'Clifford The Big Red Dog' Trailer: That's Definitely A Big Dog, And A Terrifying One

Clifford the Big Red Dog has been a good boy since his creation in the pages of Norman Bridwell's books in 1963. Since then, he's gotten his own animated series, straight-to-video movies, video games, and plenty of merchandise. Now he's being turned into nightmare fuel in a new live-action adaptation from Paramount Pictures, and the Clifford the Big Red Dog movie trailer shows how terrifying the concept of a huge ass red dog in the real world would actually be, especially in a place like New York City.

Emily Elizabeth is a menace. Clifford isn't a massive inexplicably red dog when Emily (Darby Camp) and her uncle (Jack Whitehall) find him in a mysterious flea market tent run by John Cleese (who also appears to serve as the film's narrator). She wishes for this red puppy to be big and strong so no one can ever hurt them. And when she wakes up, she has a ginormous red dog with all the troublesome behavior traits of a puppy. No one is safe!

Seriously though, Clifford licks a pug so hard that he gulps it into his mouth and almost eats the poor pup before spitting him back out. Then Clifford attacks a dude walking around in one of those giant inflatable balls in the park, probably giving that man a concussion. If he's not careful, they're going to call a giant dogcatcher to put him in jail. That's right, it won't be a kennel, because this dog is too damn big for a pound. So he'll be going to people-sized jail, and then he'll have to join a gang to survive, and Clifford's red color won't be adorable any more as it will only serve to hide the blood of his enemies.

Anyway, here's the synopsis for Clifford the Big Red Dog, directed by Walt Becker:

When middle-schooler Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) meets a magical animal rescuer (John Cleese) who gifts her a little, red puppy, she never anticipated waking up to find 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. Based on the beloved Scholastic book character, Clifford will teach the world how to love big!

Clifford the Big Red dog trounces into theaters on September 17, 2021.