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Clifford and Company Read-Along

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Here is yet another read-along of another nearly forgotten Disney animated classic, which I was going to do a spoof of as well, and this one was actually one of those that almost seemed fanmake-worthy.

Here is the cast:
Oliver: Clifford the Small Red Puppy (his Puppy Days counterpart)
Dodger: Shackleford (Clifford's Really Big Movie)
Rita: Dorothy (Clifford's Really Big Movie; since she and Rita were both the only girls of their rag-tag groups)
Einstein - T-Bone and KC (both from the Clifford show)
Francis - Mac (Clifford the Big Red Dog)
Tito - Rodrigo and Dirk (Clifford's Really Big Movie)
Fagin - Larry Gablegobble (Clifford's Really Big Movie)
Jenny - Emily Elizabeth
Winston - Mr. Bleakman
Georgette - Cleo (Clifford the Big Red Dog; but not as vain as Georgette)
Sykes - Rourke (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
Old Louie - the hot dog vendor from Inspector Gadget's Greatest Caper Ever
Roscoe and Desoto - Sombra (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic; as an ordinary vicious horse without any magic, wings or horns) and Nuka (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride)

Well, I got this done five months before the actual film turns 30th, and it's a good way to show tribute, I think. I don't own the characters or the movie this summarization is based on. Enjoy.

-

"ToonFanJoe Presents"

"A read-along spoof summarization of..."

"Clifford and Company"

"Based on the Disney film 'Oliver & Company', which is loosely based on 'Oliver Twist' by Charles Dickens"

---

In New York City, a small red puppy named Clifford, was lost in the streets. You see, he was the only puppy of his fellow puppies not to be adopted. Left alone in the rain in a cardboard box without anyone bothering to adopt him, he escaped and lived on the streets.

One morning in August 2012, Clifford came across a hot dog cart, and was starving for one of them, but the grouchy hot dog vendor refused to give any to him. Then, a blue ferret named Shackleford appeared. Clifford jumped back, worrying that this ferret was a predator, but he assured the little red puppy, "Take it easy, kid. This ferret's diet doesn't include small puppies. I wouldn't hurt anything small, save a bug, but that's entirely different. I've been watching you, and I think you could do with some personal guidance. What do you say we team up and get us some of those hot dogs?" Clifford nodded eagerly.

The ferret moved in rhythm to a car horn. "You see, kid, the city's got a beat. Once you hook into it, you can do anything. Can you feel it?"

The red puppy felt the vibration of a jackhammer, and he said, "Yeah, I do feel it! When do we get the hot dogs?"

"Just wait a sec."

The ferret then took a can of shaving cream he saw lying around the street, and sprayed the cream around his mouth, making him look rabid, and then he began snarling, scaring Clifford as he scrambled up the hot dog vendor's chest. In the confusion, Shackleford wiped the cream off of his face, grabbed a string of hot dogs and took off. Clifford managed to evaid the man, who surprisingly wasn't surprised to alert anyone about sightings of a rabid ferret.

Clifford asked, "So when do we eat?"

But the ferret just ran off with the sausages, and the angry, betrayed red puppy chased after him throughout the city.

That evening, in an old barge across the town, a group of misfit animals exchanged what they had found that day. A three-legged dog named KC showed a slingshot with the rubber band snapped. He thought he could get it fixed up. A chubby yellow bulldog named T-Bone then proudly showed a tennis racket to his colleagues, saying, "Hi, guys, look what I found."

The others thought that wasn't of any use because there was no court or net around. A dachshund named Dirk scoffed, "You call that loot, bro? Check out this designer wallet I found."

A greyhound named Mac, always being called Max by Dirk, to his annoyance, looked up from the TV set he was watching Macbeth on. He said sarcastically, "Ooh, shredded lever."

Then, a cow named Dorothy, who Shackleford had somewhat of a liking for, strutted up to the greyhound, asking, "So, Mac, have you got the food today? It was your turn to get it."

"Well...no..." Mac said, hanging his head sheepishly.

A chihuahua named Rodrigo muttered in annoyance, "Guess it's newspaper burritos for us...again!"

Just then, the door opened, and in meandered Shackleford with the sausages, saying, "Chill out, Shack fans! I brouhgt you your dinner. Hot dogs a la cart!"

He tossed the sausage chain in, with the animals' hunger satisfied. Dorothy was normally a vegetarian, but at how things were going, she could eat anything, even a horse. She asked, "How'd you do it, Shackleford?"

The blue ferret explained, "Picture the city, Eighth and Broadway, the traffic roaring and the hot dogs sizzling. Enter Shackleford, one bad ferret, community-minded, and then, enter the opposition, a psychotic red monster with sharp built-in claws and dripping fangs. He comes at me with black burning yes, and suddenly--" There came a crash through the ceiling, and something came hurtling to the floor.

