Jones. As you can see, the series has brought fine talent to the production, and not just in the voices either. The writers and artists have much to be proud of with the Clifford The Big Red Dog series. Their hard work shows up, and the kids love it.
The DVDs: "Happy Birthday, Clifford/Puppy Love"
The Clifford series has been available on VHS home video almost right from the start, and there are eight separate tapes available. Each of the videotapes has a selection of four thematically unified stories from the series. As an example, "Happy Birthday, Clifford" is a collection of four stories concerning parties that take place on Birdwell Island, and not just the cake-blower for the big red guy that's mentioned in the title.
So by now you're asking, "Hey, why are you describing the tapes instead of the disc?" Well, because it seems that video publishers FHE and their owners, Artisan, chose to basically port over to the DVD a collection of two of the separately available VHS tapes into one DVD disc "compilation". This is the same method they used for their first Clifford DVD volume, and has been used on kid's DVDs elsewhere, too (one example is Fox's Digimon: Digital Monsters DVD, which is actually a compilation of four VHS volumes). Shortly, I'll go over how this authoring style affects the DVD's Menu Design and Navigation. In the meantime, here is a listing of the two tapes that are featured on this DVD volume, and the stories they contain:
Happy Birthday, Clifford!
The Best Party Ever (#110b)
Clifford's Big Surprise (#116b)
Potluck Party Pooper (#135a)
It's My Party (#132b)
Puppy Love
T-Bone, Dog About Town (#123a)
Clifford's Big Heart (#123b)
Mimi's Back In Town (#139b)
The Best Gift (#135b)
As you can see from the episode numbers included, there is no attempt here to show episodes in any order, or to tell a continuing story. In fact, the episodes explaining Clifford's origins ("Here Comes Clifford!") are sorely missing on DVD at the moment.
The Packaging:
The disc features a colorful label that is a circular version of the package cover art. The disc is housed in a regular black keepcase that is a simple, sturdy design that will withstand the antics of most youngsters. There is an insert that again duplicates the cover art, and mentions the episode titles one more time. The backside of the insert is an advertisement for six of the available VHS tapes, with a tiny (and I mean tiny!) mention of the first DVD volume in the bottom corner.
Menu Design & Navigation:
The DVD, as I discussed before, is actually two VHS volumes compiled onto one disc. This is VERY evident in the menu design, as you essentially have two title screens (the "real" one, and then one in which you must choose whether you will watch the "Happy Birthday, Clifford" set of stories, or the "Puppy Love" set of stories. The screenshots provided with this review demonstrate how this is set up: each "volume" is represented by a "bone" on the choice screen, and after you choose the volume you want then you can either "Play All" or choose an individual episode from that volume.
The DVD is billed as having a running time of 90 minutes. This is split evenly between the two volumes, each having 4 episodes that together come to 45 minutes. There is no "Play All" choice to choose to play all eight stories contained on the entire disc. You can only "Play All" four of the party stories or all four of the love stories.
A year ago, even six months ago, I might not have found this something to be too critical of. After all, the object is to entertain and educate, not to have the TV baby-sit your kids for an hour-and-a-half. But Artisan/FHE must get with the times. With more and more vehicles becoming equipped with DVD players to entertain the kids in the back on the long trips, and with more portable DVD players and laptops serving the same functions not just in cars but on airplanes, the need to have the parents interact with the device an extra time is just plain inconvenient. And simply unnecessary.
Video
Despite the fact that I've been saying all along up until now that this disc is a port from a pair of VHS tapes, do NOT let that fool you into thinking that the video is substandard in any form. The video is equal to or better than anything you will see when the show is broadcast on PBS. Video is grain-free and clear, and the imaginative use of bright, flat colors is inviting to all the young tykes who are Clifford fans. The resolution is good, even when viewed on my bigger-than-normal HDTV unit. The show is encoded in the normal 4:3 standard TV aspect ratio, just like it is broadcast on PBS, and so is in it's original aspect ratio. No compromises were made here!
Audio
The soundtrack provided on this Clifford DVD is likewise exactly as broadcast on PBS, with no changes. It is a mono English-language effort that is free from any defects that I could spot. My son responded to everything just as intended, even when at times it was clear that the character wasn't talking but instead thinking what the viewer heard. My son picked right up on the difference, since the voice changed in tone accordingly. My only criticism here is the lack of alternate language soundtracks, more kids could enjoy this fine show.
The extra that stands out the most on this disc is "Cleo's Groovy Grooming Shop". This is a game the kids (and their adult assistants) can play using the DVD player's remote control. Upon choosing this from the "Big Fun Features" menu, you see a picture of Cleo and the sign of her shop. Words underneath the sign explain "Everyone's going to a party! Help Cleo dress up T-Bone and Clifford. Make them silly if you want to!"
As you can see in a couple of the "screenshot" pictures which accompany this review, the game consists of picking either Clifford or T-Bone to dress up, then for whichever one you picked you get three menu screens. The first gives you 3 choices of items to put on the dog's head (always the same three items on this screen). The second menu lets you choose one of 3 items to put on the dog's body (again, this screen always has the same three choices, though they aren't the same as the three for the head). The third menu lets you choose one of a different set of three objects (yes, always the same three) that is an accessory-type object for the dog (for T-Bone they are a clown's nose or a tool belt or mittens). Finally there's Cleo telling you to click to see the finished product, and you see the dog you chose dressed the way you decided. Clifford and T-Bone each get 9 different items to mix-and-match. It's a simple, fun game for the kids, although adults will quickly tire of it.
The other extras are "Real-Life Doggy Friends", which is self-explanatory (real kids show off their real pets, and it's not just limited to dogs, either), and "Parenting Tips from Clifford's Big Ideas". This latter one is pretty key, as it speaks directly to not only the child viewer but the adults who live with them, too. It incorporates the 10 "Big Ideas" that are the heart of the series' educational direction, and demonstrates how key scenes in the included episodes show our children how these ideas are fulfilled.
As an example, a scene is played in which the Big Idea is "Be A Good Friend", and Clifford and Cleo come to get T-Bone and include him. Emily Elizabeth, the girl who is Clifford's human, pops up to explain to the viewers how what they are doing relates to the Big Idea. The explanation is later recapped in a simple way on a text card screen. Well done.
Summary
Although there are some issues I have with the menu design and general format style of the way the DVD was put together, all in all it is a well-done DVD that will entertain and educate your kids. Clifford is a great character celebrating his 40th anniversary this year, and if your children aren't fans yet then they should be. Introducing the kids to the series by way of this DVD is an excellent way to move them to Clifford books, and get them into reading. What's more, you can't go wrong with the excellent values portrayed in the show.
Although I hope FHE/Artisan clears up the time-limiting issues on future releases, I can certainly recommend this disc to everyone. We can all love Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Good doggie!
