15 of the most memorable and lovable Pixar side characters ranked

Dug (Up)

Oh, Dug. If ever someone comes up with technology that allows us to hear the thoughts of dogs, it’s likely that 100 percent of your lines would be actual dog thoughts. Never before has a fictional dog character so perfectly captured everything that makes dogs so lovable.

Just listen to some of these lines: “I have just met you, and I love you!” “I was hiding under your porch because I love you.” And of course – “Squirrel!”

If you’ve ever loved a dog, owned a dog, know a dog or seen a dog, you know Pixar did it right with Dug. That said, it can be easy to set aside Dug as a sweet but simple dog, without any real depth to his character that warrants further exploration. Not so. Remember that Dug is actually an agent of the film’s antagonist, Charles Muntz, tasked with capturing the bird Kevin along with Alpha and his canine crew.

And yet, upon meeting Carl and Russell, Dug switches sides and helps them save Kevin, despite his obvious fear of Alpha. If you just shared that summary of a character without including the fact that it’s a dog you’re talking about, it sounds like the tale of a brave undercover double-crossing agent. The only reason you may think Dug is simple is because he’s a dog. And just like that, Dug empowered dogs in a way none of us realized as we laughed at his adorable puppy antics.