''Clifford's Puppy Days'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

that originally aired on

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Inste ...

from September 1, 2003 to February 25, 2006. The prequel to the 2000–2003 series ''

Clifford the Big Red Dog ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' is an American children's book series about the adventures of a precocious girl named Emily Elizabeth and her titular pet: a giant, red-furred dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by N ...

'', 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 continue to air, typically on holidays such as Halloween and Christmas. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

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 Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

as the voice of Norville; Winkler was nominated for 2

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

s for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his work on the series and he won in 2005.

Setting

Set two years before the events of ''

'', the series focuses on when Clifford was a tiny red puppy. Clifford was the runt in a litter of puppies born to by 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, ''

''. * 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, 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 (voiced by Grey DeLisle in the US version and

Joanna Ruiz Joanna Ruiz (born 1 February 1970) is a British voice actress who has mainly done voice acting for children's television shows. She attended the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. List of credits * Hilltop Hospital – Additional Voices ...

in the British version) is a 6-year-old owner of Clifford and Daffodil. *Nina Flores (voiced by

Masiela Lusha Masiela Lusha (; born October 23, 1985) is an Albanian-born American actress and author. She gained recognition for playing Carmen Lopez on the globally syndicated ABC sitcom ''George Lopez'', a role that earned her two consecutive Young Artis ...

) – 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 Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. Her roles include Lena St. Clair in '' The Joy Luck Club'', Julie in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', Dot in the final season of ''Grace Under Fire'', and the voices for Amy Wong in ''Futurama ...

;

Ben Small Benjamin Small is a British voice actor who has acted on animated films and television shows, including Thomas the Tank Engine and Toby the Tram Engine in the UK dub of the children's television series ''Thomas & Friends''. Career Small voice ...

in the British version) is a young Japanese-American boy. *Mr. Solomon (voiced by

Alan Oppenheimer Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s. Early life Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...

) is a writer who uses a wheelchair. Flo and Zo are his two pet kittens. In the episodes "The Big, Big Present/Hanukkah Plunder Blunder," it is revealed that he, Flo, and Zo are Jewish. *Mrs. Z (voiced by

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until h ...

) is an elderly Italian woman who was once in the circus, and owner of Trixie. *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''.

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 and the younger adoptive brother of Daffodil. *Daffodil (voiced by

Kath Soucie Kath or KATH may refer to: * Kath (city), the historical capital of Khwarezm * Kath (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * KATH-TV, the NBC TV station in Juneau, Alaska * KATH (AM), a radio station in ...

) is a

Holland Lop Holland Lop is a breed of rabbit that was recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) in 1979 and by the Netherlands' Governing Rabbit Council in 1984. The Holland Lop, with a maximum weight of (as stipulated by ARBA), is one o ...

. 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 adoptive big sister of Clifford. *Flo and Zo (voiced by LaTonya Holmes and Ogie Banks, respectively) are kittens who are brother and sister, they are owned by Mr. Solomon. In the episodes "The Big, Big Present/Hanukkah Plunder Blunder," it is revealed that they and Mr. Solomon are Jewish. *The Sidarskis are a family of mice who live in the laundromat. They have five children, Lucy, Lewis, Sophie, Sid, and a new baby. *Jorge/George (UK) (voiced by Jess Harnell; Benjamin Small in the British version) is a brown

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: " badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety o ...

whose owner is Nina. *Bebe (voiced by Jill Talley) is a

Golden Retriever The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

Seeing-eye dog, She belongs to a blind girl named Jenny. *Tricksie (voiced by

) is an elderly dog who once performed in the circus with her owner, Mrs. Z. *Norville (voiced by

; Tom Eastwood in the British version) is a bird. *Chereath (voiced by LaTonya Holmes) is a golden retriever puppy in the episode ''Your Secret Valentine''. This was her first and only appearance. *Teacup (voiced by

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has sta ...

) is a miniature, adult poodle who has spent most of her life in the pound, as shown in her only appearance,"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, which made Teacup a perfect choice for her. *Bobby (voiced by Philip Hayes) is a giant puppy of a really big breed that plays roughly. *Jack (voiced by

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...

) is a competitive puppy in a sandcastle contest, as 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 Jared Faber (also known as J-Radical) is an American musician, composer, and producer who works primarily in television and film. He composed the theme songs for '' Oobi'', '' As Told by Ginger'', '' Emily's Reasons Why Not'', and ''Suburgatory' ...

and

Emily Kapnek Emily Kapnek (born March 27, 1972) is an American television creator, writer and producer. Kapnek is best known for creating the animated program '' As Told by Ginger'' as well as the television series ''Suburgatory '' and ''Selfie''. She was a ...

(creator of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's '' As Told by Ginger'') and performed by Freedom Bremner.

References

External links

* * * * {{Former PBS Kids shows CBeebies 2000s American animated television series 2003 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings 2000s British animated television series 2003 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings American children's animated comedy television series American television series with live action and animation British children's animated comedy television series British television series with live action and animation Animated television series about children Animated television series about dogs Animated preschool education television series American prequel television series American television shows based on children's books American preschool education television series British television shows based on children's books British preschool education television series 2000s preschool education television series English-language television shows PBS Kids shows PBS original programming Television series by Splash Entertainment Television series set in 1998 Television shows set in New York City Child versions of cartoon characters Clifford the Big Red Dog