Clifford the Big Red Dog is an American children's book series and media franchise focusing on the adventures of an 8-year-old blonde-haired girl named Emily Elizabeth and her titular pet: a gigantic, love-filled, red-furred dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by Norman Bridwell.[1] There are 91 books in the series, with the final two released posthumously after Bridwell's death in 2014.[2] The premise has been adapted into animation, video games, stage productions, and live-action,[2] with Clifford the Big Red Dog being the most recent as of 2025. Clifford is the official mascot of Scholastic Corporation.[3]
The character was inspired by author Norman Bridwell's childhood desire to own a dog the size of a horse.[4] In 1962, Bridwell included paintings of what would become Clifford the Big Red Dog (who was named ‘Tiny’ at the time) in a portfolio of children's literature illustrations. In the process of showcasing his portfolio for publishing houses, Susan Hirschman at Harper & Row suggested Bridwell turned his drawings into a children's story. Bridwell then developed a story around the dog and his owner, which he would eventually submit to Scholastic. His wife suggested the name "Clifford" after her imaginary friend from her childhood, and Emily Elizabeth was named after Bridwell's daughter. The first book in the series was originally published by Scholastic in 1963.[5]
Characters
Clifford is a male red dog whose appearance, disposition and behavior are based on a giant dog.[6] The depiction of Clifford's size is inconsistent.[a] The character's name is based on the imaginary childhood friend of Norman Bridwell's wife, Norma Bridwell.[7] Bridwell originally wanted to name the dog "Tiny", but his wife persuaded him that "Clifford" was better.[8] Clifford's pet owner is Emily Elizabeth. Clifford has a mother, two brothers, and two sisters, all of whom are normal-sized dogs. Clifford was originally the runt of the litter, seemingly fated to be small and sick, but grew to an enormous size apparently due to Emily Elizabeth's love and care. Clifford's character was created when a Harper & Row editor advised Bridwell to write a story to go along with one of his pictures. Bridwell recalls she picked out his sketch of a baby girl with a horse-sized bloodhound, and casually said, "There might be a story in this" because there always was one.[6]
Emily as depicted in the first book from 1963.
Emily Elizabeth is Clifford's owner and human friend, an 8-year-old[b] girl.[8] She is frequently portrayed riding him like a horse. She was named for creator Norman Bridwell's daughter and based on the imaginary adventures of Bridwell's wife.[7] The TV series adaptation gives her a surname, Emily Elizabeth Howard, and changes the background, with her receiving Clifford as a surprise present on her 6th birthday instead of picking him out as a Christmas present.
List of books
Norman Bridwell, creator and author of the Clifford the Big Red Dog book series.
Title
Year
Notes
1. Clifford, the Big Red Dog
1963
The first ten Clifford books were given re-colored illustrations in 1985[citation needed]
