R-Rated Animated Film 'Fixed' Lands At Netflix, Gets August Release Two Years After Completion

After eight months of searching for the Sony Pictures Animation production’s forever home, it has been found.

Dog gone no more. Netflix has come in clutch for Sony Pictures Animation once again. The streamer has picked up distribution for Fixed, an R-rated animated comedy directed by Genndy Tartakovsky that was originally set up for distribution at Warner Bros. until they gave it back in August 2024. It has been announced that the film will be released on the streamer on Wednesday, August 13 in 190 countries and over 300 million households.

Fixed stars Bull, voiced by Adam Devine, a typical dog who learns he’s about to be neutered the next morning. Realizing what this means for his life, Bull realizes he needs one last adventure with his friend group in the final 24 hours with his balls. Idris Elba voices Bull’s best friend Rocco. The cast features three Saturday Night Live alums, Bobby Moynihan as Lucky, Fred Armisen as Fetch, and Beck Bennett as Sterling, with Kathryn Hahn as Bull’s love interest Honey, River Gallo as Frankie, and Michelle Buteau as Molasses.

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“I have been friends with the same group of four guys since high school. These guys make me laugh like nothing else, so I was thinking, ‘Can I translate this humor to animation?’ ” Tartakovsky, who is also co-writer and producer, said of Fixed of the film’s origins. His previous work at Sony Pictures Animation was as director of the first three Hotel Transylvania movies and a screenwriter on the fourth, subtitled Transformania. He’s also well known creator of Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Primal, and Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, and has called it a “sweet, charming, sincere story of friendship and romance” as well as a tribute to 2D hand-drawn animation. After the streamer released three of the studio’s films in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Wish Dragon, and Vivo, Fixed becomes the second film from the studio announced for release this year, as musical comedy K-Pop: Demon Hunters has been but yet to be scheduled. The studio also rescheduled Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse for 2027, but the return to theaters won’t take that long, because soon after we heard about Fixed’s distributor search, they unveiled GOAT, which is set for a theatrical release in February 2026.

The 2D animation style is “eye-poppingly colorful” and “full of wild character reactions”. “I love caricatured and exaggerated animation, so I knew the sensibility that I like to do and it was a matter of dialing [up] the amount of exaggeration. I think it started out as a rated-R Lady and the Tramp, then as we got into it, it naturally became more cartoon-y and specific to itself,” says Tartakovsky. “I would say it began to really take shape as we were fortunate to hire some of the best animators working in 2D from around the world.”

Tartakovsky spoke even more to The Wrap, especially open about the predicament of having to find a distributor, which he had never been in before. As he said “Anything I’ve ever done, whether it’s a TV show coming out for a movie, had a release datez At a certain point, you can’t blame the buyers.” He would think to himself, “My God, what did I do wrong? Was this just out-of-touch with people? Is it too early? “You start doubting yourself,” he said. “You start becoming insecure about what you’ve done. And then I thought about all the test screenings how great they were. It’s just one of those things. You can’t explain it.”

Tartakovsky finds Netflix to be a perfect fit for the film, because “they have the opportunity to do things that are different and new, they can take a few more risks.” And it’s true: Fixed is a pretty big risk. But it’s also bold and exciting in a way few animated features are these days, with a solid emotional center and wildly funny set pieces. I think it’s a great opportunity and they’re the biggest with content and with viewers. For this little movie to then be on the biggest stage is fantastic. I think it could be a water cooler movie. And hopefully it would grow and open up the opportunity to do more and different material, perhaps R-rated animated films,” Tartakovsky said. “I have a lot of high hopes and big dreams and aspirations for success, but I’m just happy it’s coming out.”

There’s actually been a lot of movement from things abandoned by Warner Bros. lately. When Fixed returned to Sony, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie had just found Ketchup Entertainment as its North American distributor. It got its theatrical release in March and was just released to digital marketplaces yesterday. In between, Ketchup acquired the previously-shelved Looney Tunes live-action/animated hybrid Coyote vs. Acme based on the former’s success, and is set for its own theatrical release next year. Rooster Teeth and reopened was bought back by original owner Burnie Burns in February, less than a year after closure.

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Source: Tudum, The Wrap