Pixar’s New ‘Up’ Short Beautifully Pays Tribute to the Late Ed Asner
How many times must the characters of Up make me cry? Infinite times, that’s how many. As long as the “Married Life” scene from the original movie lives on YouTube, my tears will continue rolling for the adventures of sweet Carl Frederickson (the late Ed Asner). And Elemental, whose theatrical release starts with a short film including a few Up characters before the feature, has turned on the waterworks once more. (No pun intended, even considering how much crying we see from Elemental’s water beings.)
I’ve found another reason to sob over Carl and his pals with the 2021 release of Dug Days on Disney+, a series of shorts that follow the daily life of chipper golden retriever Dug (Bob Peterson) in Carl’s backyard. In one episode, Carl introduces a litter of puppies for Dug to babysit—Dug loves them at first, but despises them after they steal all of his toys. In another episode, Dug simply chases a squirrel around until Carl must save him from falling out of a tree.
Each installment is short and simple enough to tug at the heartstrings—especially if you’re a pet owner. (Side note: Every dog I have shown Dug Days to is obsessed with the show. If you need to calm your dog down, show them Dug Days. It’s mesmerizing for the pups!) In a clip that went viral online after the series premiered, Dug fears that he’s not good enough for humans, because he’s so needy: His human feeds him, gives him water, and even picks up his poop. The usually grumpy Carl calms him down. “You’re my dog! Sure, I do things for you. But you get me through my day. You protect the yard, the house—heck, the whole neighborhood.”
Not crying yet? How about this: “You are my pet, but you are also my best friend. You’re a good boy, Dug,” Carl says, rubbing Dug’s happy little face. Give me a blanket and let me snuggle in with the boys in front of the fireplace! That's all I want!
“Carl’s Date” arrives as a bookend to Dug Days. It is undoubtedly the best of these fantastic shorts yet, with a smart blend of pet humor, tenderness, and grief. “Carl’s Date” transcends the cute little shorts from Disney+ into a thoughtful tail—pun intended, this time—of how pets help humans move on after unfathomable loss.
Carl Fredricksen and his dog Dug in Carl's Date.
Carl Fredricksen and his dog Dug in Carl's Date.
Carl is having an average day with Dug, when he receives some of the most frightening news of his life: A woman at the senior center is interested in him and wants to go on a date. Oh no. Oh no, no, no! Before he can even think twice about it, Carl says yes, a panicked response he only processes minutes later. Then, Dug watches as the poor old fella goes into a full-blown spiral over what to wear to the date, if he should bring a gift, and how to do his hair.
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“Just be a dog,” Dug tells Carl, wistfully. This is sound advice—take things easy, be loving but don’t overthink anything—until Dug explains further. “Smell her backside,” he demands. Carl scoffs. But after Carl buys around 200 boxes of chocolates and dyes his hair black, smelling the woman’s rump might not be the worst idea brought to the table.
Usually, Carl is the one imparting knowledge upon his little canine friend. But here, it’s Dug who talks some sense into Carl, who is still struggling to process the death of his dear Ellie. After Puss in Boots: The Last Wish featured an ode to therapy dogs, “Carl’s Date” follows up on the philosophy that pets can soothe and mend some of our deepest wounds. They see us at our worst and, by nature, still manage to love us more than a fresh scoop of peanut butter.
Carl Fredricksen in Carl's Date.
Carl Fredricksen in Carl's Date.
The whole thing is made even more sentimental by the fact that this is one of Asner’s final roles, recorded before he passed away in August 2021. This is likely the last time we’ll ever see Carl in his original, old-man form on screen—so it’s nice to see him happy thanks to the affection from his chatty pup and also willing to find love again, after his loss back in Up. “Carl’s Date” is a perfect swan song for this character.
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Do yourself a favor and go see Elemental—if not for the movie itself (which is middle-tier Pixar), instead, see it to catch up with old pals Dug and Carl. It’s a shame we can’t bring pets to the movie theater—but luckily, Carl invites fluffy little Dug on his date. They’re a package deal.
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