Clifford's Really Big Movie

Parents need to know that Clifford's Really Big Movie is a 2004 animated movie in which Clifford leaves home to try to win a talent contest where the first prize is a lifetime supply of dog food. For younger and more sensitive viewers, scenes in which Clifford leaves home, Emily Elizabeth is shown missing Clifford, and Clifford is captured and taken away are likely to be sad, even as Clifford leaves for good reasons and has every intention of coming back to Birdwell Island. There's some peril, including a scene in which characters are in a broken-down camper that's rolling backward down a steep and narrow mountain road. Some animated pratfall violence includes a cow losing her balance on a tightrope, for instance. One joke -- in which an adult says he's going to see "a man about a dog" -- is likely to go over younger kids' heads. Overall, Clifford always cares about and helps his friends and family. One of the characters, Shackelford, acts selfish, but he learns his lesson and grows to appreciate his old and new friends, as well as the value of teamwork.