Rodrigo raced in circles, yelling, "Gang war! Gang war!"

"Take cover!" Mac yelled.

The object climbed out of the laundry pile it crashed into and it turned out to be Clifford, who had followed Shackleford all the way down there and had been watching the animals via a hole in the ceiling. They did not just intruding animals.

The little red puppy apologized, "I-I'm sorry for intruding. I just followed this blue ferret, and wanted the sausages that I helped him get, because half of them were rightfully mine and he refused to share."

Hearing 'blue ferret', the gang laughed at Shackleford's exaggerated story, and Dorothy assured the puppy there was nothing to worry about.

KC laughed, "So that's your red monster with the built-in claws?"

Mac smirked, "And blood-dripping fangs?"

Dorothy said with a smile, "I kind of like those burning black eyes." This made Clifford blush a bit.

"Hey, Shack, let's see this big bad pup fighter in action!" teased Dirk. Shackleford, annoyed with the teasing, tackled Dirk.

T-Bone grinned and jumped in, shouting, "All right, a dog pile!"

The other male animals joined in on the dog pile, with Dorothy disgusted with the males' immaturity, until Rodrigo was thrown at her, forcing her to join in on the brawl. Then, a man named Larry Gablegobble came in, forcing Clifford to dive for cover in a box. Larry snapped, "Guys, break it up, will ya? Rourke will be here any minute and he'll kill me if I don't pay him back! Oh, why, why did I borrow money from that maniac?! Okay, gang, what's today's loot?" He dug through the loot box, finding the shredded wallet first, to his sorrow, because he knew it was worthless. Then he found Clifford. "Huh? A red puppy? How am I gonna pay Rourke with that? Unless he likes rarely-colored animals, but I highly doubt that."

At that moment, Rourke, the loan shark Larry borrowed money from, pulled up in a black limousine with a snarling horse named Sombra and scrawny yet gnashing lion named Nuka going down to the boat room to "mingle" with Larry's animals.

When Larry went outside to speak with Rourke, the loan shark threatened, "You know I lent you money, Gablegobble, and I don't see it. When I don't see my money, people like you get hurt! I'm giving you three days to pay me back...or else!"

With the animals, Sombra told how much of miserable scum they were, while flirting with Dorothy, puzzled at why she'd rather hang in a ramsack old barge than live uptown with him. Mac insulted the horse, which got him mad enough to destroy their TV. Then Nuka found Clifford and his eyes glinted, wanting to eat the red puppy, but he bit the lion's nose. The lion and horse wanted to eliminate poor Clifford but Shackleford and his gang protected him. Then the two evil animals left when hearing Rourke call their names.

Shackleford was proud of Clifford for attacking Nuka as he said, "What did I tell you guys? Ol' Shack can really pick 'em."

Larry staggered back into the barge and collapsed in a chair, lamenting, "Three days. I'll never get the money back in that time!" Dorothy nuzzled Larry's chin, KC went to get a pillow, Mac went to get some slippers and T-Bone brought a book about a dog who could stand on two legs and had forest animal friends. Larry said, "All right, I'll read, but only one chapter. Once there was a dog named Speckle..."

Clifford sighed as he snuggled up to Shackleford and Dorothy, almost like a kid would cuddle up against their parents, and fell asleep. The next day, Larry loaded the gang onto the back of his motor scooter and drove downtown, and he said to Shackleford, "Shack, I want you to keep an eye on that little red guy, show him the ropes, and above all, I want you guys to keep one thing in mind: dead men don't feed animals! So remember, we have to find some money or we're done for."

So the animals got out, with the ferret leader ready for action, and they went to out to look for some means of getting them cash. Shackleford said, "All right, team, it's time we try a 'chauffeur shuffle'. See that limo coming 'round the corner? Here's the plan: KC, give me a fender bender. Mac, you give the old 'I got hit' routine. Dirk, you handle electronics. Kid, you stick with Dirk and try to help."

Inside the limo, a little girl named Emily Elizabeth Howard was reading a letter from her parents who were away. She turned to the chauffer, saying, "Mr. Bleakman, I don't think they'll make it home for my birthday."

As the limo turned around the corner, KC lept out and banged in to its side, before he dizzily walked away and Mac came, lying on the ground in fake pain, pretending to have been hit. Mr. Bleakman cried, "Oh, what have I done?"

Meanwhile, Dirk scrambled into the passenger's side of the car, with Clifford following. He said, "Come on, kid. You can be the look-out." The dachshund then began chewing on the radio wires.

