Dug's Special Mission

''Dug's Special Mission'' is a 2009 American computer animated short film, directed by Ronnie del Carmen. It is tied into and included on the Blu-ray/DVD releases of '' Up'' and ''Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2''.

According to Jonas Rivera, the producer of Pixar's film ''Up'', ''Dug's Special Mission'' "is a little bit of the backstory of what Dug was actually doing out there on this mysterious mission when we meet him n ''Up''. In the short, Dug is instructed on how to catch the bird (which he names Kevin) by Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, but their instructions are really intended to keep Dug away from them.

Production

Ronnie del Carmen explained "Dug was created very early in the development of the movie idea, even earlier than Russell", but little was known about his character on top of his supporting role, such as how or why he spoke. It was kept this way in ''Up'' because the writers wanted to keep the focus on Carl. After further developing Dug, it was decided that stories could be told about him beyond the film due to his lovable personality. The purpose of ''Dug's Special Mission'' was to tell Dug's story, as he "arrives in ''Up'' talking about being on a special mission, and we never talked about it again in the movie", which made Carmen inquisitive. He worked with Pete Docter and Bob Peterson on the film, and noted "their involvement was crucial since the three of us were always part of telling the larger story of the movie", and so they had similar sensibilities toward the ''Up'' universe. While Docter offered suggestions on the direction the short could go, Peterson provided insight into how Dug should be animated through his "funny nuances" because, Carmen explains, "as animators we gravitate to communicating visually and through behavior". Peterson was the person who created, voiced, and wrote most of Dug, and during the recording he improvised and experimented, with many of these humorous takes ending up in the final film. Carmen noted "there were many lines and quips that Bob Peterson did during recording that I could have used but had to leave out." An extra reference for the animation was Carmen's own German Shepherd when he was growing up. Added inspiration for the Dug scenes came from various Pixar crew members, including John Lasseter.

Carmen wrote the story and dialogue for ''Dug's Special Mission''. He "had the idea for the short as soon as the movie was in production, right around the layout phase ndstoryboarded a rough version quickly and pitched it to Jonas Rivera and Pete Docter around late spring 2008". He assumed once finishing working on the story for ''Up'', he could move into a short. However, the third act of the film ran into plot issues, causing him to simultaneously remain on the staff to iron these out, start work on the short, and illustrate a tie-in book ''My Name Is Dug'' (about Dug searching for the bird, which was described as "a great companion to ''Dug's Special Mission'' because both happen before Carl and Russell show up"). Project approval for the short was given by Disney during January 2009, and production ended in June of that year. A favourite scene that Carmen fought for (though it was eventually cut) was where "Dug falls into an airplane and flies it down to the other dogs, dive bomber style", as they wanted to ensure every frame of animation was used efficiently. As the short takes place in the events leading up to Carl and Russel finding Doug, a scene that takes place in the main feature, so the ending has "Carl and Russell's dialogue and acting einglifted from ''Up,'' because deviating from that would affect continuity and make it more expensive. The music was restricted to the score that Michael Giacchino had already written for the movie. Another challenge was "working with the time constraint of making a film that's only 4.5 minutes".

On the prospect of further ''Up''-related shorts, Carmen said "'I definitely would love to do the continuing stories of Dug. I had a scene in the original storyboard of ''Dug's Special Mission'' that had him flying an airplane. We cut it because of the length, and it seemed out of place with the other gags. But I still want to see him in a plane someday. There are stories in my head that tell how he got into Muntz's pack. Dug in that pack looks like a mistake – an oversight. I would love to tell that earlier story of how he got there. Certainly Muntz and Dug, Russell and Dug... Carl and Dug too!"

Plot

The short is set during the events of ''Up''. It is Dug's birthday. This ordinary Golden Retriever wishes that it will be the happiest day of his life, when suddenly, Kevin runs over him and the pack leaders – Alpha (a Doberman Pinscher) and Gamma (a Bulldog

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