A purple dinosaur by any other name, this animated PBS staple is given a big screen live action/CGI makeover to mixed results. Darby Camp (Benji, The Christmas Chronicles 1 & 2) stars as the easily teased transplant who earns her classmates respect not so much for being the person she is, but that her popularity soared the day she came into possession of the titular four-legged freak. A wag of his tail is enough to clear a desk, a sneeze hits with galewind force. Bodily functions abound. Anyone within a one block radius had best be carrying an umbrella when Clifford pulls up a tree. John Cleese assumes the Keye Luke role; rather than hawking Gremlins, Cleese’s oddity emporium stocks big red computer generated puppies. Magic is all around us, except when it comes to scale and proportion; Clifford's size has a way of changing from shot to shot. Spongy and flavorless, like a giant slab of red velvet cake without the icing, this is bound to appeal to fans of the show, the average age of which is five. (2021) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.