Of course, Clifford accidentally bumped the key and started the car, electrocuting Dirk and sending him flying out of the car, still alive, but the other animals, except Clifford, fled. Emily Elizabeth found Clifford and picked him up. She said to him, "Don't worry, little puppy. Come here. I'll bring you home with me."

Mr. Bleakman got right back into the limo, and they pulled away. The group found out Clifford was still in the car, and Shackleford, Dirk and Rodrigo went to seek the car's owner's address.

The car pulled up to a park avenue penthouse, and Emily Elizabeth had taken the little red puppy to her heart, but Mr. Bleakman was worried the poodle living there, Cleo, would throw a fit. Inside, Emily Elizabeth cooked a little homemade breakfast for Clifford.

She said to him, "You must be starved. Here, you can use Cleo's bowl." She poured the food into a gold bowl, and when she left to answer a call from her parents, a fluffy purple poodle came into the room, and was surprised to see a puppy. She was worried that he would replace her.

She said to him, "Excuse me, kid, do you know out of whose bowl your eating?"

The pup gulped, "Yours?"

"Yes, everything in Emily Elizabeth's house from the doorknobs down is mine. So don't get any ideas that..."

However, she was interrupted when Emily Elizabeth came back in the room, saying, "Oh, Cleo, I see you've met our new little resident. Guess what? My parents said I can keep him! I feel you two are going to be the best of friends." Cleo gave an uneasy smile.

Shackleford, Dirk and Rodrigo came back to the group, telling them that they found Clifford in the penthouse Emily Elizabeth lived in, worried he was being held hostage and planned a rescue the next time the owners left.

Emily Elizabeth then took Clifford to a fancy jewelry shop, where she picked out a gold pendant, which was engraved with the puppy's name, which Emily Elizabeth had given to him, Clifford, and his new address, 1125 Fifth Avenue. That afternoon, Clifford watched Emily Elizabeth practice her piano and they even went to Toonral Park. He felt like someone's true friend.

The next day, while Emily Elizabeth went to school, the gang, after distracting Mr. Bleakman, crept in the house, admiring the interior, before going up to Emily Elizabeth's room. Cleo was frightened at these intruders invading her home at first, before standing guard to defend her belongings, but they told her they were looking for the red puppy, and since she was still jealous of him, she gladly led him to the bedroom.

When Dorothy noticed how peaceful Clifford looked, asleep on Emily Elizabeth's bed, she and the group had second thoughts, but Cleo lied that he was miserable ever since he was brought here. So she picked him up and stuffed him inside a pillowcase, instructing to use the fire escape, and they took him back to the barge.

When they let Clifford out of the bag, he looked up sadly at Shackleford, saying, "I was really happy there. Why did you guys take me away?"

Shackleford said, feeling like the dog was ungrateful, "We rescued you. What, is this place not good enough for you anymore? You don't wanna mix with the riff raff?"

"No, I like all of you in the gang, but there was this little girl, and...Shackleford, I just have to go back!"

"Oh, you wanna leave? Fine! No one's stopping you!"

Just then, Larry walked through the door and picked up the puppy, saying to him, "Hey, little red. I only got a couple hours left. How can I ever pay off Rourke?" He then noticed Clifford's gold tag. "Fifth Avenue, so that's where you've been. Your owner's probably worried sick about you, all alone in his big house with only his millions of dollars." He then got an idea that might save him as he grabbed a pen and paper, and said as he wrote down, "Dear Mr. Rich...Dear Mr. Very Rich Dog Owner..."

When Emily Elizabeth recieved Larry's ransom note and map, she didn't waste time at all. She said to her, "Come on, Cleo! We have to go rescue Clifford!" Although the poodle felt guilty for what she did to Clifford, she felt reluctant about going to the dimly lit streets at the edge of Toon York.

When visiting Rourke, Larry brought Clifford in, but Rourke had his pets attack Shackleford severley, and Larry frantically explained that Clifford's rich owner would be coming with ransom money. So Rourke called off Sombra and Nuka, leaving the ferret injured, to Larry's horror. Rourke was proud at Larry for stooping low to kidnapping and gave him twelve hours to get the money from Clifford's owners, and he said darkly, "Remember, Gablegobble, this is your last chance."

Soon, Emily Elizabeth and Cleo came to the pier and saw Larry and said, "Excuse me, sir. I'm lost. You see, I came to find my red puppy."

"Your red puppy?" He asked in shock. Where was Clifford's owner?

"Yes. You see, someone stole him, and I brought my piggy bank to get him back. It's all I have unfortunately."

