'Clifford the Big Red Dog' introduces the uncanny valley of pets

Originally published at: 'Clifford the Big Red Dog' introduces the uncanny valley of pets | Boing Boing

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That wasn’t… John Cleese… was it? Tell me it wasn’t John Cleese.

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uggghhh, I know it’s not for me but it’s so generic and formulaic… it would have been nice to see a more whimsical approach (like the Paddington movies, for example). All the Clifford source material is really kind of subdued and whimsical. This is looks to be what 1998 Godzilla was to that franchise (yes, Clifford is a kaiju)

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Wait, is this part of the Godzilla/Kong cinematic universe?

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Yeah, i’m also not the target audience but i think i might be able to give the hyper realistic dog a pass but story-wise it’s very formulaic.

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… and yet somehow less uncanny than that time they cast Martin Short as Clifford -

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It wasnt John Cleese… he took clifford for a silly walk…
I wonder if they touch on big red dog potty training? idle prying minds wanna know.

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For these kind of special effects I think a big part of it is just your hindbrain telling you that something isn’t behaving according to the laws of physics.

A ten-foot-tall animal simply can’t move like a puppy. Square-cube law and all that. You see something like that in motion and your brain isn’t going to accept it no matter how skilled the animators are.

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No T-Bone, no dice!

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I can understand why there’s so much terrified screaming in that trailer. It’s ripe for a horror re-cut.

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No, last year’s Call of the Wild did that.

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I’ve got it. If “too much love” made Clifford grow big, then they can all collectively hate Clifford to make him shrink again. The bad CG makes this an easy thing to do.
Problem solved Case closed! Bob’s your uncle. Etc, etc…

I spaced out for a second there thinking this was Marmaduke. But where’s the hook with a normal animal, eh?

It could have MAYBE worked if they went the route of the new Tom and Jerry movie and just let him be a dang cartoon. But making him realistic and yet still bright red just looks like some demon monster.

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Sure … I’ll tell you it wasn’t John Cleese, but … uh … that was John Cleese.

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I’m looking forward to the inevitable Clifford vs. Marmaduke follow-up movie

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