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This new series includes five shorts that follow Dug, the adorable dog from Disney/Pixar’s Oscar award-winning movie Up. Up won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2010.

Dug Days is comprised of five new shorts, written and directed by Up writer and co-director Bob Peterson, with Pixar veteran Kim Collins producing. Peterson also serves as the voice of Dug in both the film and the new shorts.  I was apart of the press junket Dug Days, in which press spoke with the director and writer himself, who is also the voice of Dug, Bob Peterson and also producer Kim Collins.

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“This got started, of course, back on Up. And Dug Days takes place immediately after Up finishes,” Bob Peterson says. “So, basically right after Carl, Russel, and Dug are at the ice cream shop. Carl and Dug look for a new  house right after this. Russel goes home with his mom but later moves in next door to Dug and Carl.”

Q&A with Bob Peterson & Kim Collins

How does Dug Talk?

BOB: Back on Up we were so excited when we created Dug because using his collar would allow us to-to hear what a dog might actually think and say. We could explore canine truths. Dug was based on our own dogs. So, here are my dogs, about to attack each other. We used experiences living with many dogs to write Dug’s character and dialogue. In fact, Dug’s voice is based on how I talk to my dogs. ‘You’re a good dog. I love you, my dog’.

How did you record the lines during the pandemic?

BOB:  My recording studio for doing the Dug voice, a spider infested, dusty, and cramped closet below the stairs.  I recorded a large chunk of Dug li-lines in here and, uh, one good thing though, is it was hot in there and I lost a lot of water weight.  ::LAUGH::

KIM:  During the pandemic we ended up recording in a lot of unusual places.  Uh, mostly closets. Dug Days was just gearing up, uh, when we had to shift to work from home.  So, as we moved into the pandemic,  the entire Dug crew realized that these shorts could bring a little bit of sweetness and happiness to people.  

That motivation kept us wanting to bring our best creatively, even though we could only be together as a team through these little, tiny boxes on a screen instead of as we’re used to working together team things in the studio.  But we did go into the studio just a few of us, just a few times and very safely to check the final rendered images for the shorts. 

How did they incorporate Russel from the original “Up” into the SHORT.

BOB: Young Jordan, the guy, was nine or ten when he recorded Russel on Up over 10 years ago.  We loved his voice so much that we decided to keep it, keep his kid voice again.  Finding old dialogue from Up with the help of our editorial team.  So, for example, I wrote the-the script for the short Science.  We went looking for Jordan lines that matched.  Some of the found lines, in fact, were actually better than the written lines,  including the-the little song he sings while he’s making the collars.  

Developing the look for Dug Days.

KIM: The look of Dug Days owes a lot to the look of Up.  A physical model that was made for Carl and Ellie’s living room,  it has a chunky handmade feel.  It gives it kind of a warmth for all of the designs, both inside and outside the home. Um, so we adopted that same design sensibility for Dug Days.  

You’ll see a practical model of the outside of Carl’s home.   Again, it has that oversize handmade look.  We wanted it to be different from Carl and Ellie’s home but still have an older nostalgic feel.  We followed that same design aesthetic for the entire neighborhood and you can see an oversized tree and the leaves are very giant.  They’re almost as big as Carl.  

BOB:  And we followed that aesthetic into Carl’s front room.  We wanted to have a cozy home for Carl and Dug but also design one which beckons back to Up.  So, many of the props in this room have significance for the film and also our crew is represented in some of the props when we went on our trip to research the film as well.  

What is it like to continue the Disney/Pixar legacy of creating dog shorts for the next generation?

BOB: What I think is really cool about streaming in Disney Plus in particular is it’s a whole new way to share those shorts. That has been amazing, so you feel that you can continue the tradition in that way.  

Pluto’s my all-time favorite.  Just hilarious.  And he’s a dog. Then, you have Lady and the Tramp, which is dogs that you can hear their emotions.  It seems like Dug sorta fits in the middle, where he is just a dog, but you can also hear what he’s saying.  It’s no accident that dogs make their way into our entertainment because they’re just so connected to us.  They’re-they’re family members, and I feel honored to-to be the voice of a dog.  

All five episodes of Dug Days will debut on Disney Plus on Sept. 1.