UPDATE: Deadline has reported that Clifford was pulled from the release schedule due to Delta Variant COVID-19 concerns.
Clifford the Big Red Dog has been removed from release schedules and a lot of fans are shocked by the news. Paramount Pictures has pivoted from the planned September 17th date and now the family movie is in limbo. People should take heart in the fact that the film is already finished. But, without another date to look toward, who knows if Clifford will see his day on the big screen in 2021. Next month, the film is supposed to appear at the Toronto Film Festival’s Gala Presentation. Also of note in all of this is the fact that the first full trailer for Clifford was widely discussed on social media. As with most animated children’s movies, there was a lot of conversation about the big red dog’s design and how it matched up with audience expectations. Some fans wonder if that has anything to do with this silence. Another batch of speculation looks toward the Delta Variant of the coronavirus and the future prospects of theaters. All of this is a fluid situation.
Some would wonder if Clifford still serves as the kind of big draw that a studio would be looking for. Well, Amazon Prime and PBS Kids have joined Paramount+ in their estimation that the big red dog is something kids still love to see.
“There is something enduring in Clifford’s gentle, loyal spirit that touches fans even after they become adults,” series executive producer Iole Lucchese told fans in a previously released statement. “We see it in tributes on social media and in fan art, and of course, in every parent who grew up with Clifford and now shares their love of him with their preschoolers.”
Paramount dropped a description of Clifford’s big adventure.
“In Clifford The Big Red Dog, Emily (Big Little Lies’ Darby Camp) struggles to fit in both at home and at school, but that all changes when she meets a magical animal rescuer (John Cleese) who gifts her a little red puppy – a puppy that she never anticipated waking up to find turned into a giant ten-foot hound in her small New York City apartment. While her single mom (Sienna Guillory) is away for business, Emily and her fun but impulsive uncle Casey (Jack Whitehall) set out on an adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat as our heroes take a bite out of the Big Apple. David Alan Grier stars in the film and other cast members include Izaac Wang, Paul Rodriguez, Tony Hale, Russell Peters, Kenan Thompson, and Rosie Perez.”
Are you bummed about Clifford the Big Red Dog? Let us know down in the comments!
