Picture courtesy of Netflix
An official 2025 selection at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Fixed is the 2D adult (and/or adult canine) animated feature from Netflix, Sony Animation, and the mind of veteran animator/writer/director Genndy Tartakovsky, whose extensive credits include creating the likes of Dexter’s Laboratory & Samurai Jack for Cartoon Network before directing the first 3 Hotel Transylvania movies and serving as EP on Number 4. Tartakovsky co-wrote the film with former The Simpsons & SNL writer Jon Vitti on a story by Tartakovsky, Vitti, Steve Greenberg & Rich Lufrano.
Not exactly made for the same intended audiences as Tartakovsky’s more well-known projects, the story centers around Bull (voiced by Workaholics star Adam Devine), one part non-stop humping machine & one part all-around good family dog, who cherishes his simple life of riding the family Nana, hanging out with his fellow canine bros, and enjoying the company of his next door neighbor and big time crush: a show dog named Honey (voiced by comedy Swiss Army knife Kathryn Hahn).
After discovering that his family intends to neuter him, Bull takes off for a life with his balls – and his manliness – intact. Joined soon by his pack of buddies, he decides to have one more wild night in the city before he faces his greatest fear.
Acquired by Netflix after Warner Bros. dropped distribution in a cost-cutting measure, Fixed should feel right at home on the streamer. Yes, Warner may be the place to find the edgier late night block of Adult Swim, but Netflix is starting to increase their like-minded shows & movies like such hits as Big Mouth, Bojack Horseman, F is for Family, and the historical fantasy freak-out America: The Motion Picture directed by Adult Swim alum Sealab 2021 & Frisky Dingo co-creator Matt Thompson.
But even for this comparable audience, Fixed may prove to be a bit too cringey and far too horny for an animated dog movie. Less Secret Life of Pets and more Sex, Lies, & Videotapes … of Pets, the film features multiple canine sex scenes, a doggy strip club/whorehouse, an absurd amount of butthole coverage, & the aforementioned Nana humping for quite a long opening scene with detailed conversations & roasting about it to follow.
If you ever wanted to see the dog version of a raunchy “one crazy night” comedy that feels like a bachelor party the night before the wedding, this movie is for you. It’s Strays without the revenge; Sausage Party without the subversion or elite Rogan/Goldberg writing; American Pie without the strongly defined characters & relatable human teen awkwardness. Unfortunately, for me, I simply just wanted it to be more consistently funny with a stronger message, perhaps, and it just couldn’t quite measure up.
There are moments of unique humor and biting satirical jokes that will make you sit up and beg for more: the dog show as a stand-in for the creepy, vain, self-esteem crushing beauty pageant system; the “purse dog” begging for help, tasting freedom only to be hit by a car; the absolute carnage of murdering a squirrel for practically no reason; the hypnotic insanity of alley cats; and of course a dog eating cat poop because we’ve all seen that and wanted to die.
Ultimately, it just wasn’t enough. Fixed can only do so much to try to relate us to the mostly unrelatable conceit: What if dogs freaked out in a similar way to “soon to be married” men or “soon to have a vasectomy” men when faced with a challenge to their virility & sexual freedom? You know, but hornier and less contemplative.
Admirable 2D animation with Chuck Jones-inspired artistry; quality voice work, especially from the likes of Idris Elba (Rocco), Kathryn Hahn (Honey), & Beck Bennett (Sterling); occasional insight & genuinely funny execution. There just isn’t enough of the good stuff to overcome the cringiness and persistent question of why it exists at all.
Watch Fixed If You Like
- Strays
- Sausage Party
- Big Mouth
- The Package
- Best in Show
MVP of Fixed
The Dog Show
“Bull, what do you smell?”
“Uh … Dog shampoo … perfume … pretentious assholes … judgment and the stench of disappointment. Oh my gosh! The dog show!”
The snarky commentary on the beauty pageant experience through the lens of dog shows is some of the best writing & directorial execution in the film. The stage actor backstage intensity, the “I should be put to sleep” worthlessness in defeat, the molestation in the name of examination; it’s all part of the rich text that Tartakovsky & company riff on to mock & scoff at the idea of such a competition.
They even get philosophical with Lucky, voiced by SNL alum Bobby Moynihan:
“The flower does not think of competiting with the flower next to it … it just blooms.”
Throw in a classic “dogs stacked up in a trench coat to try to be human” bit and you have yourself a scene
A lot of ingredients to savor – hand-drawn 2D animation, solid work from comedic voices we love, and some leftover funny dog observations not used in Strays or Best in Show. However, an unworthy premise, a far too horny vibe, and inconsistent quality of jokes make Fixed a more niche concoction to imbibe.
Fixed arrives on Netflix globally on August 13, 2025.
