In another cost-cutting move similar to the shelving of ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ the company will not be releasing the ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ and ‘Samurai Jack’ creator’s first R-Rated comedy about a dog who finds out he’ll be neutered in the morning.
In another cost-cutting move made even more pressing by the company’s earnings announcement drubbing earlier this week, Warner Bros. will not release iconic director Genndy Tartakovsky’s all-new R-Rated animated comedy, Fixed, according to Variety. The film reverts back to its producer, Sony Pictures Animation to potentially shop around. This comes on the heels of last November’s shelving of the John Cena comedy Coyote vs. Acme, which has not yet found a new home.
Tartakovsky grew up at the company, creating Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack at Cartoon Network as well as Primal at Adult Swim; he also produced The Powerpuff Girls. In addition, created Star Wars: Clone Wars as well as breathed life, wearing various writing / directing / EPng hats on Sony’s successful Hotel Transylvania franchise.
He signed an overall deal with Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation back in 2022 to “develop, create, and produce original animated programming at both CNS and WBA intended for a variety of audiences and for all television platforms, including HBO Max, external streaming services, cable, and broadcast networks.” It’s unknown what, if any, part of that deal still stands.
Tartakovsky’s first truly adult comedy, Fixed is a true labor of love, born in 2009, killed off, reborn, reworked, rewritten and eventually produced, that banks on everyone understanding the inherent humor in the simple premise:
A dog, Bull, finds out he’s going to be neutered in the morning.
The film was showcased with much fanfare and laughs at Annecy 2023; the director took the stage, and with a detailed display of artwork, storyboards, layout and finished animation, regaled a packed Petite Salle crowd with how truly funny – and treasured – a dog’s balls really are.
The film’s wonderful voice cast includes Adam Devine as Bull, Idris Elba as Rocco, Kathryn Hahn as Honey, Bobby Moynihan as Lucky, Fred Armisen as Fetch, Beck Bennett as Sterling, River Gallo as Frankie, and Michelle Buteau as Molasses. Michelle Murdocca produces.
Emails to Warner and Sony Pictures Animation have not been returned.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
