Clifford's Puppy Days

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 (who appeared in an episode of the previous cartoon series, "Little Clifford"). 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 (approximately) time filler about a fictional dog (Speckle) and his animal friends Darnell (a duck), Reba (a rabbit), Ravi (a panda), and Luna (a racoon).
• 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 (voiced by Grey DeLisle in the US version and Joanna Ruiz in the British version) is the 6-year-old owner of Clifford and Daffodil. DeLisle reprises her role from the previous series.
• Nina Flores (voiced by Masiela Lusha in the US version and Julie-Ann Dean in the British version) – is a young Mexican-American girl and the owner of Jorge.
• Evan Thomas Taylor (voiced by Orlando Brown) is a boy who looks a few years older than Emily Elizabeth.
• Shun (voiced by Lauren Tom in the US version and Ben Small in the British version) is a young Japanese-American boy.
• Mr. Solomon (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) is a writer who uses a wheelchair. Flo and Zo are his two pet kittens. He and his pet kittens are Jewish.
• Mrs. Z (voiced by Russi Taylor) is an elderly Italian woman who was once in the circus and the owner of Tricksie.
• Jenny (voiced by Dionne Quan) is a blind girl and owner of Bebe.
• Vanessa (voiced by LaTonya Holmes) 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 (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is Emily Elizabeth's mother and the wife of Mark Howard. DeLisle reprises her role from the previous series.
• Mark Howard (voiced by Cam Clarke) is Emily Elizabeth's father and the husband of Caroline Howard. Clarke reprises his role from the previous series.

Animals

• Clifford (voiced by Lara Jill Miller in the US version and Lizzie Waterworth in the British version) is a small red puppy. His owner is Emily Elizabeth Howard; he is also the younger adoptive brother of Daffodil.
• Daffodil (voiced by Kath Soucie) 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 (voiced by LaTonya Holmes) and Zo (voiced by Ogie Banks) 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 (US)/George (UK) (voiced by Jess Harnell in the US version and Benjamin Small in the British version) is a brown dachshund owned by Nina.
• Bebe (voiced by Jill Talley) is a Golden Retriever Seeing-eye dog owned by Jenny.
• Tricksie (voiced by Russi Taylor) is an elderly dog who once performed in the circus with Mrs. Z.
• Norville (voiced by Henry Winkler in the US version and Tom Eastwood in the British version) is a bird who lives on his own.
• Chereath (voiced by LaTonya Holmes) is a golden retriever puppy in the episode Your Secret Valentine as her only appearance.
• Teacup (voiced by Lucy Liu) 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 (voiced by Philip Hayes) is a giant terrier puppy.
• Jack (voiced by Tara Strong) 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.

Season 1 (2003–2005)

Specials (2004–2005)

Season 2 (2005–2006)

Opening theme

The opening theme, "Love Makes Little Things Grow", was composed by Jared Faber and Emily Kapnek (creator of Nickelodeon's As Told by Ginger) and performed by Freedom Bremner.

References

References

1. (12 July 2003). "Award-Winning PBS KIDS® Launches New Programming This Fall 2003". Public Broadcasting Service.
2. "Clifford's Puppy Days Volume 3". Amazon.com.
3. (2005). "Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003". McFarland & Co.
4. (2018). "The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows". Rowman & Littlefield.
5. "Clifford's Puppy Days Episodes".
6. (July 2024). "Clifford's Valentine's Day Special: Smooches & Pooches".
7. "Clifford's Puppy Days™ Theme Song". PBS Kids.