Pixar’s New ‘Up’ Short Beautifully Pays Tribute to the Late Ed Asner

How many times must the characters of Up make me cry? Infinite times, that’s how many. As long as the “Married Life” scene from the original movie lives on YouTube, my tears will continue rolling for the adventures of sweet Carl Frederickson (the late Ed Asner). And Elemental, whose theatrical release starts with a short film including a few Up characters before the feature, has turned on the waterworks once more. (No pun intended, even considering how much crying we see from Elemental’s water beings.)

I’ve found another reason to sob over Carl and his pals with the 2021 release of Dug Days on Disney+, a series of shorts that follow the daily life of chipper golden retriever Dug (Bob Peterson) in Carl’s backyard. In one episode, Carl introduces a litter of puppies for Dug to babysit—Dug loves them at first, but despises them after they steal all of his toys. In another episode, Dug simply chases a squirrel around until Carl must save him from falling out of a tree.

Each installment is short and simple enough to tug at the heartstrings—especially if you’re a pet owner. (Side note: Every dog I have shown Dug Days to is obsessed with the show. If you need to calm your dog down, show them Dug Days. It’s mesmerizing for the pups!) In a clip that went viral online after the series premiered, Dug fears that he’s not good enough for humans, because he’s so needy: His human feeds him, gives him water, and even picks up his poop. The usually grumpy Carl calms him down. “You’re my dog! Sure, I do things for you. But you get me through my day. You protect the yard, the house—heck, the whole neighborhood.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.