May 25th, 2023 
Jackson Murphy 
Carl’s Date, a new “Up” short in the “Dug Days” family, will screen in theaters before showings of Pixar feature Elemental beginning June 16th. It’s directed by Bob Peterson (co-writer and co-director of “Up” and the voice of Dug), and it’s produced by Kim Collins (production manager on Toy Story 4). Carl is going on a date — his first since losing the love of his life, Ellie. Dug will help Carl get ready in humorous and heartwarming ways.
In March, I screened the short at Pixar Animation Studios and attended a post-screening press conference with Peterson and Collins. When it comes to the story, Peterson told us, “I had seen grandparents going through this. And it was a hard one to decide to do because you don’t want to ever take away from Ellie. No one will ever replace Ellie in this relationship. But her last thing was, ‘Go have a new adventure’. Can he go forward with this? And it was important for me to show him wrestle with this idea and go a little crazy [trying to figure out] what to do. He goes nuts, and it takes Dug to settle him down.”
Production took place for about three months during the pandemic. Peterson and Collins were grateful to be able to record the longtime voice of Carl Frederickson, seven-time Emmy winner Ed Asner, before his death in August 2021. “We were very fortunate to get one recording session with him before he passed away,” said Collins.
I asked Peterson if there was any emotional risk in using a key piece of music from “Up” towards the end of “Carl’s Date”. It’s a familiar melody that returns to the big screen after 14 years. Here’s what he told me:
“I can’t imagine any other music going there than ‘Ellie’s Theme’. It starts with ‘Carl’s Theme’, which was new for ‘Dug Days’. Andrea Datzman wrote that, which ended-up as the end of the ‘Science’ episode. You hear it in there. And I originally had ‘Ellie’s Theme’ playing as [Carl] comes down the steps [in his house] but decided, upon her recommendation, to split that into two. It’s really about Carl and then it becomes about Ellie. I had no problem using that music because, for one thing, it ties you back to ‘Up’ a little bit. And it’s a very emotional piece. And it’s kind of how Carl’s feeling. He wants to make sure she’s okay with this. It goes back to when they were kids — their relationship. So I couldn’t think of anything else that could go there.”
As for the future of Carl Fredericksen, Peterson said, “I’m not quite sure.” Will the character be retired or voiced by someone else? Collins has “a hard time picturing it, honestly. [Asner] brings so much to the role. This feels like a culmination.”
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