One of Ed Asner’s Final Roles Before His Death Was Returning to the Voice of Carl in ‘Dug Days’

There are some actors whose voice alone makes us feel warm and fuzzy. And for the voice actors who play our favorite cartoon characters, it's one of the joys of being able to revisit those movies.

Ed Asner is one of those actors. But is that really him in the new Disney Plus series Dug Days?

Disney Pixar is the epitome of childhood stories. We grow up watching these on repeat, and when we become parents ourselves, we do the same. The company is known for some of the best stories — and Up was one of them.

The story centered on a grumpy old man named Carl Fredricksen, who was brought to life with the amazing voice of Ed Asner. Sadly, the decorated actor died on Aug. 29, 2021, and the loss was felt by millions of fans all over the world.

Many began to wonder if his voice would be featured in the upcoming Up spinoff titled Dug Days on Disney Plus. Before his death, it wasn't known if he was involved in the project, but thankfully he was.

Dug Days follows Dug, the talking dog, and Carl as they move into suburbia and the adventures they get into in everyday life. The spinoff had its first trailer released on Aug. 26, 2021, to coincide with National Dog Day, and it had everyone excited about seeing more of these two characters.

The format isn't like an entire movie; instead, it is described as "a new collection of shorts that follows the humorous misadventures of Dug." The synopsis continued, "Each short features everyday events that occur in and around Dug's backyard, all through the exciting (and delightfully distorted) eyes of our favorite talking dog."

When the new series was announced, it was said that both Ed and Bob Peterson, the voice of Dug the dog, would return for this new series. The five-episode series was scheduled to launch on Disney Plus in September. The series was written and directed by Bob, who also co-scripted Up.

Unfortunately, just a few days after the launch of the first trailer, news broke that Ed, who was 91 years old at the time, had died. He was a very decorated actor who won countless awards, including seven Emmy Awards for the many characters he played in his long career.

But for many, Ed was the voice of Carl, and people weren't sure what his passing meant for Dug Days. Thankfully, the project was completed before his death, and it arrived on Sept. 1.

Recording the voice for Carl in this new Disney project is said to be one of Ed's final television appearances, but Ed was working right up until his death. At least eight more films and TV shows are set to release in 2021 and 2022 that Ed acted in. But Dug Days has already stirred up a lot of emotions for fans.

Re-visiting this story for TV was a challenge for the production team, who wanted to make sure they stayed true to the well-loved characters in the movie.

"Can we hit the same quality? Can we hit the same nuance and beauty of animation, lighting? All the different pieces of filmmaking. Our team really rallied and just brought their best and I think it's apparent in the shorts," producer Kim Collins said.

Dug Days is available for streaming on Disney Plus.