One of Pixar Animation’s beloved traditions over the years has been placing original short films ahead of their theatrical releases, but that experience actually hasn’t occurred since Bao appeared before Incredibles 2 in 2018. When CinemaBlend attended a press visit at Pixar Animation Studios for Elemental on Monday, we were let into a theater and surprised with the first viewing of the latest original short “Carl’s Date,” which is set to debut in theaters in front of the upcoming Disney movie set for release this summer, and will give closure to Up’s storyline.
“Carl’s Date” centers on two familiar Pixar characters, Up’s Carl Fredricksen and Dug, after the events of the 2009 movie that pulled on all our heartstrings. Check out the official poster for the short playing ahead of Elemental:
Once we’d finished watching it, I and just about all the other journalists were sniffling and in tears at the beautiful follow-up for Carl Fredrickson. “Carl’s Date” does, in fact, star the late Ed Asner, who recorded the short in a single day before he died back in August 2021 at the age of 91. The short’s producer, Kim Collins, told us this:
It was [recorded] when we were finishing the [Dug Days] series [when Bob Peterson] had the idea for this. So I think we recorded him in spring of ‘21 and lost him just a few months later in the fall.
“Carl’s Date” follows Carl as he nervously gets ready to go on a date with the help of his talking dog Dug. As Collins shared, the idea was conceived by Up writer, co-director and voice of Dug, Bob Peterson, while he and Collins were working on the Disney+ short series Dug Days, which dropped on streaming in fall 2021. Peterson shared their experience working with Ed Asner one last time for the Pixar short with these words:
He's hilarious, man. The guy, he is Carl Frederickson. It's just so fun to work with him. You know, I grew up with the Mary Tyler Moore Show and just was a treat to be with him. He's grouchy, but had this amazing heart and very, very funny and work ethic like you'd never believe and just got in there and did his job. If he had a bad hip, he just came in anyway, you know, that kind of thing, and did these recording sessions. So we feel blessed to have been with him toward the end of his career. And, I feel like this honors him pretty well.
While I’ll spare the details of the short itself, “Carl’s Date” is an absolutely beautiful and fun bookend to Up that brings closure to the Carl and Ellie love story. I’m just so happy it exists, and that Ed Asner’s Carl Fredrickson will get to glow on the big screen one last time with this release. The story itself was born out of Peterson watching his own grandparents go through what Carl does. There will not be a dry eye in the theater ahead of Elemental.
Back in 2019, Toy Story 4 became the first Pixar release in 23 years to come out without a short in front of it. Then 2020’s Onward featured a Simpsons short called “Playdate With Destiny” following the Disney/Fox merger. The pandemic happened soon after, and three Pixar feature films, Soul, Luca and Turning Red, went straight to Disney+.
Pixar has launched numerous shorts and short series on the platform as well, but it’s just not been the same as witnessing a short ahead of a Pixar movie in theaters. Lightyear also came out last summer without a short in front of it. Apparently at one time, "Carl’s Date" was set to be released on Disney+ rather than theaters as well.
You can see “Carl’s Date” exclusively ahead of Elemental in theaters on June 16. Check out the latest Elemental trailer here on CinemaBlend.
