Dug's Special Mission (2009)

Alpha, Beta, and Gamma try to keep Dug out of their way while they hunt for Kevin the Snipe. However, their instructions for his "very special mission" keep backfiring on them.

Director:

Ronaldo Del Carmen

Stars:

Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft

Cast

Cast overview:
Bob Peterson	...	Dug / Alpha (voice)
Delroy Lindo	...	Beta (voice)
Jerome Ranft	...	Gamma (voice)

Storyline

Dug is a cheerful, dim, short-legged dog, a walking sausage. On his birthday, he stumbles between a running bird and three dogs in chase; the bird gets away, and, in exasperation, the pack gives him mindless task after mindless task. Dug is enthusiastic, and every assignment backfires on the three. Finally, they threaten him with punishment from their master. Can anything turn Dug's birthday into a happy day?

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Plot Keywords:

mission | pet owner relationship | cartoon dog | bird | rockslide | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Family | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Missão Especial do Dug

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pixar Animation Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

5 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Alpha: [speaking in a high-pitched broken collar voice to Dug, who is in a hole in the ground] This is the bird's favorite hole. Under no circumstances are you permitted to SQUIRREL!
[Alpha, Beta, and Gamma quickly snap their heads to look to screen left. Dug glances in that direction. Alpha regains his composure]
Alpha:

• ever leave this hole. Do you understand the words that I am saying to you now?

[growls]
Dug: Oh yes. I will stay in the hole and I will capture the bird.
Alpha: [all three start to walk away] Yes... ...
[...]

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Connections

Edited from Up (2009)

User Reviews

A balance of humor and emotion

Being a Pixar fan, I was looking forward to this short film ever since it was announced. Heck, I was eager for it even BEFORE it was announced, because Pixar always includes a second short film on their DVDs. While I can see by the ratings here on IMDb that some people didn't enjoy it as much as I did (I can see why, if they're comparing it to "Up"), I still think that this short film had a number of elements that made it very enjoyable to watch.

All the humor that comes with Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Dug is here, as well as Alpha's "broken collar" joke. However, this film did have a few discrepancies with the feature film it was based on that bothered me slightly. They're mostly anachronisms or continuity errors, but I can forgive them considering that this film is supposedly a representation of how Dug remembers these events, just like the "Married Life" sequence in "Up" was supposed to be how Carl Fredricksen remembered his marriage with Ellie.

This film isn't all physical humor, though. Before I go on, please note that you shouldn't watch this until you've seen the feature film it's based on. Anyway, after Alpha gets fed up with Dug, Dug is (to be brief) very sad and alienated. Pixar does their thing with the emotions, and Dug runs away into some fog-filled rocks. The first time I saw that, I felt sorry for Dug. However, as per his birthday wish (it is his birthday, after all), he finds "a new master": Carl and Russell. What a nice alternate location story!