I had planned to see this with a friends & her 6 year old daughter at the weekend, but due to christmas & her childs school having covid cases going around she decided not to, so this is going to be my only chance to see Clifford the big red dog. At at 7:50pm adult only showing of it on a monday, lets see how it goes.
So for a very long time, i thought i was going to be the only person in the cinema to see this film, i really did & then half way through the trailers while eating my white chocolate popcorn a couple turned up. & that was it. I would say they were around my age, late 20s early 30s & they left during the art work of the credits. So at least it wasnt just me.
Trailers, Sing 2 (maybe), Some girl trying to be a fire fighter whos dad wont let her so she pretends to be a bloke to do it, & Spiderman. I like that even tho it was an adult only viewing all of the adverts & trailers were still the usual kid ones. I mean i dont need to know that theres going to be a pepper pig extravaganza soon, but you know they told me.
& then the film started… & i know exactly why i needed to go & see this with my friend & her kid & not just on my own as my friends daughter would have adored it & loved every second. I see why 4 to 8 year olds love this.
Jack Whitehall is the glue of the entire film, he really is. Okay his american accent goes from one place to another from time to time & when they make him to a british accent thats funny. But he really is very good considering what he has to deal with & act with in the film, i mean after all it is a kids film. No Whitehall & its not an okay movie.
John Cleese turns up & does John Cleese for all of 5minute & 5 minutes (plus a bit of narration) i mean the man is a national treasure so he can do that, i mean no kid in the cinema is going to know who the hell he is are they, but there parents will & then can explain how much of a legend he is to them later.
That dog when it is little is so cute, its doesnt matter that hes red. When he grows he is less cute but its still sweet looking at a massive puppy. The best thing that dog does is play catch & fetch with the Zorbs, fun for the dog but not the people in the Zorbs.
It is a really young kids film, so as an adult who sits here & can analyse some films outcomes really quickly in 10mins when im not meant to, i knew exactly where we were going & what was going to happen, so as we met people along the way i took a mental note as to what they said so that when they used that or said that later on, i knew it was coming. Kids will find that hilarious tho some of the stuff they get up to.
The magic isnt really explained, if it was an adult film i would be angry but its not, its a kids film so im just a bit arghhhhh at that. Im going to let it pass just.
Kennan Thompson as a vet who isnt a very good vet (okay yes the dog is 8ft tall) but still hes not very good is he, especially when other people have been to that vets with magical creatures before.
Is it bad i was happy that the school bully was put in her place… i mean she was a kid but she deserved it, she really did. As someone who was bullied at that age by a girl like that, i felt happy she got some comeuppance. Good life lessons & morals for kids there, to quote the kingmen, manners maketh man….
The illustrations as the credits rolled were beautiful, would of been nice to have had a few more of those through out the film, not just as the sign off, maybe as a transition between scenes.
It was random & cuteness overload, but im glad i have seen it. I did like it to a certain extent (mainly Whitehall) but i think i should have taken my friend & her kids (damn covid) or waited for it on netflix in 2 years time. If you have a 4 to 8 year old take them to see this.