February 10th, 2022 
Jackson Murphy 
Bob Peterson is the Academy Award nominated co-writer and co-director of Pixar classic Up. Last Fall he brought back the film’s iconic characters for five new Disney+ shorts in a special series called Dug Days. The episode “Science” is nominated for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Children at this year’s Annie Awards (to be held March 12th). Peterson shares what he loves about this episode, as well as his fondest memories of late Up cast members Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer. (This Animation Scoop Q&A is edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: Congratulations on the Annie nomination. How does it feel?
Bob Peterson: It feels amazing! I love the Annies. I love going. I was so excited to go. I know we’re doing it virtually this year, but it really means a lot. I’m very happy about this.
JM: Nice. I was gonna ask you about your past experiences at the Annies with Finding Nemo and Up. Do you remember those awards show nights vividly?
BP: Very well, especially Nemo. It was my first time to go to the Annies. When I went up with Andrew Stanton to accept an Annie for, I believe, Writing for Nemo — it was such a great night. We didn’t prepare anything. We just got up there and spoke from the heart. That one really meant a lot.
JM: That’s great. Dug Days has been out for a little bit. Why do you think this was the right time to bring back these beloved characters?
BP: Well I don’t think there’s any exact right time. It just felt like… for me: I missed them. I missed these characters. I missed working with Ed Asner, may he rest in peace. I was also thinking that in the pandemic we just needed to be lifted a little bit. So I thought, “Well maybe Doug would be a good emissary to give us some smiles. I was ready to move forward with these. And it just kinda came to me one day, “Let’s re-visit these characters.”
JM: You mentioned Ed Asner. What’s the best memory you have of him working on these Dug Days episodes — one of the last projects he was ever a part of?
BP: In general, he was everything you’d think he’d be. He was cantankerous but always in a funny way. It was freeing because he would say things like, “You don’t know what you’re doing!” And I’m like, “You don’t either, old guy!” And we’d get into it in this funny way and it was so fun. He was like Carl Frederickson. He had earned the right to say anything he wanted. He’d come in. His hip would be bothering him but the work ethic was always there. He was ready to go and put everything he had into it, even though he was approaching 90. I had fun. Our relationship and banter were fun.
Bob Peterson
JM: I’m glad you have those memories. In this “Science” episode, which is really sweet, [Ed as Carl] says the line towards the end to Dug, “You get me through [my] day.” The way he says that got me.
BP: Yeah. I just watched it before the interview again, and I was worried I was gonna come on with tears in my eyes because he just acted that so well and so heartfelt. He’s a dog guy. He’s got dogs. Not too many actors could’ve pulled off Carl Frederickson and that line in the way he did. I felt very lucky in that moment that he could sum-up how we feel about these beloved family members — these pets and dogs. It just said how I felt through the years in such an amazing way.
JM: I agree. In terms of submitting Dug Days for the Annie Awards, did you submit this specific “Science” episode for a reason?
BP: I like that this one had Russell in it. And I like that it had a nice texture because at times we’re in a standoff that’s like an old western. And then at times we’re a little bit like a Grimm’s Fairy Tale where we’re arguing about who deserves the food. And Dug has a really nice moment where he decides to be gracious and give up his food. And then that last line. All those things put together made us want to submit that one.
JM: Good choice. Russell is in this. Is it true you used Jordan Nagai’s archival audio that wasn’t used on the movie for this specific episode?
BP: Yeah — it was amazing and a fun challenge that I gave myself to look through / listen to all the dialogue. And there’s a treasure trove. You can’t use everything. And we recorded him a lot. For example, when he’s building those Muntz collars, I had him saying, “Wow. This is great. I’m building a collar.” in the script. But then I found this little song we didn’t use, “Wilderness Explorer… always da-da-da!…” That’s so much better than I could’ve ever written, and in it went. In going to do this, we found these gems that were better than what was in there. It was tough. You have a situation of Dug asking for a sandwich and we don’t have Russell saying, “No! You can’t have my sandwich.” But we do have him kind of laughing. The animators did this move where he moves the sandwich away and laughs, so we had to tailor-make it to what was there. But it was a fun challenge and I love that kid — the memories of working with him. He’s our Russell, so I thought, “Why not? Let’s try it.”
JM: That’s cool. I remember hearing that for Cars 3, the makers went back and used old Paul Newman audio. Did the voice of Dug come back to you right away?
BP: I’m a little older and I have a lot of hours of Roz [from Monsters, Inc.] also under my belt. A little gravilier. It took a couple sessions before I really dialed it in. But it was pretty much muscle memory at that point. I’ve done Dug so much over the years and love that character that it came back and I enjoy doing it.
JM: And Monsters at Work has been such a huge success over the past year as well for Disney+. In this [Dug Days] “Science” episode, there’s a moment where we get close-ups of the bluebird and the squirrel. Whoa! Those details blew me away.
BP: I know! I was noticing that again today, especially the feathers in that bird. CG can fall apart when you get too close, often times. But our technical folks did an amazing job. It was very detailed and stunning. And that was to get that old Italian western feel where everyone’s in a standoff and then you go close on their face. That was fun to do. You know I’ve been doing this stuff for 30 years and I’m still a big fan of what can be pulled off. I go, “How did we do that? That was amazing!” We have some of the best technical teams around to do these things, and it doesn’t always have to be ultra-realistic. Just any style now — if it supports the story — is something you can get to.
JM: Another member of the “Up” family passed away just about a year ago, Christopher Plummer. What’s a standout memory for you of working with *another* icon / legend in the entertainment world?
BP: I’ve been lucky in the last 10 or so years to work with a lot of these people. For Christopher Plummer, one thing that stands out is when he stood up to the mic and we had him… “Okay, you’re gonna fall off a cliff and you’re gonna yell about that.” What he did was he ran by the mic to get that “Ahhh” sound. And we realized he said, “That’s what he used to do back with Orson Welles and the Mercury Players.” And I was like, “WOW! This guy spans way back to the beginnings and the origins of things.” He was used to working in radio to begin with.
JM: That is so cool. And through the awards season you went through with Up… it was nominated for Best Picture. It was the first animated movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar since Beauty and the Beast, my all-time favorite film. What was that feeling of being not just the Best Animated Feature winner and attending the Academy Awards but knowing, “We got on the Best Picture ballot — one of the 10 best of the year in The Academy’s eyes”?
BP: It felt like The Academy was taking animation very seriously and that was really nice that we were included with the best of the best. I was proud that we worked the film to the point where there was a lot of truth in it — truth about being old, truth about being a dog, truth about the fun of going on an adventure. People could relate to it whether they had lost a wife or a mother or a grandpa. It was something that really touched people, and I think that’s why it made it to that place. I was proud of the fact that we were brave enough to embrace the truth and the emotion of the story.
JM: Where has The Spirit of Adventure of the Up brand taken you over the past 15 years?
BP: It’s been an amazing ride for me. I come from a small town in Ohio and here I am working on these things. I think the true message of Up is that adventure is out there, but it’s most important when it’s small and in relationships and when you’re around your kitchen table with your family or friends — or whoever you’re with. The adventure isn’t just going and doing, it’s also the adventure that life brings when you’re just with someone. And that’s something that I think I try to remember as I’m navigating my career. The true adventure is with your loved ones. That’s where it’s taken me: to re-focus on that.
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