Why Dug’s Special Mission is the best Pixar Short
The twist ending of Dug’s Special Mission reveals Dug to be much deeper and perceptive than we thought, and says something about bullying and coping mechanisms.
First off, context: Pixar shorts are really hit and miss, and usually they are straight comedy. Because of this a really strong dramatic moment is particularly unexpected.
Playing into this expectation, Dug’s Special Mission is almost pure gag comedy from start to finish…up until the very end. And the dramatic impact is unexpected even as you—the viewer—start to see where this short fits within the continuity of Up. See, when we first see Dug in Up, he just seems happy and oblivious. And in the short, that’s what we see also. Dug is just a really happy dog who seems to not comprehend just how much everyone hates him. In the short, he seems so innocently happy and oblivious that he doesn’t even realize he’s being maliciously bullied.
But at the very end, we find out that he got his birthday wish and that his birthday wish was for “a new master”.
Let me repeat—his birthday wish. This wasn’t some fleeting desire he had from time to time. This is something he has been yearning for for a long time. He’s put thought into it. He has reasons for it.
This casts an entirely new light on Dug’s entire character. He really wasn’t so oblivious after all. He might even have been pretending not to realize how badly he was being treated. His boundless optimism and friendliness wasn’t just blissful ignorance—it was more likely a coping mechanism. He knew a lot more about his lowly lot in life than he let on. And most importantly, Dug wasn’t in denial about it—he knew his master could and should treat him better. He knew his life was miserable. He knew his life could and should be better. Dug wasn’t just an ignorant fool. He was an isolated and lonely bullied misfit who hid his pain behind a mask of innocent optimism and boundless friendliness.
How could we miss this? Because Dug isn’t a typical animation character. Usually in animation, a character’s voice and facial expressions are used as a window to his inner emotions. But Dug’s voice and facial expressions are used as a mask. You have to pay attention to his words rather than how he says them in order to “get” his true thoughts. This is used in Up mainly for comedic effect, but there are many hints to his sadder lonelier side. Dug’s Special Mission really adds depth and meaning to what was hinted at in the movie.
In the movie, Dug’s sadder moments seem to be fleeting and quickly forgotten.
But the twist ending of the short reveals that Dug’s sadder moments weren’t fleeting…they weren’t forgotten.
