Clifford's Puppy Days


Clifford's Puppy Days is an American animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS Kids from September 1, 2003 to February 25, 2006. The prequel to the 2000–2003 series Clifford the Big Red Dog, it features the adventures of Clifford during his puppy days before he became a big red dog and before moving to Birdwell Island.
The series ended in February 2006 after two seasons and 39 episodes. Since then, occasional reruns continued to air, typically on holidays until April 2022.
In the United Kingdom, the series aired on CBeebies until early 2011 and like the original series, the prequel was dubbed with British voice actors, replacing the original American soundtrack.
The show featured Henry Winkler as the voice of Norville. For his role as Norville, Winkler was nominated for 2 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his work on the series, one of which he won in 2005.
WWW scholastic.com/clifford

Premise

Set two years before the events of Clifford the Big Red Dog, the series focuses on when Clifford was a tiny red puppy. Clifford was the runt in a litter of puppies born to the pet dog of Emily Elizabeth's neighbor, Mr. Bradley. He was adopted by Emily Elizabeth before he grew up into a giant red adult dog, forcing the Howard family to move out of their small apartment so Clifford would be able to live comfortably. The series shows Clifford and Emily Elizabeth's life and friends before they moved from the city to Birdwell Island.

Format

The series followed the same format as its predecessor, Clifford the Big Red Dog.
  • The opening theme is followed by one central story, which is sometimes about Clifford and his friends.
  • Storytime with Speckle – Between the first and second story, Emily Elizabeth reads Clifford a Speckle Story, a short 60-second time filler about a fictional dog and his animal friends Darnell, Reba, Ravi, and Luna.
  • This is followed by another central story, sometimes about Emily Elizabeth and her friends.
  • Clifford's Idea to Grow On – Before the credits, another 30-second short takes place called Clifford's Idea to Grow On. The short is basically an animation of an etiquette, a proverb, or basic truth such as "Play Fair", "Help Others", etc., with narration by Emily Elizabeth. This short was called Clifford's Big Idea in the previous series.
  • Live action segments with real kids and their dogs.
Like the original series, on UK airings, only one story is shown, with either the Storytime with Speckle or the Clifford's Idea to Grow On segments at the end, shortening the show to about 15 minutes.

Characters

Humans

  • Emily Elizabeth Howard is the 6-year-old owner of Clifford and Daffodil. DeLisle reprises her role from the previous series.
  • Nina Flores – is a young Mexican-American girl and the owner of Jorge.
  • Evan Thomas Taylor is a boy who looks a few years older than Emily Elizabeth.
  • Shun is a young Japanese-American boy.
  • Mr. Solomon is a writer who uses a wheelchair. Flo and Zo are his two pet kittens. He and his pet kittens are Jewish.
  • Mrs. Z is an elderly Italian woman who was once in the circus and the owner of Tricksie.
  • Jenny is a blind girl and owner of Bebe.
  • Vanessa is a girl who first appears in the first season episode Keeping Cool. She also appeared in the second season episode Celebrating Spring.
  • Caroline Howard is Emily Elizabeth's mother and the wife of Mark Howard. DeLisle reprises her role from the previous series.
  • Mark Howard is Emily Elizabeth's father and the husband of Caroline Howard. Clarke reprises his role from the previous series.

Animals

  • Clifford is a small red puppy. His owner is Emily Elizabeth Howard; he is also the younger adoptive brother of Daffodil.
  • Daffodil is a Holland Lop. In the first half of the series she was originally pink, but her fur was changed to white in the second half; she is also the older adoptive sister of Clifford.
  • Flo and Zo are brother and sister kittens owned by Mr. Solomon. They and their owner are Jewish.
  • The Sidarskis are a family of mice who live in the laundromat. They have five children: Lucy, Lewis, Sophie and Sid, and a newly-born baby boy who is unnamed.
  • Jorge /George is a brown dachshund owned by Nina.
  • Bebe is a Golden Retriever Seeing-eye dog owned by Jenny.
  • Tricksie is an elderly dog who once performed in the circus with Mrs. Z.
  • Norville is a bird who lives on his own.
  • Chereath is a golden retriever puppy in the episode Your Secret Valentine as her only appearance.
  • Teacup is an adult—albeit "miniature"—poodle who has spent most of her life in the pound, as shown in her only appearance in the episode "Adopt a Pup." She eventually gets adopted by an elderly woman who had always wanted a dog, but never had enough room in her apartment for a normal-sized one.
  • Bobby is a giant terrier puppy.
  • Jack is a competitive puppy who is featured in a sandcastle contest that he competes against Clifford and Jorge.

Episodes

Each half-hour episode was divided into 2 stories.

Opening theme

The opening theme, "Love Makes Little Things Grow", was composed by Jared Faber and Emily Kapnek and performed by Freedom Bremner.