The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Review

 

I saw “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,” and here are my thoughts on the film…

In order to save their house, Porky and Daffy get jobs at a gum factory and uncover an alien invasion conspiracy…

The characterization is definitely a throwback to the original 1930s personalities; Porky is very much responsible, good-natured, but shy… Daffy is like a guy with ADHD who got really drunk at a party; you have to keep an eye on him or else he’ll run off and cause mischief or chaos lol.

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d say… Daffy and Porky made great brothers lol for good (loving and always being there for each other) and the bad (getting on each other’s nerves and wanting to kill each other), but in the end, you really like and root for them and their brotherhood; it’s the heart of the movie.

Side note: Both characters were voiced by the same actor (Eric Bauza), and he did an amazing job. It’s very easy to forget it’s one guy talking to himself lol, so big ups to him.

Petunia Pig was a fun addition; she struck a good balance between being the “straight man” to Porky and Daffy’s wackiness but having some “Looney” tendencies of herself. I could see her popping up in more Looney Tunes properties in the future, which would be cool.

The alien villain also fits the Looney Tunes mold very well; he’s creepy while also being very silly and shrill. I could see this character being added to the Looney Tunes rogue gallery or facing off against Marvin the Martian someday. Peter MacNicol did a wonderful voice acting performance.

As someone who was a big fan of 2-D animation growing up, this movie is stunning; everyone just moves so seamlessly and is so well detailed. Plus there’s a gag with a farmer that evokes a certain animation style. I was a big fan of it in the 90s, so that was a throwback I really appreciated. Plus, on a budget of 15 million, the animators did a fantastic job.

There are a few modern jokes about modern technology and trends; one or two made me roll my eyes, but they’re so silly and ridiculous and… Looney lol, so the jokes work for the most part.

I have sort of mixed feelings about some of the modern storytelling conventions. The film has… Like, on the one hand, I appreciate that they give Porky and Daffy character arcs, and they grow as characters. It’s good because that’s where a lot of the heart of the film comes… But on the other hand, the storytelling is a little cliché. It very much feels like a standard romcom plot with two people having issues with each other, confronting them, and then overcoming them and growing closer… which is well done, and maybe I’m just being a Looney Tunes purist, but I thought it was played a little safe and predictably, but honestly, it’s nothing that takes away from the movie. It’s all just a personal thing for me; I think most people will actually enjoy it.

So to summarize… when you were a kid and he always wanted something and your childhood passed by and you never got it and then you were an adult and you came across that thing you always wanted and it brought back all these different feelings and nostalgia and then you decided to get it and then you felt like a part of your life was now complete… This movie isn’t that lol, but it was still pretty fun and a great surprise. As a life long Looney Tunes fan, you could tell there was a lot of love and passion and creativity put into the film, and I had a great time watching it. I give it a high four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I hope they do more of these in the future, teaming up Looney Tunes and telling original stories… I would love to see a Yosemite Sam versus Marvin the Martian “Cowboy vs. Alien” type movie lol.