Film Review – Fixed

August 14th, 2025 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

I’ve always thought animation had more places to explore than just family-friendly adventures, but this isn’t quite what I had in mind.

Fixed (2025) is a lewd, crude, and vulgar comedy that takes every possible gross joke about dogs and runs with it at full speed. Nothing is off the table – from a canine’s eating habits, anatomy, mating preferences, bodily waste, etc. It’s a no-holding-back barrage of toilet humor. To add on top of that, is the production’s choice of rendering the film in a hand-drawn, 2D style. This method has become a rarity in mainstream animation (if we ignore things like Japanese anime, of course). The adult-centric material combined with a traditional approach in the artform are all positives. Unfortunately, the overall result is not. This operates simply for the shock value without offering anything beyond that. In fact, this was one of the more unpleasant movie watching experiences I’ve had this year. 

Surprising, given the caliber of talent that went into th production. Director/co-writer Genndy Tartakovsky has established himself as a well-known name in the animated world, helping produce such works as Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, and Primal. He also directed the first three Hotel Transylvania (2012) films which, in case you weren’t aware, were massive hits. So, it’s safe to say that Tartakovksy is no slouch in this arena, which makes Fixed all the more bizarre. He and his crew should be commended for telling a story in an unconventional manner. But just because it crosses the line of explicitness does not make it good.

Tartakovsky (along with co-writer Jon Vitti) sets the stage immediately. When we first meet the Terrier named Bull (Adam DeVine), he is in the middle of humping the leg of his owner’s elderly mother, Nana (Grey DeLisle). Just so there is no confusion over what kind of movie this is, Nana loses her glasses and mistakes Bull’s manhood for her missing lipstick. When she reaches for it, well, I’m sure you can guess the hijinks that ensue. Needless to say: Bull has a problem refraining from humping anything and everything around him. Still having his junk is a point of pride, as he believes any dog that gets neutered basically loses all reason for existing. This becomes a bigger issue when Bull discovers that his owners plan to have him snipped as well. In an attempt to enjoy his marbles for whatever time he has left, Bull escapes the confines of his home along with his friends – a boxer named Rocco (Idris Elba), a Dachshund named Fetch (Fred Armisen), and a Jack Russell Terrier named Lucky (Bobby Moynihan) – in hopes of spreading his seed across the big city. 

And that’s all there is to it story wise. Sure, the narrative adds some extra bits along the margins – namely a love triangle between Bull, a yellow Borzoi named Honey (Kathryn Hahn), and Sterling (Beck Bennett) an arrogant Borzoi show dog. But that is of little importance in the grand scheme of things. The main narrative arc features Bull and his friends getting into all sorts of bawdy behavior, including but not limited to visiting a canine brothel. Now, I’d like to think I can take off color humor, as long as it’s clever. And that is the big problem plaguing Fixed: it’s simply not funny. It piles so many gags about canine genitalia, dogs eating poop or fornicating in all sorts of ways, but none of it elicits a laugh. Just showing vulgarity on screen doesn’t automatically make it funny. The production does nothing unique or interesting with it. There are no creative twists on the jokes that surprise or entertain us. No matter how many times we see exposed dog buttholes, it doesn’t get any funnier. After a short while, the bit gets tiresome.

If we squint really hard, there are glimpses of something a little more meaningful beneath the sticky goop. Bull’s sense of identity being so tied to his dangling cherries has the potential for character development. Does his ability to reproduce make him better than his friends, many of whom have already gone under the knife? If/when he loses the thing(s) that has defined his whole being, where else can he find purpose? Granted, I’m reaching here. It’s clear the narrative doesn’t really put much stock into Bull’s internal conflict. It’s more invested in his external conflict, particularly his appendage getting stuck in whatever vortex he can get it into. Much like Sausage Party (2016), which also tried subverting audience’s expectations with its coarse humor, we walk out of Fixed thinking less about the character motivations as opposed to all the smut it throws on the screen.

When describing the animation, the first word that comes to mind is “squishy.” Instead of a world that has weight or structure, everything here feels malleable. Characters can twist and contort their bodies in all sorts of weird directions, as though they were made of silly puddy. Some might liken this to the style of Looney Tunes or the absurdist work of Tex Avery. Growing up as an ‘80s and ‘90s kid, the bendy, stretchy design immediately reminded me of The Ren & Stimpy Show. You can see the parallels when characters have more exaggerated facial expressions, as though they were straining to the point of bursting. Admittedly, this form of animation is an acquired taste – some may like it’s over the top depictions, while others are put off by it. I lean somewhere in the middle. No question, it takes finesse to have these characters move flamboyantly while still maintaining coherence. Having skilled artists use their talents to draw dogs performing inappropriate acts is funny in theory, but in practice it just didn’t live up to the idea.

Outside of the hand drawn animation, there wasn’t much to take away from Fixed. It stumbles under its writing and adolescent personality. It tries to be edgy but comes off as lame and cringeworthy. After the first joke about dogs getting their family jewels snatched from them, it all goes downhill. There absolutely should be a place for this type of film, where animation can be used to cover any subject from any genre, whether it’s meant for kids or adults. It’s disappointing that in this case we ended up with a picture that couldn’t get its head out of the gutter.

Adam DeVine, Beck Bennett, Bobby Moynihan, Dexter's Laboratory, Fixed, Fred Armisen, Genndy Tartakovsky, Grey DeLisle, Hotel Transylvania, Idris Elba, Jon Vitti, Kathryn Hahn, Looney Tunes, Primal, Sausage Party, Tex Avery, The Powerpuff Girls, The Ren & Stimpy Show