^{Credit: Fixed (Netflix)} 

Between Dexter’s Lab, Samurai Jack, and Primal, Genndy Tartakovsky is a true living legend. Where so many modern animators conform to a house style or what’s trendy, Tartakovsky continues to take chances. He takes one of his biggest swings with Fixed, an R-rated, hand-drawn animated film about a dog (Adam DeVine) going out for a night on the town before being neutered. After years in development, on the shelf, and going through multiple studios, Fixed finally found a home at Netflix. While I’m glad Tartakovsky’s film has finally seen the light of day, it brings me no pleasure to say that Fixed isn’t especially good. In fact, it’s a bad boy.

Typically, this is where I’d dissect the plot, but there isn’t much else to discuss. A dog doesn’t want his balls removed. That’s it. To be fair, Tartakovsky’s projects always have straightforward setups. It’s in the visual storytelling where the plots usually come to life. Even with balls dangling and buttholes pressed up against the screen, there’s a lot of personality to be found in Tartakovsky’s designs and animation. At the very least, this helps distinguish Fixed from a generic, made-by-committee animated film. Unlike Tartakovsky’s past works, though, he opts to tell rather than show. The characters spend most of their time talking about private parts. This would be alright if they had anything funny to say, but Fixed is laughless, despite being co-written by Jon Vitti (The Simpsons, King of the Hill, The Office).

That’s not an exaggeration. There are no laughs. There aren’t even any jokes, really. Just profanity-laced conversations that drag on forever, thinly bridged by set pieces that lack the energy Tartakovsky is known for. Even a talented voice cast that includes Idris Elba, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, and Bobby Moynihan can’t find the humor in this dialogue. One of the running gags, if you can even call it that, is cats and dogs disliking each other. Okay, we’ve seen that a million times before. What kind of unique spin are you going to put on it? Well, the dogs are going to say, “Fucking cats.” The cats are going to say, “Fucking dogs,” … twice. This movie makes Strays look like Best in Show.

You get the sense that Tartakovsky was trying to channel Ralph Bakshi, who is known for loose plots, grotesque imagery, and animation that pushes the envelope. Bakshi’s films never tried this hard to be edgy, however. They just were. If Fixed predated Fritz the Cat, it might be seen as groundbreaking, but on the heels of South Park, Big Mouth, and Adult Swim, Fixed isn’t as bold as it thinks it is. Even for a hard-R animated feature, Fixed doesn’t feel as unhinged as it should. For example, there’s a romantic fling between our protagonist and the bitch female dog next door, the closest thing this movie has to a subplot. When their courtship reaches its literal climax, it comes off as tame compared to the food orgy in Sausage Party or the puppet sex in Team America. So, even on that level, Fixed fails to go balls to the wall.

Early in his career, Tartakovsky got one of his big breaks working on 2 Stupid Dogs. Going from that show to this film is the equivalent of Ren & Stimpy paving the way for the infamous Adult Party Cartoon. One can work for kids and adults on different levels. The other claims to be for adults, but seems tailored for boys between the ages of 10 and 12. It pains me to write this, as I have deep respect for Tartakovsky and have no doubt he’ll one day recapture the spark that made him an all-timer. Of his directorial outings, though, Fixed needed the most fixing. Like Francis Ford Coppola with Megalopolis, it’s great that a visionary got a long-time passion project finished and released. That’s the only thing great about it, however.

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!