Dug's Special Mission is a 2009 American animated short film, directed by Ronnie del Carmen.
Dug accidentally causes a pebble to roll down an incline and topple the large boulder, which nearly crushes Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.
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.
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.
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.
He "had the idea for the short as soon as the movie was in production, right around the layout phase [and] storyboarded a rough version quickly and pitched it to Jonas Rivera and Pete Docter around late spring 2008".
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 [being] lifted from Up, because deviating from that would affect continuity and make it more expensive.
[4] Total Film said "All are fun in their own derivative right, Dug's Special Mission particularly for its insights into Up's fractious canine relations.
"[5] DVD Talk wrote "Burn-E and Dug's Special Mission play out more like deleted scenes than anything else".
[6] IGN said "kids and adults alike should enjoy the Looney Tunes-inspired cartoon that finds the hapless Dug trying to earn the respect of his pack.