2. Clifford Gets a Job
1965
3. Clifford Takes a Trip
1966
4. Clifford's Halloween
1966
5. Clifford's Tricks
1969
6. Clifford, the Small Red Puppy
1972
7. Clifford's Riddles
1974
8. Clifford's Good Deeds
1975
9. Clifford at the Circus
1977
10. Clifford Goes to Hollywood
1980
Reissued in 2010 under the title: Clifford Is a Star
11. Clifford's ABC
1983
12. Clifford's Christmas
1984
13. Clifford's Family
1984
14. Clifford's Kitten
1984
15. Clifford and the Grouchy Neighbors
1985
16. Clifford's Pals
1985
Reissued in 2010 under the title: Clifford's Best Pals
17. Clifford's Manners
1987
18. Count on Clifford
1987
19. Clifford's Birthday Party
1988
20. Clifford's Puppy Days
1989
21. Where Is Clifford?
1989
22. Clifford's Happy Days: A Pop-Up Book
1990
Pop-up book
23. Clifford's Word Book
1990
24. Clifford, We Love You
1991
25. Clifford's Animal Sounds
1991
26. Clifford's Bathtime
1991
27. Clifford's Bedtime
1991
28. Clifford's Peekaboo
1991
29. Clifford Counts Bubbles
1992
30. Clifford Follows His Nose
1992
31. Clifford's Happy Easter
1992
32. Clifford's Noisy Day
1992
33. Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit
1993
34. Clifford, I Love You
1994
Pop-up book
35. Clifford the Firehouse Dog
1994
36. Clifford's First Christmas
1994
37. Clifford and the Big Storm
1995
38. Clifford's First Easter
1995
39. Clifford's First Halloween
1995
40. Clifford's Sports Day
1996
41. Clifford's First Autumn
1997
42. Clifford's Spring Clean-Up
1997
43. Clifford's First Valentine's Day
1997
44. Clifford's Peek-And-Seek Animal Riddles
1997
45. Clifford and the Big Parade
1998
46. Clifford Keeps Cool
1998
47. Clifford Counts 1 2 3
1998
48. Clifford Makes a Friend
1998
49. Clifford: Where Is the Big Red Doggie?
1998
50. Clifford's First Snow Day
1998
51. Oops, Clifford!
1998
52. Clifford and the Halloween Parade
1999
53. Clifford Grows Up
1999
54. Clifford's Best Friend: A Story about Emily Elizabeth
1999
55. Clifford's Big Book of Things to Know
1999
56. Clifford's First School Day
1999
57. Clifford Barks!
2000
58. Clifford to the Rescue
2000
59. Clifford Visits the Hospital
2000
60. Clifford's Opposites
2000
61. Clifford's Schoolhouse
2000
62. Clifford's Big Red Reader
2001
63. Clifford's Furry Friends
2001
64. Clifford's Happy Mother's Day
2001
65. Clifford's Puppy Fun: A Lift-the-Flap Board Book with Stickers
2001
66. Clifford's Valentines
2001
67. Clifford Runs to Story Time
2001
68. Clifford and the Bath
2002
69. Clifford's Busy Week
2002
70. Clifford Goes to Dog School
2002
71. Clifford's Neighborhood: Lots to Learn All Around Town
In July 1988, Scholastic Studios, Nelvana Limited, and Family Home Entertainment released Clifford's Fun with...,[c] an educational direct-to-video animated series. Six episodes were produced, focusing on fundamental concepts learned by young children: "The ABC Message Service" (letters), "Clifford's Birthday Surprise" (numbers), "The Scavenger Hunt" (shapes and colors), "The Rhyme Cat Rescue" (rhyming), "Clifford Goes to Hollywood" (sounds), and "The Pet Show" (opposites). Musician Brent Titcomb was the voice of Clifford, and actress Alyson Court was the voice of Emily Elizabeth.
Scholastic Media produced a 65-episode adaptation shown on PBS Kids, which aired from September 2000 to February 2003. Clifford was voiced by John Ritter, and Emily Elizabeth was voiced by Grey DeLisle. There was also a 39-episode prequel series that took place during Clifford's puppyhood, broadcast in the same period three years later, with Lara Jill Miller as the voice of young Clifford. During that time, a theatrical film was released in February 2004 and served as the series finale, as there were not any new episodes released after John Ritter's death. However, a new series was released on December 6, 2019 for Amazon Prime Video and December 7, 2019 on PBS Kids with Adam Sanders and Hannah Levinson as the new voices of Clifford and Emily Elizabeth respectively.[10][11] They are returning on CBC Kids and CBBC and TG4.
On August 1, 2014, Universal scheduled the film for a release on April 8, 2016,[15] later to be delayed and its release date given to The Boss.[16] On June 30, 2016, it was reported by Deadline Hollywood that Paramount Pictures had picked up the rights for the film and the Universal iteration cancelled. According to the report, "Forte decided to take the material in a new direction," and "Universal let the option lapse." It was further announced that Justin Malen was hired to write the screenplay.[17]
On September 25, 2017, it was announced that Walt Becker would direct the revived project, replacing Bowers.[18] The Paramount iteration, which would eventually turn into the finalized film, was produced by Scholastic Entertainment and Paramount Animation.[19]
On February 27, 2019, Paramount announced the film for a November 13, 2020 release, taking over the slot for the cancelled live-action/CGI Rugrats film.[20] The film features child actressDarby Camp as Emily Elizabeth and Jack Whitehall as a new character, Uncle Casey, in their starring roles with Tony Hale as Zac Tieran, the main villain of the film.[21][22] On August 28, 2020, the film release was pushed back to November 5, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[23] with a 20-second teaser trailer released in November that year.[24] The film was subsequently rescheduled to be released on September 17, 2021, but was again delayed due to concerns regarding the rise of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.[25] The film premiered as a part of Paramount's Upcoming Slate Presentation at CinemaCon on August 26, 2021;[26] it was later announced that the film would be released theatrically and digitally on Paramount+ on November 10, 2021.[27]
Video games
Book series (2000)
Clifford's Reading
Clifford's Thinking Games
2000s TV series
Clifford's Learning Activities (2001)
Clifford's Musical Memory Games (2002)
Clifford's Phonics (2003)
Clifford's Big Puzzle Game (Wendy's Kids' Meal DVD game)
Notes
↑ While he is often shown being about 25 feet (7.5 m) tall from paws to head, Clifford can appear far larger.
↑ Debruge, Peter (July 17, 2013). "Illumination Chief Chris Meledandri Lines Up Originals for Universal". Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2013. At the same time, Illumination has scrapped several planned movie ideas. "Waldo" and a Tim Burton-helmed, stop-motion "The Addams Family" are dead. The company abandoned a Woody Woodpecker pic, and couldn't crack "Clifford the Big Red bull."
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