Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Birdwell Island

Having a 2-year old means you get exposed to television programming that adults (generally luckily) do not normally have to view.

Don't get me wrong, some of the shows are enjoyable enough in 20-30 min daily doses.

But, suspension of disbelief becomes a problem. Case in point? Clifford the Big Red Dog.

  • The show's basic premise is that the love of Emily Elizabeth made Clifford grow large. Now, this in itself isn't really the problem. But what kind of image does this present to your child when the family pet doesn't grow to house wrecking proportions? And what about Clifford's friends on the island? T-Bone and Cleo aren't that large, does this mean that their owners do not love them?
  • What do Emily Elizabeth's parents do to support this enormous dog? They obviously had enough money to just pick up and move from 'the city' to Birdwell Island, where they were able to purchase a house with a 'doghouse' (read as barn). I'm not sure what enterprise they are in, but I'm pretty certain I want in.
  • Birdwell Island, itself, is an interesting piece of work. In one episode Clifford went digging for bones and just happened to find one large enough for him. Either the island is an archeolgists dream or the world they live in is populated with giant monstrosities.
  • I understand the themes of acceptance (K.C the three legged dog & Mac the dog that we all wonder why *anyone* would hang around with), but perhaps the more impressive fact is that the entire community is accepting of a giant 15' red dog!
  • Dog waste. Seriously. Why don't we ever see Emily Elizabeth with a bulldozer moving his giant size poo?
Still, I believe that Clifford could quite possibly be the greatest dog in the whole-wide world. You're a lucky girl Emily Elizabeth!

No comments:

Post a Comment