| Clifford | |
|---|---|
 Region 1 DVD cover for Clifford. |
|
| Directed by | Paul Flaherty |
| Produced by | Larry Brezner Pieter Jan Brugge |
| Written by | Jay Dee Rock & Bobby Von Hayes |
| Starring | Martin Short Charles Grodin Mary Steenburgen Dabney Coleman Richard Kind Jennifer Savidge Ben Savage G.D. Spradlin |
| Music by | Richard Gibbs |
| Cinematography | John A. Alonzo |
| Editing by | Tim Board Pembroke J. Herring |
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 1, 1994 (USA) |
| Running time | 90 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Gross revenue | $7,411,659 (USA) |
| IMDb profile | |
Clifford is a 1994 comedy film starring Martin Short, Charles Grodin, and Mary Steenburgen. Martin Short stars as a deceptive ten year-old boy named Clifford Daniels, whose dream is to visit Dinosaur World, a theme park located in Los Angeles, California. While flying with his mother (Theodora Daniels, played by Jennifer Savidge) and father (Julien Daniels, played by Richard Kind) on one of his father's business trips to Hawaii, Clifford purposely causes a catastrophe on board, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in California. From the airport, Julien phones his brother (Martin Daniels, played by Charles Grodin) who coincidentally resides in Los Angeles, and proposes the idea of Clifford living with Martin for the extent of the business trip. Martin complies, realizing that this would be the perfect opportunity to prove to his fiancée (Sarah Davis, played by Mary Steenburgen) how great he interacts with children, especially the nephew he hasn't seen in years. Little does Martin know that a conniving monster hides behind Clifford's innocent smile. Upon their reunion, "Uncle" Martin reveals to Clifford that he designed Larry the Scary Rex (a Dinosaur World attraction), and is able to get in to Dinosaur World free of charge. This, of course, only strengthens Clifford's desire to visit the theme park. Martin promises to take him there, but is ultimately forced to back out, due to the fact that he must finish designing new plans for the transportation system of Los Angeles. This enrages Clifford, thus beginning his path of destruction. Clifford turns Martin's life upside-down, causing his uncle's relationship to Sarah and job to be put in jeopardy, among other things. Finally, Martin breaks and loses touch with sanity, promising to finally take Clifford to Dinosaur World. However, Martin's plan is revealed that he will make Clifford ride a ride (Larry the Scary Rex) until he can no longer take it. After going through it once, Clifford seems to enjoy himself so Martin ups the speed of the ride. After the second time, Clifford plays it off slightly only to have Martin change the speed again. This time, the ride malfunctions due to going too fast and Clifford's cart crashes, leaving him dangling above the jaws of a robotic dinosaur. Martin enters the employee entrance to see Clifford holding on for dear life. Clifford cries out for Martin to save him, however Martin hesitates because he worries about what could happen in the future if he saves Clifford's life. Finally Martin relents and risks his own life to save Clifford and the two escape right before everything collapses. Clifford apologizes for his actions, however Martin at this point, is fed up with believing Clifford thus making Clifford turn his life around and becomes a priest and devotes his life to helping other dysfunctional boys. Martin ultimately forgives Clifford at his wedding to Sarah. The movie is not to be confused with Clifford's Really Big Movie, which the dog is voiced by John Ritter.
External links
- Clifford at the Internet Movie Database
