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 Originally
published in 1962 by Norman Bridwell, Clifford the Big Red Dog gets animated
thanks to Scholastic, who adapted Clifford for PBS Kids beginning in 2000.
Doghouse Adventures collects nine episodes that follow Clifford and his
friends Cleo, T-Bone & Mac and their various adventures on Birdwell Island.
Included on the disc are:
• Clifford Cleans His Room - As Clifford is cleaning his
room, he reminisces about how he obtained items like Mr. Bleakman's boots,
Emily's mom's mop and a towel that he and the gang found at the beach.
• Doggie Garden - Clifford, Cleo and T-Bone do their part to
keep Birdwell Island beautiful by planting their very own garden.
• Screaming
for Ice Cream - On a hot day during the summer, Emily Elizabeth and her
friend Charlie get into trouble with his dad's ice cream machine.
Thankfully, Clifford, Cleo and T-Bone are more than willing to help out.
• Jetta's Project - This one doesn't feature Clifford and his
gang as much as the other 'toons. Instead, the story revolves around Jetta
getting Charlie to work with her instead of Emily Elizabeth.
• Then
Came Bob - Clifford has to deal with a mischievous new friend named Bob,
who always seems to be getting in trouble, with Clifford getting the blame.
• Clothes Don't Make the Dog -
 After
Mac makes some derogatory comments on his new sweater, T-Bone spends the
entire cartoon hiding from his owner for fear of hurting his feelings for
not wearing the sweater. Little does he know that
• Limelight Fright -
Though she's a good dance, Cleo stresses over having to dance in front of an
audience during a talent show put on by Emily Elizabeth and her friends. With
her friends' support, she finds it isn't as scary as she thinks.
• Clifford's
Cookie Craving - The carnival hits Birdwell and Clifford, Cleo and
T-Bone decide to clean up since "if it drops on the ground or it's headed
that way, it belongs to the dogs and that's okay!". However, Clifford soon
becomes enamored with Mr. Bleakman's giant cookie since it's as big as he
is.
• Guess Who's Coming to Birdwell - Despite T-Bone's
assertion that they should be themselves, Clifford and the gang decide to
spruce up their appearances to look "special" to impress Oscar, a "Best In
Show" champion visiting Birdwell Island. Once Oscar hits the island, it
turns out that T-Bone was right all along - it pays to be yourself.
Video: Clifford the Big Red Dog's Doghouse Adventures is presented
in a full-frame 1.33:1 ratio. The picture is very sharp and colorful with deep
reds and lovely pastels. I didn't notice any artifacts or grain. Plain and
simple, this disc looks fantastic - as well it should.
Audio: We have two audio options - English and Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital.
Both were crystal clear and serviceable, with the majority of the sound coming
out of my center channel.
Big Fun Features: Broken down in to three categories, viewers can choose
from:
• Where Did Clifford Hide It? - An unremarkable "game" where
children read the screen and attempt to locate the item mentioned. Pretty
useless.
• Speckle Stories - Emily Elizabeth reads
Clifford some stories about Speckle - "Speckle and the Magnificent Magnified
World", "Speckle and the Great Story" and "Speckle and the Indoor Picnic" -
that each run about a minute and a half long.
• Trailer Gallery
- Nothing more than trailers for "Happily N'ever After", "the Last Unicorn",
"Miss Spider: the Prince, the Princess And the Bee" and "Rock & Bop/Dance &
Hop With the Doodlebops"
 In
addition to a Gallery and a "Where Did Clifford Hide It?" "game", there are
three Speckle stories - "Speckle and the Magnificent Magnified World", "Speckle
and the Great Story" and "Speckle and the Indoor Picnic" - that each run about a
minute and a half long.
Conclusion: Clifford the Big Red Dog's Doghouse Adventures is a
Highly Recommended disc for youngsters of all ages. It's not as frenetic or
"aggressive" as something like Lazy Town or some of the other
contemporary shows for kids, and they don't hammer kids over the head with an
"overt" message. Scholastic also deserves props for putting nine episodes (or
almost two hours of content) on this disc - far too many children's DVDs today
only slap on 3 or 4 episodes, in an effort to force parents to purchase other
collections. In the end, you and your children will enjoy the leisurely pace of
Doghouse Adventures. I know my family did. |
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