50 Fun Facts About Clifford the Big Red Dog

Which name did the author first choose for Clifford the Big Red Dog, before being talked out of it?

Tiny was his first pick for the enormous dog. The original paintings date from 1962, a year before the first book came out.

The author of Clifford the Big Red Dog borrowed the name from the imaginary childhood friend of which person?

His wife had an imaginary friend called Clifford as a child, and she persuaded him that the name suited the giant dog better.

Clifford the Big Red Dog is the official mascot of which children's publisher, known for its school book fairs?

Scholastic published the first Clifford book in 1963, after other publishers had turned its creator's artwork down, and has published him ever since.

Which Three's Company star voiced Clifford in the 2000 TV series and in Clifford's Really Big Movie?

John Ritter earned four Daytime Emmy nominations as Clifford. He died in September 2003, and the 2004 film was dedicated to his memory.

Which of Clifford's best friends in the 2000 TV series is a hyperactive purple poodle owned by Mrs. Diller?

Cleo spends most days out with Clifford rather than at home, and she strongly disliked baths until an episode devoted to changing her mind.

Which timid yellow bulldog, sensitive to loud noises, is one of Clifford's best friends in the 2000 TV series?

T-Bone belongs to the local sheriff but spends his days with Clifford, and he has a soft spot for a visiting poodle named Mimi.

In the Clifford the Big Red Dog books, what made the small red puppy grow to his giant size?

His owner's love did it: Emily Elizabeth cared for the sickly pup so much that he soon outgrew the family home.

Which American children's block, also home to Arthur, first aired the animated Clifford the Big Red Dog series in 2000?

PBS Kids aired 65 episodes up to 2003, and reruns of the show stayed on its schedule until October 2022.

Which author and illustrator created Clifford the Big Red Dog in 1963 after publishers rejected his art portfolio?

Norman Bridwell wrote the first story over a single weekend, after an editor told him his paintings would not sell without one.

Emily Elizabeth, the girl who owns Clifford the Big Red Dog, was named after which relative of the author?

His daughter is the real Emily Elizabeth, a small child when he dreamed up Clifford to help pay the family's bills.

The portfolio painting that became Clifford the Big Red Dog showed a little girl with a giant dog of which breed?

Bloodhound was the breed in the sample painting, which an editor singled out as the one picture that might hold a story.

As a boy, the creator of Clifford the Big Red Dog wished for a dog as big as which animal?

A horse was the size he had in mind, big enough to ride around on. Clifford ended up nearer the size of a house.

Before his growth spurt, Clifford the Big Red Dog held which position among the puppies in his litter?

The runt of the litter, Clifford seemed fated to stay small and sick. His mother, two brothers and two sisters are all normal-sized dogs.

Which Massachusetts island, the author's home for decades, inspired the setting of the 2000 Clifford TV series?

Martha's Vineyard was the author's home from 1969, and he had spent his honeymoon there back in 1958.

Which surname, shared with the author's in-laws, did the TV adaptations give Clifford's owner Emily Elizabeth?

Howard arrived with the 2000 TV series, which also named her parents Caroline and Mark.

One of the last two Clifford books, finished shortly before the author died in 2014, celebrates which holiday?

Hanukkah was the theme of a Clifford book scheduled for October 2015, following Clifford Goes to Kindergarten that May.

Besides Clifford the Big Red Dog, which 1965 picture book by the same author grew into a six-book series?

The Witch Next Door was thrown together the night before a meeting with his editor, yet became one of his most popular books.

In the 2000 Clifford TV series, Emily Elizabeth's family left an apartment in which city before moving to an island?

New York proved too cramped: Emily Elizabeth's mother decided a small apartment was no place for a dog of Clifford's size.

Mac, the snobby blue greyhound owned by Jetta in Clifford the Big Red Dog, has a name short for what?

Machiavelli is the full name, revealed in only a few episodes. Much like his owner, he tends to be snobby towards his friends.

Charley, a friend of Emily Elizabeth in the 2000 Clifford TV series, lives with his father in which unusual home?

A houseboat is home for Charley and his father Samuel, who runs the fish and chips restaurant down on the pier.

What sets K.C., a beagle friend of Clifford in the 2000 TV series, apart from the other dogs?

He walks on three legs and is counted among Clifford's best friends. K.C. later becomes an assistance dog for an elderly woman.

Which neighbour of Emily Elizabeth in the 2000 Clifford TV series has a strong on-and-off dislike of dogs?

Mr. Bleakman, first name Horace, complains about Clifford often, though Mrs. Bleakman was the first neighbour to introduce herself.

Between the main tales of the 2000 Clifford TV series, Emily Elizabeth reads stories about which spotted puppy?

Speckle is a yellow and brown puppy whose friends include a blue panda cub, a raccoon and a duck.

Which Good Burger star voiced the timid yellow bulldog who befriends Clifford in the 2000 TV series?

Kel Mitchell, a Nickelodeon regular through the 1990s, reprised the role in the 2004 feature film.

Which voice actress, also Daphne in Scooby-Doo, played Emily Elizabeth in the 2000 Clifford the Big Red Dog series?

Grey DeLisle also voiced Emily Elizabeth's mother, and returned for the prequel series and the 2004 film.

