Director Genndy Tartakovsky’s longtime passion project, the raunchy R-rated, Sony Pictures Animation comedy Fixed, is finally here. You can check it out now on Netflix. But first… here’s my Animation Scoop Q&A with three of its stars — Adam Devine, Beck Bennett and River Gallo. (This interview was edited for length and clarity. Images: Courtesy of Netflix.)

Jackson Murphy: Adam, Bull has quite the night. It’s the evening before he’s going to be neutered. There are a lot of emotions that your character really goes through. How challenging was that physically when it comes to your voice performance?

Adam Devine: It wasn’t. (laughs) I feel like I was perfectly cast as this dog, who is too horny for his own good. It was fun to play. There was a range of emotions, where at first he’s humping everything, and then you realize that he’s anxious and that he’s in love. Is that love story actually gonna come to fruition? A scary night out at first and then his friends meet up with him. They end up having a great night. It was fun to play that range of emotions, while still being a dirty dog!

JM: Beck, you voice Sterling, who’s a show dog. One of my favorite comedies of all-time is “Best in Show”. Have you seen that movie, and were you familiar with the phenomenon of all these dog shows?

Beck Bennett: Absolutely. I love “Best in Show”. It’s one of my favorite movies as well. And yeah, I’m familiar with the world a little bit. I also think this movie really examines what that world — the show dogs situation — is all about in such a funny, unique way. I think it’s a great addition to “Best in Show”.

JM: There’s a lot of laughs and wild moments. River, you voice Frankie, a dog that the gang meets outside of a club. You broke through in “Ponyboi”. Was this your first voice acting experience?

River Gallo: Yes, it was my very first voice acting experience.

JM: How was it for you? What surprised you about it?

RG: Well, I had a unique experience where I actually got to record with Bobby Moynihan [the voice of Lucky] for our scenes, which is not normally what happens. It was so fun. We were just… having voice sex and it was being recorded. (laughs) That is what you hear in the movie.

JM: Adam, in collaborating with Genndy Tartakovsky… could you tell the passion he has for this story?

AD: This movie, in lesser hands, would not turn out well. It would be hacky and kinda gross. There wouldn’t be enough heart. He is so smart and so talented that he’s able to perfectly balance the heart and the raunchiness to where it’s palpable and you are able to watch the whole movie and feel good about yourself at the end. Someone who doesn’t have the artistic touch that Genndy has wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

JM: Yeah, there is a joy and a spirit to this movie that really comes through.

AD: Yeah. You can tell he just loves it.

JM: Beck, you’ve done a lot of voice work in film and television, as well as “SNL”. Were there vocal warm-up exercises for “SNL” or for this? Any similarities or differences there?

BB and AD (together): Aluminum Linoleum! Red leather, yellow leather. Unique New York. Also a tongue stretch (like a giraffe).

AD: And you did that on “SNL”? Everybody kinda does that? So Phil Hartman did that back in the day?

BB: Yeah. A good half an hour.

JM: River, you had “Ponyboi”, which was a short film and then five years later became a feature. What inspires you about passion projects and sticking with something for a long time and telling these very passionate stories?

RG: The last 10 years of my life has been dedicated to “Ponyboi” and to this story I’ve been wanting to tell, for pretty much as long as Genndy has been wanting to tell “Fixed”. So I completely related. There’s something about… as I’m emerging as a filmmaker and an actor right now… I realize that you really have to give a sh*t about what you’re doing as a filmmaker in order to have the strength and perseverance to get through years and years of either rejection or challenges. So much respect for him for sticking through this whole process with “Fixed” and now finally the world gets to see it.

JM: Adam, I also have to ask you about voicing Blizzard on “Reindeer in Here”, which has been an animated holiday special staple. What does that mean to you?

AD: It was so cool, and I love how well-received that was. I get little kids telling me that they have the doll and that “Reindeer in Here” is a movie they watch every year. It was really, really cool to do — and to do something that was… I’m kind of known for doing these more R-rated things, through “Workaholics” and different movies, so it’s cool to do a straight ahead, very cute, family Christmas movie.