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Going Up with Pixar's Ronnie Del Carmen for 'Dug's Special Mission'
by Reg Seeton
 After
the many heartwarming and human animated stories
from Disney and Pixar, including the most recent
Disney/Pixar film Up, there's no way anyone can
say "they sure don't make movies like they used
to years ago." In fact, it's the magical storytelling
of days gone by that puts the animated recipe of
Disney and Pixar in a league of their own.
Now that Up is fresh on the heels of its global animated success, the Peter Docter directed hit finds its way to DVD and Blu-ray on November 10. Included in the special features for Up is an unseen extra called "Dug's Special Mission", which, much like "Mater and the Ghostlight" on the Cars DVD, fills in story gaps between the events of the film. "Dug's Special Mission" showcases the events leading up to the first meeting between Carl, Russell, and Dug the dog from Up.
To get the scoop on Up and the "Dug's Special Mission" feature, we joined a virtual conference call with Pixar's Head of Story, Ronnie Del Carmen, to learn more about the Blu-ray bonus, the challenges of boiling an Up story down to five minutes, and how the Up team tackled the chemistry between Carl and Russell, voiced by Ed Asner and Jordan Nagai.
THE DEADBOLT: How tough was it to tell "Dug's Special Mission" in under five minutes?
RONNIE DEL CARMEN: I had many tortures and challenges for Alpha, Beta and Gamma. My favorite, and one that I held on to for a long time, was the moment where Dug falls into an airplane and flies it down to the other dogs, dive bomber style. It had to go. There were many lines and quips that Bob Peterson did during recording that I could have used but had to leave out. Every frame of animation was crucial.
Another layer was the ending in which Carl and Russell's dialogue and acting was lifted from Up. We could not change any of it as it would have been expensive and troublesome. We also could only use the genius work that Michael Giacchino made for the movie. No new music. All these constraints actually helped make the short even better. I loved working on it and would love to do it again.
THE DEADBOLT: Since Carl and Russell are at different stages in their lives, how did you tackle the dialogue between the characters so there was chemistry there?
CARMEN: It's Carl's story and we knew we had a boxed-in curmudgeon who was set in his ways and wanted no help from anyone. As storytellers, we are familiar with the act of putting your characters in trees and then throwing rocks at them, so to speak. Russell was a big, chubby rock we threw at Carl. The direct opposite of Carl: free, unfettered and wanting to help anyone. Plus, he needed his "Assisting the Elderly" badge. We knew this would surely aggravate someone like Carl. That kind of conflict is fun to watch and write.
Other Conference Call Highlights:
How much development
goes into a Pixar project in terms of the story,
and what kind of resources (people, time, money)
are necessary to make sure Pixar continues to
deliver such critically acclaimed stories? Particularly
in terms of story development, not the animation
side of the process ...
 CARMEN:
All our stories take a long time. By the time
a director even pitches the story he will have
been living with that story all by himself for
a while. After that pitch, John Lasseter guides
that story with the director/storyteller. Andrew
Stanton also weighs in and gives it another
layer of insight. We draw reels, write scripts
and make story reels, over and over again. Then
we screen it for the company so we get the entire
studio's notes. After that, we have the Brain
Trust (comprised of directors, heads of story,
the executive team and more) give their feedback
to help the reels. Then we also have a test
audience watch it and we ask them what they
thought of the movie. A long, long journey.
Among the books published
in conjunction with the movie, you illustrated
the book "My Name is Dug" -- tell us a little
about the publication.
CARMEN: I loved working on "My Name is Dug." Kiki Thorpe had written this fantastic take on a Dug story as he searches for the bird. It is a great companion to "Dug's Special Mission" because both happen before Carl and Russell show up. I was consulting on all the "Up"-related books being developed in conjunction with the movie so I knew about “My Name is Dug". I also nominated others to tackle the illustration of it, but all those pairings fell through. I threw my hat in the ring thinking that since my stint as Story Supervisor was coming to an end I would have time for it. I was wrong, of course. The third act of the movie needed more work and I had to do double duty. So I drew it at night and weekends for a few months. Kiki had been so generous in work shopping her story with me so I did page mock-ups of the book to see how the story performed, much like the way I would tackle a story sequence or a comic book. That collaboration proved to be a big success. But boy, did I work like a, well...dog, trying to finish those pages. If you're familiar with the images you'll see there are lots of leaves. I had to create a library of leaves so I could populate the trees and shrubs without having to draw it all from scratch. I also created special digital brushes to make the lines look like dry media, like chalk.
Were there any elements
of "Up" that you particularly championed and/or
fought to keep in?
 CARMEN:
Between Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and myself
we all tended to tackle aspects of the story
that we felt close to. Our collaboration is
all over the movie. I could do as well what
the other two could do. I gravitated towards
the drama and emotional weight of scenes and
moments. The third act also had many challenges
that I had to chisel away at over the course
of making the movie. Muntz's story was particularly
troubling because he shows up so late in the
movie. We also tried many ways to end the movie.
I had made sequences that explored viable endings
that I really believed in. They worked, but
in the end we had to pick just elements from
these explorations and put them into the ending
you see in the movie. I believe you'll have
a chance to see some of those explorations in
the Blu-ray and DVD.
Is there a particular
canine friend of yours that helped inspire the
character Dug? Are you a big dog-lover?
CARMEN: Dug is very much a Bob Peterson creation. He is Dug. I had to use my own experiences with dogs to inform my handling of Dug's scenes. I grew up with a German Shepherd in our family. He was a big dog, trained and alert. He was more like Alpha, actually. But when we played, he was just a lovable dog. So I used that for my reference.
How much of an impact
did your trip to Venezuela make on the movie,
and do you think the film could have been as
good without that experience?
CARMEN: That trip was a tremendous help for us. It would have been easy to just go by pictures and videos of the Tepuis but we're sure to default to places we know from experience. Otherwise it would be a let down and we'd never be able to correct it later. We wouldn't know the truth of being there. We needed to know how Carl would behave on top of the Tepuis and we can only represent that without reservation if we experienced it ourselves. And what a unique place those Tepuis are. They are like no place on earth, beautiful and dangerous. It was compelling and foreboding at the same time. We climbed one of them, Roraima and we walked all over on top. We went to Angel Falls, the actual falls we based "Up’s" Paradise Falls on. The sights, sounds and emotions we felt on that expedition helped us create Carl's experience during his journey.
"Up" is Pixar's 10th
feature film, and has received great reviews,
some of the best Pixar has had on a film. What
elements of the story do you think have led
to the success of "Up"?
 CARMEN:
Pete Docter had wanted a story about an old
man holding a bunch of colorful balloons. None
of us could have even dreamed of how well the
movie would be received. Back then we had our
concerns about telling a story about an old
man flying his house to fulfill a promise. Being
part of the creative team that created the movie,
I'm rather too close to be objective but here
it goes: I think it's because of the emotional
truth of Carl's journey. The fantastic elements,
the funny moments and dialogue, all deliver
an enjoyable and thrilling experience but we
all walk away feeling we've felt something true
about the journey.
Is Dug the smarter Pixar
equivalent of Disney's long tradition of funny
animal sidekicks, or do you see him more as
a character in his own right?
CARMEN: Dug was created very early in the development of the movie idea, even earlier than Russell. There was a talking dog and we didn't know why or how he talks, he just did. He was always there as a supporting cast member. It was always going to be Carl's story. Although after developing Dug into such a lovable character he does seem to merit his own set of stories, doesn't he? That's the reason I wanted to tell his story in "Dug's Special Mission."
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