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 (2017), Tartakovsky was signed on to direct two original animated films for SPA: Fixed and Black Knight. Warner Bros. Pictures was originally set to distribute the film through their New Line Cinema banner. 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. The cast was publicly announced in June 2023.
In August 2024, Warner Bros. and New Line dropped out of the film as part of cost-saving measures by Warner Bros. Discovery. The film is currently being shopped to other studios.
Premise
From Sony Pictures Animation and visionary director Genndy Tartakovsky comes “Fixed,” an adult animated comedy about Bull, an average, all-around good dog who discovers he’s going to be neutered in the morning! As the gravity of this life-altering event sets in, Bull realizes he needs one last adventure with his pack of best friends as these are the last 24 hours with his balls! What could go wrong...?
According to Genndy Tartakovsky, Fixed was first conceived in 2009, as an animal road-trip film under the title Buds before eventually becoming Fixed.[3]
On July 25, 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that Tartakovsky was set to write and direct the film, with Michelle Murdocca also producing alongside him. Sony Pictures Animation was set to produce, marking the studio's first R-rated film; Tartakovsky previously worked on the Hotel Transylvania films for the studio.[4] More details were revealed about the film in June 2019 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[5][6] Tartakovsky stated in July 2022 that despite being a Sony Pictures Animation production, the film would be released through New Line Cinema.[7][8]
Writing
In June 2019, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Tartakovsky stated, "it's really funny and heartwarming, it's not all about balls, we're trying to make it a character comedy."[6] He reaffirmed the film's focus on character-based comedy in December 2022, saying 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.[9] In June 2023, Tartakovsky stated that the "camaraderie" between the characters would be inspired by Judd Apatow films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007).[2]
The animation was done by Renegade Animation,[7] with Scott Wills serving as art director; he previously worked with Tartakovsky on Samurai Jack and Primal.[3][7] Production began by July 2022,[7] and was eyeing completion for September 2023 when the cast was announced.[2] While the film was originally intended by Tartakovsky to be made through hand-drawn animation, he later considered using computer animation 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.[3]
Tartakovsky wanted the animation to be reminiscent of Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955),[9] while also drawing inspiration from the works of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones' Looney Tunes shorts, particularly due to their emphasis on expressive animation.[3] The film was completed by October 2023.[1]
Fixed was originally scheduled to be released on an undetermined date by Warner Bros. Pictures under New Line Cinema. On September 13, 2023, New Line submitted Fixed to the Motion Picture Association, who gave the film an R rating for "strong crude sexual content and language throughout, some drug use and violence".[10] In a June 2024 interview with Animation Magazine, Tartakovsky said that the release situation was being figured out.[11]
On August 9, 2024, it was announced that Warner Bros. and New Line had dropped distribution rights to save costs, and that Sony Pictures Animation was shopping the film around to other studios and streamers, a surprising announcement given Tartakovsky's history with Warner Bros. Discovery's Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Netflix was considered as one of the potential options where Fixed could end up given SPA's previous collaborations with the company, while Puck News suggested that if negotiations are unsuccessful, the film could be canceled and written off in a similar manner to other Warner Bros. films such as Batgirl, Scoob! Holiday Haunt, and Coyote vs. Acme.[12][13][14]
On October 1, 2024, while attending the SCAD's AnimationFest to be honored with the Award for Excellence, Tartakovsky reassured Collider's Steve Weintraub that Fixed is complete and "is not dead by any means nor shelved, just waiting to find a distributor he and Sony are trying to get."[15]
