Genndy Tartakovsky Talks R-Rated Movie 'Fixed'
Sony Pictures Animation are the first major Hollywood Studio to go into adult animation. They made their mature-audience debut with the recent TV series Agent Elvis. Attracting more attention, however, is their first adult animated feature, as it comes from animation legend Genndy Tartakovsky.
Fixed is an R-rated comedy about a dog named Bull who learns that he is going to be neutered in the morning. He decides that he needs one last great adventure with his best friends.
The film is currently in production and is expected to be completed in September. It's being produced by Sony Pictures Animation in association with New Line Cinema.
Adam Devine has signed on to voice Bull, while Idris Elba will play his buddy Rocco. Bobby Moynihan voices Lucky), Fred Armisen plays Fetch, Beck Bennett voices Sterling, River Gallo is Frankie and Michelle Buteau voices Molasses. Kathryn Hahn plays Bull's love interest Honey.
Tartakovsky says that unlike much adult animation the aim was not to shock but to "make a classic movie". He says he wants to make a movie "“Like Lady and the Tramp or 101 Dalmatians, but rated R. If you can look past the balls and the buttholes, you will find a very sweet, charming, sincere story of friendship and romance.”
The film is also intended as a love letter to 2D hand-drawn animation such as Bugs Bunny, Tex Avery or even classic Disney. “It has become a lost art. These days, everything is computer-generated. It was my dream to do this." He added "It became this homage. We were able to secure animators we never thought we would be able to get. That’s when it became very exciting."
Tartakovsky co-wrote the script with Jon Vitti, taking inspiration from films such as Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, as well as the dynamic between his own friends. “Comedy is the hardest thing, always, but in animation, you create it from nothing" he added. " It’s why I got into it. I could draw a little stick figure running, my friends would look over my shoulder and laugh. It’s such an amazing illusion."
He says there are "four layers" of humour in the film- raunchy comedy, physical comedy, character humour and dog-owner humour. He adds they deliberately avoided pop culture references, saying it all takes place in the one world.
Tartakovsky teases the film's climax which he says is "“raunchy, very sexual but also very heartfelt.” He says that with other Studios they might say they would make the film but not that one scene. He adds that it defines the film and that he wouldn't make the film without it. "Luckily we found the right partners," he adds.
