Dug's Special Mission (2009)

Dug is a happy and slightly dim dog. It's his birthday. The other dogs Alpha, Beta, and Gamma are exasperated when Dug gets into the way of their hunt for the giant bird. Alpha assigns Dug meaningless tasks to keep him out of their way only to have it backfire again and again. Dug is ostracized by the pack and then he encounters Russell and Carl Fredricksen.It's a fractional prequel right before Dug's appearance in the movie Up. It's good to see Dug in his 'natural' everyday life. It's great to tie it all together with Carl and Russell. It's something to watch after finishing the movie.

I found this short whilst browsing the bonus features of the 'Up' DVD that I rented and it was cleverly written.When the short began, it had me thinking, "Does this take place during the film or is it something completely separate?" It was hard to determine to begin with but I laughed at the '"Squirrel!" gag and I enjoyed watching Alpha, Beta and Gamma's failed attempts at following the instructions of Dug's mission. I did sympathise with Dug as well due to him having a terrible birthday until he sees a rock that resembles a man and another that resembles a turtle. It wasn't until this point that I realised this short tied in with the main film since Dug was looking at interestingly-shaped rocks at the same time as Carl and Russell. One thing that puzzled me was that Alpha's voice was already squeaky in this short whereas it is a complete surprise to Beta and Gamma in the main film.Overall, this is an entertaining short that ties in with the main film very well. 8/10.

I liked this short film! It was funny, cute, and well done just like the full length movie. However, the one thing that annoyed me in this one and annoyed me in the other is I CAN'T STAND THE VOICE OF THE BIG DOG! It's kind of funny for the first few times you hear it but it starts to get annoying! It's like internet sensation Fred, he's funny the first few videos you watch but after a while he starts to get annoying. It was nice to see a different story about Dug because he was my 2nd favorite character, after Russell (Jordan Nagai). It was kind of sad for a 5 minute short film. ***SPOILERS START NOW*** My favorite part is when he sit in the hole and he starts falling through the hole and lands on his "pack". I also like no matter how hard Dug tries to be good and not mess things up he always manages to. SQUIRREL, was used in this short once which I find hilarious!***Spoilers End Now*** Overall another job well done by Pixar!

In the main film, when we are introduced to Alpha, he has a broken collar that causes his voice to be high-pitched. His companion dogs, Beta and Gamma look surprised upon hearing him speak and start to tease him. Later on, when Alpha contacts Dug on the video collar, Dug also comments on how Alpha's voice sounds funny. Throughout the short, Alpha talks in his squeaky voice and no one seems to think it odd, even though it takes place before the introduction scene in the main film.Either Dug, Beta and Gamma should be used to his voice by the time we hear it in the main film, or Alpha should be talking in his alternate "beefy" voice throughout the short.Other than that, it's a cute story with a sappy happy ending.