Larry's plan had failed, and to make matters worse, the girl, worried about her puppy, began to cry, and the guilt-ridden Larry took Clifford out of his pocket, saying, "Look, I found a little lost puppy! I don't know, take a look, maybe he's yours."

"Clifford!" Emily said, happy to see her puppy again as she hugged him. Even Cleo started feeling touched by this.

At that moment, a car came zooming towards them. It was driven by Rourke, determined to get money no matter what! He zoomed past, opened the door and drove off. He said, "Don't be afraid, little girl. Your parents will pay plenty to get you back."

Clifford watched the car speed away, saying, "They took Emily Elizabeth!" So, Shackleford and his gang were already off and running, with the ferret saying, "Don't worry, kid. We'll get her back, since she really matters that much to you!"

Clifford, Cleo, and the gang followed Rourke to his warehouse, where they crouched outside the door, seeing Emily Elizabeth tied to a chair inside an office, while Rourke looked on, calling Mr. Bleakman. When he left after getting distracted by some of the animals disguising themselves as a pizza delivery man, Shackleford told Mac, "You go in first and keep an eye on the monitors, make sure the coast is clear!"

A moment later, Shackleford and the others slipped inside Rourke's office. Clifford jumped into Emily Elizabeth's lap with the girl choking up, "Oh, Clifford."

They untied her and both Rodrigo and Dirk rigged some controls to carry the chair and Emily, with all animals hitching a ride, out of the room, but Rourke, finding out, quickly grabbed an axe, chopping the wires. As a result, the group were sent falling to a slide and slid down where Rourke, Sombra and Nuka were waiting.

Rourke said evilly, "Well, this has all been very entertaining, but the party's over."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a sputtering motor. Larry crashed through the windows on his scooter and told everyone, "Come on, gang! Onto the scooter!" He gunned the engine and raced past the startled Rourke. However, he was not beaten yet! He and his pets got into the limo and started pursuing after our heroes, speeding after them like mad. He was even crazy enough to follow them in the subway.

"Watch your heads, gang. We'll be going for a little ride in the subway!" Larry said to everyone.

The scared ones watched in horror as Larry clattered down the station entrance and onto the subway tracks, but Rourke was insane enough to pursue them on the tracks, even by shredding his tires and creating electric bolts. The limo collided with the scooter, knocking Emily Elizabeth onto the hood, and both Clifford and Shackleford leaped onto the hood to help out. Sombra tried killing the ferret, but suddenly slipped off the back of the limo and was electrocuted to death.

Nuka tried avenging his partner and finishing his job of finishing Shackleford, but Clifford blinded him, forcing the lion to fall off the back and get electrocuted to death as well. Clifford would have had the same fate if Shackleford didn't catch him in time. The scooter and car emerged onto the Tooklyn Bridge. Emily Elizabeth held onto the hood ornament of Rourke's car, as she held out her arm and cried, "There's a train coming right at us! Mr. Gablegobble, help!"

Larry leaned backward, and with a tremendous yank, pulled Emily Elizabeth back onto the scooter. At the same instant, with the train just inches away, he swerved and drove up the bridge railing! The furious Rourke pulled the attacking Clifford and Shackleford off of him, and the loan shark was horror-struck to see he was heading for the oncoming train, too late to escape, and the train destroyed the car with Rourke in it. The loan shark was gone for good!

The gang rolled back down and parked the scooter safely, seeing a water-logged Shackleford come back, carrying a limp, lifeless Clifford.

Emily Elizabeth raced over and cried, "Clifford! Please be all right." Everyone gave sad looks, fearing the worst for the puppy, but suddenly, he slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her. Emily Elizabeth pulled him in close, letting out some tears of joy. "Oh, Clifford!"

The next day, the whole gang was invited to Emily Elizabeth's house for a birthday party. After she thanked them for the presents, Clifford followed Shackleford outside, saying, "Thanks for everything, Shack."

"Take care of yourself, kid, and if you ever need anything, you'll know where to find me." The ferret said.

"Abstively, posolutely!" Clifford said with a smile.

As Larry and the animals said their goodbyes, Rodrigo and Cleo had a little interesting interaction, beginning to develop a small crush on each other. Then, when spending some time with Clifford, Cleo felt she would actually get used to having a little red step brother, and he maybe even grow on her.

Let's just hope he doesn't grow bigger than a building from all the love he gets.

End

Date the start of recreation started: August 28, 2012

--

Well, that's the Clifford version of "Oliver & Company", one of my favorite ignored Disney films. I'm tempted to do a full-length fanmake version eventually, but I'm not guaranteeing it. It depends if others would like that to be actual.
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Julayla-64's avatar
And now this read along is done. Honestly, it depends on you, in my opinion on if you wanna do a fanmake or not of it.