Animal-loving children should “lap up” this big-hearted live-action film based on Norman Bridwell’s hit books, said Andy Lea in the Daily Express. The story revolves around 12-year-old Emily Elizabeth Howard (Darby Camp), a misfit nicknamed “Food Stamp” by her snooty classmates at a fancy New York prep school. When she’s left in charge of her “unemployed man-child” uncle (Jack Whitehall), he takes her to an animal shelter where she falls for a small, red, “cheaply animated” CGI puppy. “How big is he gonna get?” she asks. “That depends on how much you love him,” replies the shelter manager (John Cleese). It turns out that the more Emily adores her dog, the bigger he grows – and soon Clifford is the size of an elephant, attracting the interest of an “evil biotech boss” who wants to capture the dog to harvest its “growth-spurting DNA”.
This reboot has clearly been inspired by the “peerless” Paddington films, said Leslie Felperin in The Guardian. New York’s streets are less mean than usual, and have been spruced into an “ethnically diverse yet entirely harmonious metropolitan utopia”. It lacks Paddington’s “wit and polish”, but it’s “watchable and even occasionally amusing”. The script is “decently funny”, said Tara Brady in The Irish Times, but too much plot has been jammed in. “Just let the little girl rescue her dog. That’s enough story. Thanks.” Still, Cleese adds twinkle; Whitehall entertains; and this loud, silly, over-saturated film was a hit with the “smaller viewers” I saw it with.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘Ghost students’ are stealing millions in student aidIn the Spotlight AI has enabled the scam to spread into community colleges around the country
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
NASA’s lunar rocket is surrounded by safety concernsThe Explainer The agency hopes to launch a new mission to the moon in the coming months
-
The Beckhams: the feud dividing BritainIn the Spotlight ‘Civil war’ between the Beckhams and their estranged son ‘resonates’ with families across the country
-
6 homes with incredible balconiesFeature Featuring a graceful terrace above the trees in Utah and a posh wraparound in New York City
-
The Flower Bearers: a ‘visceral depiction of violence, loss and emotional destruction’The Week Recommends Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ ‘open wound of a memoir’ is also a powerful ‘love story’ and a ‘portrait of sisterhood’
-
Steal: ‘glossy’ Amazon Prime thriller starring Sophie TurnerThe Week Recommends The Game of Thrones alumna dazzles as a ‘disillusioned twentysomething’ whose life takes a dramatic turn during a financial heist
-
Anna Ancher: Painting Light – a ‘moving’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends Dulwich Picture Gallery show celebrates the Danish artist’s ‘virtuosic handling of the shifting Nordic light’
-
H is for Hawk: Claire Foy is ‘terrific’ in tender grief dramaThe Week Recommends Moving adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s bestselling memoir
-
Our Town: Michael Sheen stars in ‘beautiful’ Thornton Wilder classicThe Week Recommends Opening show at the Welsh National Theatre promises a ‘bright’ future
-
Music reviews: Zach Bryan, Dry Cleaning, and Madison BeerFeature “With Heaven on Top,” “Secret Love,” and “Locket”
