Clifford's Really Big Movie **

I know, I know. It's a kid's movie. It's about cute, animated talking animals, and is designed to sell toys, or if it's really ambitious, maybe a book or two. Still, would it kill Scholastic Books, who makes a killing on Norman Bridwell's durable book character every year, to make a film that adults could watch without squirming?

As "Clifford's Really Big Movie" opens, the oversized pooch (voiced by the late John Ritter) overhears a neighbor commenting on his tremendous food intake. After all, Clifford IS the size of an average house. The pooch wants to contribute, so Clifford and his two pals, T-Bone and Cleo decide to join a traveling carnival act consisting of misfit and abandoned animals who are trying to enter a contest to win a lifetime supply of their favorite dog food. Why a ferret and a cow, also in the group, have any interest in dog food is never really explained.

The animation isn't up to the par of the usual Disney fare, but is passable enough for tykes used to Clifford's weekday afternoon program. The voice work from Ritter, Jenna Elfman, Judge Reinhold and others is above board. However the cloying music and pedestrian storyline offers no surprises. The film has none of the bite of films like "Shrek," "Toy Story," and frankly "Rocky and Bullwinkle."

The film is dedicated to the memory of John Ritter, and the acknowledgment here serves to remind me how much we still miss the actor who died all too young. In fact I'm sure that, up until the very end, there was a child inside John that would have loved a movie just like this, with all of its faults.

Essentially, what we have here is a big-screen by-the-numbers babysitter. Children (such as mine) will be charmed, and the adults won't be offended. They might want to bring a book and a mag-lite, however.