Genndy Tartakovsky’s return to 2D animated filmmaking delivers on the visual personality only he can express, even if his crude humor doesn’t always land. After spending over a decade as the director and creative lead on Sony’s Hotel Transylvania franchise, Tartakovsky is back doing the thing that made him animation royalty in the first place. Through his celebrated animated TV shows, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Primal, Tartakovsky has consistently demonstrated a desire to break conventions. His new feature film, Fixed (2025), is no exception.
Fixed is a raunchy, R-rated adult 2D comedy — completely unique to the current landscape of Western animation. Feature-length 2D animation has become a novelty in Hollywood, the only other recent example being The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2025). The same can be said for adult animation, which rarely finds a home beyond the realm of television, Adult Swim being the biggest example of a platform that proudly showcases these types of stories. Animation fans had high hopes for Fixed due to its originally planned theatrical release, but as recently announced, Sony Pictures Animation is partnering with Netflix for a straight-to-streaming release. This generated doubts over the film’s quality, to say the least.
One Last Night to Dog Out
I would love to say that the movie is an undeniable animated triumph that proves Sony’s decision for a streaming release dead wrong, but Fixed really struggles to find its comedic footing. We follow Bull (voiced by Adam DeVine of Righteous Gemstones and Workaholics fame), a blue and horny Bloodhound who has just found out that he’s going under the knife to be nuetered. Naturally, he decides to have a wild night out on the town while he still can. The explicit nature of this plot feels like a direct response to Genndy Tartakovsky strictly making family-friendly entertainment at Sony for the last 13 years.
Fixed doesn’t shy away from showing viewers unnecessarily lewd and vulgar visuals, with Bull’s balls being front and center constantly and undergoing severe trauma thanks to a gang of rats early on. It may initially seem like Tartakovsky is free from the prison of writing for children, but Fixed somehow still ends up feeling that way. The structure of the written gags are as over-explained and ham-fisted as an Illumination joke about farts, except this time the animals say “fuck.”
Adult Jokes for Kids
The script isn’t trying to be subtle at all. However, in aiming for an obvious adult target audience, Fixed ironically treats them like kids. The first act rehashes the lowest-hanging fruit for an animated movie about talking dogs, an idea that has already been covered widely by Cats & Dogs (2001), The Secret Life of Pets series, and similar works. Even if you find dogs sniffing each other’s butts to be knee-slappingly funny (no, you don’t), it all comes off as tired and tuned to children’s short attention spans, until a dog curses on screen again.
The comedy does begin to flow better when we leave the first act. Bull and his friends Rocco the Boxer (Idris Elba), Lucky the Beagle (Bobby Moynihan), and Fetch the Dachshund (Fred Armisen) start getting into silly hijinks across the town. Genndy Tartakovsky is so good at these visual gags, even pulling off a “three dogs in a trenchcoat pretending to be a human” bit to great effect. Comedic dominoes are set up and knocked down at a breakneck pace, proving the movie has finally found its stride.
The Liberation of 2D Animation
This narrative shift works due to the high quality of the 2D animation. When Fixed needs to go hard on a visual gag, it’s perfectly capable of it because of how bouncy and expressive each character is. The style is reminiscent of a classic Cartoon Network show, with thick, chalky outlines making up characters who can contort their faces at will. The dog protagonists in Fixed cannot say three words without completely changing their posture and facial expressions in a way that can usually come off as over-animating, yet it’s so extremely charming here.
Genndy Tartakovsky feels like he’s flexing the medium’s capacity for looser character animation now that he’s no longer working in CG. The 2D style is easily the best aspect of Fixed and is the one area where it can stack up against any other animated film releasing this year. Although much of the comedy doesn’t land, Tartakovsky’s movie is undeniable in its technical execution of the animation and its ability to make even the most average conversation look visually stimulating.
The Guaranteed Exposure of Netflix
Fixed would look incredible on a big screen, and it is a shame that Tartakovsky fans won’t be able to experience it that way. However, I can’t say that I don’t understand Sony’s decision. Earlier this year, we saw the release of the excellent The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, and, despite it being far superior to Fixed and based on an iconic franchise, it didn’t set the box office on fire. I’m not convinced people would have flocked to see Fixed in the cinemas, and the sad reality is that it will reach a wider audience by going straight to Netflix.
Genndy Tartakovsky has provided some of the highest highs in Western animation. Unfortunately, Fixed isn’t one of them. The foul humor might work for some viewers on the cusp of adulthood, but it falls into a trap of adult animation where it mistakes “adult” for “gross.” Nonetheless, there’s enough here to prove that Tarkovsky is still a master, beautiful 2D animation that I pray he’s given another chance to flex his muscles in. Not his best, yet I’m glad he gave it a try.
Fixed premiered at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and will hit Netflix on August 13!
Release Date: August 13, 2025.
Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.
Screenplay by Genndy Tartakovsky & Jon Vitti.
Story by Genndy Tartakovsky, Jon Vitti, Steve Greenberg, & Rich Lufrano.
Produced by Genndy Tartakovsky & Michelle Murdocca.
Main Voice Cast: Adam DeVine, Idris Elba, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, Bobby Moynihan, Beck Bennett, River Gallo, Michelle Buteau, & Aaron LaPlante.
Composers: Tyler Bates & Joanne Higginbottom.
Production Company: Sony Pictures Animation.
Distributor: Netflix.
Runtime: 86 minutes.
Rated R.
