A bloodhound must live 24 hours to their fullest before getting neutered in the new adult animated comedy from Genndy Tartakovsky.
Three decades ago, legendary animator Genndy Tartakovsky created Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack, and after reviving the latter for a climactic final season in 2017, he appears to be more eager than ever to broaden his reach throughout the animation landscape, whether it’s appealing to children with the Hotel Transylvania franchise or adults looking for something more thoughtful and viscerally powerful like his prehistoric Adult Swim series Primal. Tartakovsky looks to merge his sensibilities from both spectrums with the adult animated comedy Fixed, and despite some familiarity in the story and occasionally tired verbal gags, the film is still entertaining for its runtime for when the comedy sticks its proverbial landing, talented voice cast and gorgeous animation.
Fixed follows Bull (Adam Devine), an average, good-natured albeit *very* horny bloodhound who gets off on humping his Nana but is longing for a romantic connection with his Afghan hound showdog neighbor Honey (Kathryn Hahn), but despite the support he gets from his friends, boxer Rocco (Idris Elba), Instagram-famous dachshund Fetch (Fred Armisen) and beagle Lucky (Bobby Moynihan), he is too cowardly to say how he feels about her. Time becomes of the essence however, when he discovers his family intends to get him neutered in a day. Upon this revelation, Bull’s friends aim to give the anxious mutt one last wild night on the town before he has to say bye-bye to his balls that give him his manic libido.
The strongest element of Fixed is without question the animation. Tartakovsky’s commitment to hand-drawn animation results in his adult-animated comedy having amazingly fluid character movements and even allows for audiences to find humor in the little details of his characters, like the way Bull’s scrotum bounces with every step he takes toward the background of a given shot. Other bits include characters’ exaggerated facial expressions evoke The Ren and Stimpy Show, while character designs recall the oft-overlooked Oliver and Company, like the long noses of Honey and the snooty Sterling (Beck Bennett) to reflect their class and pure breed.
Fixed’s voice cast also does their part by injecting each character with its own unique personality and energy; Adam Devine lends Bull with an endearing haplessness that makes him into a dog who believes nothing is in his control; while Idris Elba exudes Rocco’s commanding confidence. Fred Armisen also makes Fetch lovable through conveying innocence as well as entitlement with every reference the social media darling makes to his dog mom. To that end, Tartakovsky also gives this endeavor a hefty heart at its core with relatable and well-paced character arcs that slow down and allow each character at least one moment of rumination.
Bull has aforementioned insecurities with his feelings for Honey, but the female showdog juggles her desire of winning an upcoming dog show with wanting to stay true to her sly personality, Fetch wants to be a good dog for his mother despite the pratfalls of this adventure, Lucky is lonely and looking for love, and Rocco has unresolved mommy issues that come out via various confrontations in one of the movie’s funniest recurring gags. As far as its sense of humor goes, Fixed is at its funniest when it’s answering the question, “if animals could talk, what would they say”, such as when a myriad of dogs drag their owners outside by the leash screaming how badly they need to use the bathroom like it’s their stream of consciousness out loud.
The film also takes situations dogs find themselves in and makes them darkly hilarious from a staredown with a gaggle of cats that try to lull Bull and his friends into a hypnotic trance to a squirrel chase that results in a poor rodent’s graphic demise. The raunchy humor is occasionally funny, like when Bull hallucinates one of his body parts talking to him while on a drug trip and Lucky’s over-the-top reaction to an ill-fated encounter with a skunk, but hearing cartoon canines frequently swear and talk about sex does get tired when it’s verbal for long stretches of time.
It’s also worth noting that while Fixed does for the most part succeed with its adult sensibilities, the thematic material here is more resonant for pre-teen viewers than it is for mature spectators. But for Tartakovsky, this comedy is a personal project. According to an interview with Tudum, he said that his latest was inspired by his circle of friends during adolescence: “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?’” His efforts did not go unnoticed by Netflix, who swooped in to save the film from a Warner Bros. tax writeoff. The product was well worth the purchase, as fans of animation and those looking for a breezy 90-minute watch or a new raunchy comedy will consider Fixed a solid mission accomplished.