Clifford's Puppy Days Explained
Clifford's Puppy Days is an animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS Kids from September 1, 2003[1] to February 25, 2006.[2] The prequel to the 2000–2003 series Clifford the Big Red Dog, it features the adventures of Clifford during his puppy days before he became a big red dog and before moving to Birdwell Island.[3]
The series ended in February 2006 after two seasons and 39 episodes. Since then, occasional reruns continued to air, typically on holidays until April 2022.
In the United Kingdom, the series aired on CBeebies until early 2011 and like the original series, the prequel was dubbed with British voice actors, replacing the original American soundtrack.
The show featured Henry Winkler as the voice of Norville. For his role as Norville, Winkler was nominated for 2 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his work on the series, one of which he won in 2005.[4]
Setting
Set two years before the events of Clifford the Big Red Dog, the series focuses on when Clifford was a tiny red puppy. Clifford was the runt in a litter of puppies born to by the pet dog of Emily Elizabeth's neighbor, Mr. Bradley (who appeared in an episode of the previous cartoon series, "Little Clifford"). He was adopted by Emily Elizabeth before he grew up into a giant red adult dog, forcing the Howard family to move out of their small apartment so Clifford would be able to live comfortably. The series shows Clifford and Emily Elizabeth's life and friends before they moved from the city to Birdwell Island.[3]
Format
The series followed the same format as its predecessor, Clifford the Big Red Dog.
- The opening theme is followed by one central story, which is sometimes about Clifford and his friends.
- Storytime with Speckle – Between the first and second story, Emily Elizabeth reads Clifford a Speckle Story, a short 60-second (approximately) time filler about a fictional dog (Speckle) and his animal friends Darnell, Reba, Ravi, and Luna.
- This is followed by another central story, sometimes about Emily Elizabeth and her friends.
- Clifford's Idea to Grow On – Before the credits, another 30-second short takes place called Clifford's Idea to Grow On. The short is basically an animation of an etiquette, a proverb, or basic truth such as "Play Fair", "Help Others", etc., with narration by Emily Elizabeth. This short was called Clifford's Big Idea in the previous series.
- Live action segments with real kids and their dogs.
Like the original series, on UK airings, only one story is shown, with either the Storytime with Speckle or the Clifford's Idea to Grow On segments at the end, shortening the show to about 15 minutes.
Characters
Humans
- Emily Elizabeth Howard (voiced by Grey DeLisle in the US version and Joanna Ruiz in the British version) is the 6-year-old owner of Clifford and Daffodil.
- Nina Flores (voiced by Masiela Lusha in the US version and Julie Anne Dean in the British version) – owner of Jorge.
- Evan Thomas Taylor (voiced by Orlando Brown) is a boy who looks a few years older than Emily Elizabeth.
- Shun (voiced by Lauren Tom in the US version and Ben Small in the British version) is a young Japanese-American boy.
- Mr. Solomon (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) is a writer who uses a wheelchair. Flo and Zo are his two pet kittens. In the episodes "The Big, Big Present/Hanukkah Plunder Blunder" it's revealed that he and his pet kittens are Jewish.
- Mrs. Z (voiced by Russi Taylor) is an elderly Italian woman who was once in the circus and the owner of Tricksie.
- Jenny (voiced by Dionne Quan) is a blind girl and owner of Bebe.
- Vanessa (voiced by LaTonya Holmes) is a girl who first appears in the first season episode Keeping Cool. She also appeared in the second season episode Celebrating Spring.
- Caroline (voiced by Grey DeLisle) and Mark Howard (voiced by Cam Clarke) are Emily Elizabeth's parents.
Animals
- Clifford (voiced by Lara Jill Miller in the US version and Lizzie Waterworth in the British version) is a red puppy. His owner is Emily Elizabeth Howard; he is also the younger adoptive brother of Daffodil.
- Daffodil (voiced by Kath Soucie) is a Holland Lop. In the first half of the series she was originally pink, but her fur was changed to white in the second half; she is also the older adoptive sister of Clifford.
- Flo (voiced by LaTonya Holmes) and Zo (voiced by Ogie Banks) are brother and sister kittens owned by Mr. Solomon. They and their owner are Jewish.
- The Sidarskis are a family of mice who live in the laundromat. They have five children: Lucy, Lewis, Sophie and Sid, and a newly-born child.
- Jorge (US)/George (UK) (voiced by Jess Harnell; Benjamin Small in the British version) is a brown dachshund owned by Nina.
- Bebe (voiced by Jill Talley) is a Golden Retriever Seeing-eye dog owned by Jenny.
- Tricksie (voiced by Russi Taylor) is an elderly dog who once performed in the circus with Mrs. Z.
- Norville (voiced by Henry Winkler; Tom Eastwood in the British version) is a blue jay who lives on his own.
- Chereath (voiced by LaTonya Holmes) is a golden retriever puppy in the episode Your Secret Valentine as her only appearance.
- Teacup (voiced by Lucy Liu) is an adult—albeit "miniature"—poodle who has spent most of her life in the pound, as shown in her only appearance in the episode "Adopt a Pup." She eventually gets adopted by an elderly woman who had always wanted a dog, but never had enough room in her apartment for a normal-sized one.
- Bobby (voiced by Philip Hayes) is a giant terrier puppy.
- Jack (voiced by Tara Strong) is a competitive puppy who is featured in a sandcastle contest that he competes against Clifford and Jorge.
Episodes
Each half-hour episode was divided into 2 stories.[5]
Season 2 (2005–2006)
Opening theme
The opening theme, "Love Makes Little Things Grow", was composed by Jared Faber and Emily Kapnek (creator of Nickelodeon's As Told by Ginger) and performed by Freedom Bremner.[6]
External links
- Web site: Clifford's Puppy Days . . dead . December 22, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061222225255/http://pbskids.org/clifford/puppydays/ . July 22, 2005 .
Notes and References
- Web site: Award-Winning PBS KIDS® Launches New Programming This Fall 2003 . Public Broadcasting Service . 25 June 2023 . 12 July 2003.
- Web site: Clifford's Puppy Days Volume 3. Amazon.com. February 17, 2017. February 18, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170218064432/https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00X4S9SJY. live.
- Book: Erickson . Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . 2nd . McFarland & Co . 978-1476665993 . 203–204.
- Book: Perlmutter . David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 128–129.
- Web site: Clifford's Puppy Days Episodes . PBS Kids . dead . October 15, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081015103608/http://pbskids.org/clifford/parentsteachers/tv_schedule/episode_descriptions_2.html . August 28, 2019 .
- Web site: Clifford's Puppy Days™ Theme Song . PBS Kids . May 25, 2017 . dead . November 1, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141101003656/http://pbskids.org/clifford/puppydays/puppy_quicktime.html .
