Shelved by Warner Bros. and Rescued by Netflix — Fixed Is Genndy Tartakovsky’s R‑Rated Love Letter to His Friends and Dogs

Fixed is an R-rated animated comedy from Genndy Tartakovsky that follows a mutt named Bull (Adam DeVine) who prepares for neutering by spending one wild night out with his friends. The film was censored in places to meet R-rated approval, then shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery, and finally picked up and released by Netflix. Tartakovsky co-wrote the film with Jon Vitti, and he has said the story draws heavily on his real-life friends and dogs.

What the film is about and who made it
How it moved from Warner Bros. to Netflix
Which real people and pets inspired the characters
Where the movie is set and how the cast prepared

From shelved to streaming

First, the basics. Fixed faced some internal censorship to meet R-rated standards, and even after those changes Warner Bros. Discovery opted not to release it. Consequently, Netflix acquired the film and released it on its platform. Tartakovsky co-scripted the movie with Jon Vitti, who wrote for The Simpsons Movie, and the finished film is now available to stream.

Friends and characters

Tartakovsky has said the movie is “deeply personal.” In his words, “The movie’s based on my friend group since high school.” Moreover, he explained that his friends helped in the early stages, and that he and two writer-friends collaborated on the comedy beats.

The film turns those friendships into dog characters. For example, one friend with a chip on his shoulder became Rocco (Idris Elba), a boxer who jokes about not being breastfed because his mom had many puppies. Meanwhile, the group includes Lucky (Bobby Moynihan), a beagle who alternates between philosophy and eating poop, and Fetch (Fred Armisen), a dachshund influencer who constantly changes outfits—outfits Tartakovsky says he created by doodling.

According to Tartakovsky, he avoided looking online for inspiration because he thought it would become “a rabbit hole of way too much.” Instead, he focused on what would be funny, and trusted small visual jokes—like a beret or a turtleneck—to register with viewers. He also cut a Siberian Husky character that served as his stand-in, saying, “I don’t know if it was too specific and weird; that was probably more in my own head.”

How the setting plays in

The film is set in Chicago, where Tartakovsky attended high school. Bull visits the Wiggly Field Dog Park and eats his way through a festival inspired by the city’s Taste of Chicago. Tartakovsky said he wanted a city feel in the backgrounds, even if the film wasn’t aiming for anything as highbrow as Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.

Watch the real locations referenced in the movie on these official pages:

Wrigley Field / Wiggly Field Dog Park

Taste of Chicago

Animals, actors, and preparation

Tartakovsky also drew on his own dogs. He described three very different personalities in his household and said those traits influenced the animals on screen. “The Saint Bernard is giant and kind of loafy and lovable, and he sleeps for 20 hours of the day. The King Charles Alfie is kind of cranky and slow,” Tartakovsky said. He added that after one dog passed, a new King Charles brought more energy and changed how the older dog behaved.

Actors likewise looked to real dogs. Adam DeVine said, “I don’t currently have one, but my neighbor’s dog humps everything and has big old floppy nuts, so I try to channel his dog as Bull.” Beck Bennett, who plays Bull’s Borzoi rival Sterling, said he modeled the character partly on Bradley Whitford’s performance in Billy Madison. Another cast member said, “I have a Yorkie/terrier/shih tzu mix, an incredible dog who is nothing like my character.”

Tartakovsky referenced an old Dexter’s Laboratory episode about communicating with a dog to make a point about animal minds: “You think a dog would be more complicated, but they’re just [saying] exactly what they want.” He noted that people tend to project personality onto pets, and that idea informed the film’s humor and relationships.