Which A Different World actress voiced the purple poodle who is Clifford's friend in the 2000 TV series?

Cree Summer played both the poodle and the poodle's owner, Mrs. Diller, and came back for the 2004 film.

Which Malcolm in the Middle star voiced a Chihuahua sharing his first name in the 2000 Clifford TV series?

Frankie Muniz played Frankie the Chihuahua while his sitcom was on air, one of several celebrity guest voices on the show.

Which Happy Days star won a Daytime Emmy for voicing Norville the bird in Clifford's Puppy Days?

Henry Winkler was nominated twice for the role and won in 2005, playing a bird who lives all on his own.

In Clifford's Puppy Days, what is the name of Emily Elizabeth's pet rabbit, treated as the puppy's big sister?

Daffodil is a Holland Lop whose fur changed mid-series, from pink in the first half to white in the second.

In Clifford's Puppy Days, the puppy's friend Jorge, owned by a girl named Nina, is which breed of dog?

Dachshund Jorge was renamed George for British viewers, when the series was redubbed with UK voice actors.

Which Charlie's Angels star voiced Teacup, a miniature poodle living in the pound, in Clifford's Puppy Days?

Lucy Liu's Teacup is finally adopted by an elderly woman whose apartment never had room for a normal-sized dog.

In Clifford's Really Big Movie, Clifford joins a travelling animal act hoping to win which prize for his family?

A lifetime supply of dog food is the goal, because Clifford overhears a chat and wrongly decides that feeding him costs too much.

Shackelford, the jealous high-flying star of the animal act in Clifford's Really Big Movie, is which kind of animal?

A ferret with a blue coat, Shackelford fears that Clifford has replaced him, then helps break him out of a cage.

Which Roseanne star voices George Wolfsbottom, the tycoon who seizes Clifford in Clifford's Really Big Movie?

John Goodman's tycoon tricks the ringmaster into signing Clifford away, as a present for his spoiled little girl.

In the 2019 Clifford reboot, what can Clifford do with Emily Elizabeth that the 2000 TV series never allowed?

Speak to her is what he does, but only when the two are alone, something not seen since the 1988 videocassette episodes.

Which streaming service released the 2019 Clifford the Big Red Dog reboot a day before it reached American television?

Prime Video released the first seven episodes on December 6, 2019, and the reboot reached broadcast television the next day.

Which fear does Dorothy the cow overcome with Clifford's help in Clifford's Really Big Movie?

Heights terrify Dorothy, billed as the High Wire Heifer, until Clifford helps her conquer her acrophobia and improve the act.

Which Monty Python star plays the magical animal rescuer who gives Emily the red puppy in the 2021 Clifford film?

John Cleese's rescuer is named after the books' author, and promises the puppy will grow according to how much he is cherished.

Which British comedian plays Casey, the uncle left in charge of Emily, in the 2021 Clifford the Big Red Dog film?

Jack Whitehall plays the uncle as an American, and his character ends the film taking a job with the books' real-life publisher.

Which Arrested Development and Veep actor plays Zac Tieran, the tech boss hunting Clifford in the 2021 film?

Tony Hale's villain runs a genetics company called Lyfegro and falsely tells police that he engineered the giant dog himself.

In the 2021 Clifford the Big Red Dog film, Clifford is nearly shipped to an animal sanctuary in which country?

China is the destination: a tugboat carries Clifford toward a freighter bound for Shanghai, where a friend's father owns the sanctuary.

Which long-serving Saturday Night Live cast member plays Clifford's veterinarian in the 2021 live-action film?

Kenan Thompson already had Clifford history: he voiced a character called Hamburger in the 2000 animated series.

The 2021 Clifford the Big Red Dog film opened in cinemas and on which streaming service on the same day?

Paramount+ carried the film from November 10, 2021, a year later than first planned after the pandemic delayed its release.

In the 2021 Clifford the Big Red Dog film, where does Emily find the red puppy after coming home from school?

In her backpack is where he turns up, after her uncle had refused the adoption. By the next morning he is enormous.

The original TV voice of Clifford the Big Red Dog was starring in which ABC sitcom when he died in 2003?

8 Simple Rules had put him back on evening television, and he recorded his last Clifford lines during a hiatus from the sitcom.

Which pop singer performed Room for You, the song released for the 2021 Clifford the Big Red Dog film?

Madison Beer released the song five days before the film opened, alongside a score by composer John Debney.

Which former Gimme a Break! child star voiced the young Clifford in the prequel series Clifford's Puppy Days?

Lara Jill Miller voiced the small red puppy across both seasons, and went on to play Juniper Lee and Lisa Loud.

Which comedian, later the host of Let's Make a Deal, voices jealous Shackelford in Clifford's Really Big Movie?

Wayne Brady's character starts as a rival and ends as a rescuer, apologising for his jealousy as he frees Clifford.

An editor at which publishing house told Clifford's creator to write a story for his painting, but never published it?

Harper & Row editor Susan Hirschman thought his art would not sell on its own, so he wrote the tale and took it elsewhere.

Which In Living Color star plays Mr. Packard, the building superintendent, in the 2021 Clifford the Big Red Dog film?

David Alan Grier's superintendent evicts the family, then relents and takes Clifford on as his assistant.