The Charge

This dog is really big.

The Case

Emily Elizabeth and her awesome dog Clifford are back for a 10-episode bonanza, tied together with the common theme of "playing."

• "Tummy Trouble"
When Emily Elizabeth leaves Clifford and his friends with buckets of dog treats, the weak-willed canines stuff their faces and learn a valuable lesson about gluttony. And can I just say that I fear for anyone in the vicinity of Clifford's watery stool.

• "Cleo Gets a Cone"
Cleo suffers the most embarrassing fate any dog can: being outfitted with a big plastic cone around her neck. On the upside, she gets a dose of humility after having made fun of another dog with a cone on his head. I guess there's some serious conophobia going down in the dog community.

• "Tie-Dyed Clifford"
Emily Elizabeth's soccer team tie-dyes their uniforms for solidarity, prompting one young lady to make the dubious claim that "Everyone looks good in tie-dye!" And wouldn't you know Clifford accidentally tie-dyes his hindquarters.

• "Team Spirit"
It's the big game and one of Emily's little friends fails to nail the winning goal and her pals cheer her up by embracing the "We tried our best!" mantra. They still went home losers, though.

• "Follow the Leader"
The dogs, bored, play a game of follow-the-leader and one thing leads to another and they end up at the dump. Thrilling!

• "Topsy Turvy Day"
Emily and Clifford prepare for the wackiness that is "Topsy Turvy Day," the most "mixed-up day of the year." The fun backfires when Emily swaps dogs with her friend.

• "That's Snow Lie"
Cleo lies about an injury to her paw to get out of ice skating but when she sees how fun it is she abandons the deceit and learns a lesson about trying new things with friends.

• "Led Astray"
Clifford is resistant to the "fun" ideas of a troublesome dog named Artie and when he finally speaks up, Artie takes off in a huff.

• "Stars in Your Eyes"
Emily and her friends have an unsupervised birthday party on the beach. Then they dress up Clifford in a humiliating spaceship outfit.

• "Fair Weather Friend"
Mac the dog shares his huge bone with his best friends.

Another shot of Clifford will scratch the itch of any little kid looking for inoffensive, sweet-natures stories about a large dog and the valuable lessons he learns from his friends. How's that sound to you? Good? Great.

Technical specs: full-frame video and 2.0 stereo audio. Extras include three short bonus cartoons, a feature on real-life dogs and trailers.

Similar Decisions

• Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales And Legends: Pecos Bill
• Stuart Little 2
• Nick Jr. Favorites Volume 4
• Candy Land: The Great Lollipop Adventure

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Clifford The Big Red Dog: Playtime With Clifford a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.