''Fixed'' is an upcoming American

adult animated An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majori ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

film produced by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

and

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by Son ...

. The first adult animated film from SPA, as well as their first traditionally animated film and to feature the involvement of another major film studio, it is being produced and directed by

Genndy Tartakovsky Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, ...

from a screenplay he co-wrote with

Jon Vitti Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series ''The Simpsons''. He has also written for ''King of the Hill'', ''The Critic'' and ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', and has served as a screenwriter or c ...

and co-produced by Michelle Murdocca. The film features the voices of

Adam DeVine Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series ''Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Par ...

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

Kathryn Hahn Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series ''Crossing Jordan'' (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence ap ...

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

Bobby Moynihan Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's ''DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in ''We Bare Be ...

, and

Beck Bennett Christopher Beck Bennett (born October 1, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, and writer, who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' for eight seasons (2013–2021). Before then, he performed in AT&T "It's Not Complicated" commercials in ...

. The story follows Bull, a blue

bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ''l ...

who discovers that he is going to be neutered in the morning. The film was first conceived in 2009 as ''Buds'', an animal road trip film, before eventually becoming ''Fixed''. Following the successes of '' Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation'' (2018) and the fifth and final season of ''

Samurai Jack ''Samurai Jack'' is an American animated action-adventure television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. Tartakovsky conceived ''Samurai Jack'' after finishing his work ...

'' (2017), Tartakovsky was signed on to direct two original animated features for SPA: ''Fixed'' and ''Black Knight''. For ''Fixed'', he avoided relying on pop-culture jokes to include more character-focused humor, allowing the film to stand out among other R-rated animated films. Production began in July 2022 and was completed in September 2023. Most of the cast was publicly announced in June 2023. ''Fixed'' is scheduled to be released by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...

Premise

Voice cast

as Bull, a blue

who learns that he is going to be neutered in the morning. *

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

, as Rocco, a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

as Honey, Bull's next-door crush *

as Fetch, a

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...

as Lucky *

as Sterling *

River Gallo River Gallo is a Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, model, and intersex rights activist. They wrote, directed, and acted in the 2019 short film ''Ponyboi'', which is the first film to feature an openly intersex actor playing an intersex pers ...

as Frankie *

Michelle Buteau Michelle Buteau (born July 24, 1977) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, television host, and podcast host. Early life Buteau was born in New Jersey to a Haitian father of partial Lebanese descent and a Jamaican mother of half-French desc ...

as Molasses

Production

Development

''Fixed'', according to director

, was first conceived in 2009, as an animal road-trip film under the title ''Buds'' before eventually becoming ''Fixed''. On July 25, 2018, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' reported that Tartakovsky was set to write and direct the R-rated comedy ''Fixed'', with Michelle Murdocca also producing alongside Tartakovsky.

was set to produce; Tartakovsky previously worked on the ''

Hotel Transylvania ''Hotel Transylvania'' is an American animated media franchise created by comedy writer Todd Durham and produced by Sony Pictures Animation. It consists of four feature films, three short films, a flash-animated TV series, and several video ...

'' films for the studio. In June 2019, Tartakovsky stated, "it's really funny and heartwarming, it's not all about balls, we're trying to make it a character comedy." Tartakovsky stated in July 2022 that despite Sony Pictures Animation's involvement, the film will actually be released through

. On September 13, 2023, New Line submitted ''Fixed'' to the

Motion Picture Association The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

, who gave the film an R rating for "strong crude sexual content and language throughout, some drug use and violence".

Writing

In December 2022, Tartakovsky said he did not want the film to rely on pop-culture jokes, instead wanting it to feature more character-focused humor, which he felt allowed ''Fixed'' to stand out among other R-rated animated films. In June 2023, Tartakovsky stated that the "camaraderie" between the characters would be inspired by

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...

films like ''

The 40-Year-Old Virgin ''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow, who produced the film with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson. It features Steve Carell as the titular 40-year-old virgin Andy, an employee at an el ...

'' (2005) and ''

Knocked Up ''Knocked Up'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann. It follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between a sl ...

'' (2007).

Casting

At the

Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

on June 13, 2023,

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

, and

were announced as part of the voice cast.

Animation and design

The animation was done by

Renegade Animation Renegade Animation is an American animation studio located in Glendale, California which currently specializes in Adobe Animate/Toon Boom animation. It was founded by Disney and Warner Bros. animator and director Darrell Van Citters and his busin ...

, with Scott Wills serving as art director; he previously worked with Tartakovsky on ''

'' and ''

Primal Primal may refer to: Psychotherapy * ''Primal'', the core concept in primal therapy, denotes the full reliving and cathartic release of an early traumatic experience * Primal scene (in psychoanalysis), refers to the witnessing by a young child of ...

''. Production on the film began by July 2022, and was completed in September 2023. While the film was originally intended by Tartakovsky to be made through

hand-drawn animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Pro ...

, he later considered using

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

to "better sell the film". He ultimately decided to keep the film's hand-drawn animation, making it the first hand-drawn film to be produced by Sony Pictures Animation, due to the hand-drawn aesthetic working better for the film's plot. Tartakovsky wanted the animation to be reminiscent of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hami ...

'' (1955), while also drawing inspiration from the works of

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...

and

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...

' ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

'' shorts, particularly due to their emphasis on expressive animation.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Comedy, Animals, Animation, Cartoon, 2020s Upcoming films 2020s American animated films 2020s English-language films Adult animated comedy films American adult animated films American black comedy films American animated comedy films Animated films about dogs Films about pets Films directed by Genndy Tartakovsky Films produced by Genndy Tartakovsky Films produced by Michelle Murdocca Films with screenplays by Genndy Tartakovsky Films with screenplays by Jon Vitti Films scored by Tyler Bates New Line Cinema animated films New Line Cinema films Sony Pictures Animation films Talking dog films Warner Bros. animated films Warner Bros. films