The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Review: This Is The Looney Tunes Movie I’ve Been Waiting For

Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes franchise is no stranger to the movies, as history has seen the property go from theatrical shorts to packaged presentations of previous cartoons, and now, live-action hybrids mark its most recent phase. However, we’ve never gotten an original animated movie sent to cinemas until The Day the Earth Blew Up: the very first of its kind. Now that history has been made, I think there is a bright future on the big screen, as the movie proves these characters are just as fresh as ever.

Borrowing from sci-fi classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Plan 9 From Outer Space, director Pete Browngardt and his cadre of co-writers have given Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced by Eric Bauza) a new challenge: brotherhood. Reinventing the lore of these lads as a pair of adopted siblings, their lives become even more complicated in adulthood.

Not only do these Looney Tunes stalwarts have to save their family home, but thanks to a plot hatched by extraterrestrials, they’re apparently the best chance at saving Earth as well. The usual combination of hijinks, loving nods to recurring jokes, and modern commentary are all present within this tale, which makes for a solid foundation. But what might surprise people is that The Day the Earth Blew Up actually takes the opportunity to show Daffy and Porky as thematically driven characters, something they’ve never been seen as before.

The Day the Earth Blew Up is pure Looney Tunes mayhem that honors tradition but knows how to poke fun at today.

Much like the spirit of the original Looney Tunes shorts, The Day the Earth Blew Up has a lot of jokes to include in a fairly short amount of time. Clocking in at a breezy 91 minutes, this picture has no slack. Which is fitting as Spike Jones’ “Powerhouse,” one of the unofficial themes of Warner Bros.’ landmark cartoon institution, plays a very important part in a visually lush gag involving our animated protagonists.

Anyone who knows this universe also knows that there’s plenty of room for easter eggs and sly jokes in dialogue. You get both in The Day the Earth Blew Up, as plenty of businesses are named after legendary animators like Bob Clampett, and Daffy gets a rather fun line about animation executives that’s only noticeable if you listen closely during a scene set in a diner. As always, nothing is sacred, but there’s also no punching down at any of the subjects in the line of comedic fire.

I cannot stress enough how much fun this Looney Tunes adventure is for fans who have followed any or all eras of the franchise. At the same time, The Day the Earth Blew Up keeps things fresh by honoring the tradition of poking fun at the here and now.

An action set-piece showcasing Porky and Petunia Pig (Candi Milo) sending up the standard “heroes rally against the alien invasion” trope has them paying tribute to Mad Max style action, with R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)” acting as the musical lynchpin. Adults will be laughing at this moment for one reason, while children in the audience will be enjoying this moment for another, and your kids will ideally be asking you to play some R.E.M. on the way home from the theater.

You may be showing up for the laughs, but you’ll stay for the plot.

What strikes me as a unique decision is the fact that The Day the Earth Blew Up invests in emotional stakes with Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. The pair is one of the long standing double acts that has made Looney Tunes history what it is today, but the decision to expand the lore to turn these friends into adopted brothers is a novel change. So while Daffy gets to be screwy, and a new explanation for Porky’s stutter is a punchline worth some laughs, there’s an actual story being told in-between such antics.

Here’s how serious The Day the Earth Blew Up gets: Daffy Duck is allowed a subplot that involves personal growth, and it never sabotages the jokes. One of the reasons the first original animated film in the Looney Tunes legacy works so well is because it takes itself seriously in parts. Though comedy is the main thrust of this picture, this isn’t a mere ‘laugh-a-minute’ collage of jokes. There is a plot that matters, and you may be surprised by some of the other developments.

Through 11 credited writers and a modestly sized cast, the film is a well thought out tale of what it means to be a family and the importance of looking before we leap. None of it ever feels like a heavy-handed effort to “reinvent” the Looney Tunes, which allows comedic all-starts like Peter MacNicol, Wayne Knight, and Laraine Newman to play to all facets of Pete Browngardt’s picture. In the same breath, the rock star performance of Eric Bauza showcases just how experienced voice acting veterans such as himself have dug into this new front.

As a franchise vet since 2011, and the de factor Looney Tunes front man since 2020, Bauza knows these characters on a deep professional level. The Day the Earth Blew Up is a proper showcase for how an actor can grow with their characters. With his performances serving as the picture’s anchor, along with voice acting legend Candi Milo’s reprisal of Petunia Pig, this entire experiment is in good hand from start to finish.

Without sacrificing charm or laughter, The Day The Earth Blew Up proves that the Looney Tunes can still play in a more modern sandbox.

Comedy dynasties like the Looney Tunes or even Saturday Night Live thrive on loving tributes to the past, while not being afraid to try something new. The Day the Earth Blew Up marks what could be the first step forward into a new chapter of Warner Bros.’ animated powerhouse, which is all the more important when considering the last time the studio sent the Tunes to theaters was 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy.

You won’t find any Droogs standing on the sidelines, nor will you be advertised athletic apparel in The Day the Earth Blew Up. Instead, audiences will be treated to one of the few PG-rated movies that make it to theaters that doesn’t pander to kids. Walking the fine line between jokes you’ll get when you’re 10 and gags that’ll make more sense in adulthood, this is one of the finest examples of what a basic Looney Tunes movie should be.

We haven’t seen pure Looney Tunes fun in the theaters for some time, and The Day The Earth Blew Up proves why that needs to change. In the wake of the unresolved Coyote vs. Acme debacle, the release of this movie shows that there are parties out there that still believe in justice for toons.