Clifford the Big Red Dog has been entertaining children for 40 years in book form, so it was only a matter of time before Hollywood muscled in on the act. The good news for fans of Norman Bridwell's durable creation is Clifford's Really Big Movie won't tarnish their cherished memories. The bad news is that it won't forge any new ones: its calculated inoffensiveness proves as tiresomely bland as its oversized hound hero.

Newcomers to Bridwell's canon and the cartoon series it spawned should know that Clifford resides on Birdwell Island with his young owner Emily Elizabeth and his canine pals Cleo and T-Bone. As Robert Ramirez's film begins, however, he's starting to realise his huge appetite might be a drain on the family coffers. So he runs away and joins an animal circus in the hope of winning a TV talent contest that's offering a lifetime's supply of dog chow to the lucky victor.

"YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH TELL WHERE THIS IS HEADING"

It must have taken all of ten minutes to cook up that scenario, and the odd dognapping apart you can pretty much tell where this is heading. Some mild diversions are provided en route thanks to a rope-walking cow, a skateboarding dachshund and a daredevil ferret who doesn't take too kindly to Clifford stealing his thunder. ("He's not the most secure ferret in the world," remarks a colleague sympathetically.) But they're not enough to prevent you checking your watch and wondering why this garish pooch couldn't have stayed on daytime television where he belongs.