Carl's Date

Carl's Date
Film poster
Directed by	Bob Peterson
Written by	Bob Peterson
Produced by	Kim Collins
Starring	Ed Asner Bob Peterson
Cinematography	Arjun Rihan Ryan Michero
Edited by	Torbin xan Bullock Catherine Apple
Music by	Andrea Datzman
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Pixar Animation Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	June 16, 2023 (2023-06-16) (with Elemental)
Country	United States
Language	English

Carl's Date (formerly known as Dug Days: Carl's Date) is a 2023 American computer-animated short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, written and directed by Bob Peterson and produced by Kim Collins. It stars the voices of Ed Asner (in one of his final roles) and Peterson. The short film follows Carl Fredricksen (Asner), who reluctantly goes on his first date since his late wife Ellie's death, but he has no idea how dating works. Originally scheduled to premiere on Disney+ as the sixth and final entry in the Dug Days series, Carl's Date premiered in theaters on June 16, 2023, along with Pixar's Elemental.

Plot

Carl Fredricksen trains Dug at home when he gets a phone call and answers it to hear that it is from Ms. Meyers, an elder who lives at the nursing home, and Alpha (now named Beta) who declares his love for his new home. After Dug has a conversation with Beta, Carl speaks with Ms. Meyers again and agrees to something, only to immediately regret it after hanging up the phone. Carl reveals to Dug that he just agreed to go on a date with her. He is nervous as he has not been with anyone since Ellie passed away and does not know what to do. Dug makes suggestions on what to do, most of which involves dog related things. Carl decides to go out and get some things to prepare for his date.

Carl buys numerous boxes of chocolate and tries to get some flowers from his garden. He has Dug dance with him and then has a practice dinner afterwards. Carl dyes his hair black, which confuses Dug. When Carl continues to panic and attempts to call Ms. Meyers to call off the date, Dug wrestles the phone away from him, destroying it in the process, and tells Carl that he should just go on the date and not worry about anything as Ms. Meyers will love him. Carl relaxes and straightens himself up before speaking to Ellie's photo and telling her that he is going on a new adventure. Dug offers to go along as backup and Carl agrees, as they leave the house together.

Voice cast

• Ed Asner as Carl Fredricksen
• Bob Peterson as Dug and Alpha

Production

On December 19, 2022, it was announced that Dug Days would get a short film titled Carl's Date, originally set to stream on Disney+ during a montage of content coming in 2023. Prior to his death on August 29, 2021, Ed Asner recorded his dialogue in the spring of 2021. At a screening of Carl's Date, ComicBook.com had a chance to speak with Peterson and Collins about the short film during a press day for Elemental (2023) at Pixar Animation Studios. Peterson stated, "No one will ever replace Ellie for Carl. This is just friendship. This is just honoring her, Ellie saying 'go have a new adventure.' And this really puts that to the test. Should he do this or not?". He also stated, "For now, I'm thinking of it as a bow on the story. You know, you never say never, things do ebb and get a great idea or whatever it is, but I think this ends up being a terrific way to end this little miniseries." Ethan Anderton of /Film says Carl's Date is not just a short film, but also a "charming epilogue for Pixar's Up that sends Carl off on a new kind of adventure." Anderton also says, "Like Pixar's best work, the short has a moving emotional core inspired by real life, mixed with some delightful comedy involving everybody's favorite, easily distracted, talking dog Dug." Anderton describes the story as "an amusing series of events where Dug tries to help Carl psyche himself to go on a date, something that is particularly daunting since it will be the first date he's gone on since his wife Ellie passed away." Anderton says, "This is a charming, wonderful short that is worthy of playing in theaters, and if you think you're going to get out of this one without shedding some tears, think again. Get those tissues ready!"

Release

Carl's Date premiered in theaters in front of Elemental on June 16, 2023. This is the first Pixar short film to be released in theaters since Bao (2018), which was theatrically released with Incredibles 2 (2018). On January 17, 2023, it was announced that the short film was originally scheduled to debut on Disney+ on February 10, 2023, before it was delayed for undisclosed reasons.

External links

• Carl's Date at IMDb