The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024)

By: Mike Ward on Thursday, March 13

PG Running Time: 91 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

The animated science-fiction comedy starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck you never knew you needed.
After years of upheaval in trying to get this released, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a laugh-out-loud comedy that feels both nostalgic and new at the same time.
Deserves to find an audience and offers the potential for Looney Tunes to be introduced to a whole lot of new eyes.

NO

When compared to some of its contemporaries, The Day the Earth Blew Up looks more like the streaming platform film it was originally intended to be.
Daffy is … a lot in this movie. And though by design, that energy may be a bit much for older viewers to handle.
The throwback nature of the sci-fi story may be lost on viewers. Perhaps, the jokes will not land for you and the breaking of the fourth wall may not resonate. That’s a bummer for you. Is this the greatest film ever? No. Should you give it a chance? Yes … if you can find it.

OUR REVIEW

There’s a fact about The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie that boggled my brain. Despite more than 1,000 animated short films and a handful of feature-length films produced by the studio, this new film is the first Looney Tunes full-length movie to contain entirely original material for a theatrical audience. Think about that. The first Looney Tunes short, Sinkin’ in the Bathtub, debuted in 1930. And while there have been Looney Tunes characters on the big screen before, audiences are now getting their first original cinematic offering nearly 100 years later.

I would love to say that this is because Warner Bros. Animation has decided to reintroduce these characters for a new generation and have renewed a commitment to make characters like Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Sylvester, the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig front and center in a new marketing venture. Sadly though, that is not the case.

Though produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the studio has essentially washed their hands of the film. Originally slated for a premiere on streaming service Max in 2022, Warner Bros. decided to shop this to other studios and pulled the film from distribution. Over the course of two long years, multiple festival showings (including the 2024 Cannes Film Festival of all places), the small but mighty studio Ketchup Entertainment secured the rights to the film, then moved its release date around a handful of times before finally settling on March 2025.

After receiving a one-week qualifying run for the 97th Academy Awards in December 2024, and missing a nomination for Animated Feature Film, The Day the Earth Blew Up is far from a throwaway. The movie is actually quite entertaining. Genuinely funny. Why people played “Hot Potato” with this film makes little to no sense.

Made for just $15 million, this deserves to find an audience. Kids and a whole host of nostalgic adults will laugh and chuckle. The movie takes chances - it breaks the fourth wall, often is self-aware and at times self-deprecating in its humor. In certain moments, I felt like a kid again.

Working at breakneck speed, The Day the Earth Blew Up incorporates science-fiction elements and feels like a novelty both old and new. Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are the leads, playing a wacky, hyperactive, “opposites attract”-style duo. Eric Bauza takes on both characters and does a masterful job of capturing the voices we all remember from our childhood. While producers were likely replacing Bauza’s spit guards countless times during the recording sessions, that voicework is what hooks us into a story that plays on 1950’s creature features and taps into the horror of aliens, zombies, and green, mysterious toxic goo.

That nasty green substance infiltrates the local Goodie Gum factory and ends up being mixed in with a massive batch of the sweet confection. Naturally, that batch gets packaged up and sent out to the masses unknowingly by new employees Porky and Daffy. In addition, we have a mysterious diabolical character called “Invader” (Peter MacNicol) who has a hand in the nefarious happenings. As people buy and chew Goodie Gum, the chemicals cause a zombie-like reaction and trademark Looney Tunes chaos naturally ensues.

Porky even has a subplot, as he finds himself smitten with new character Petunia Pig (Candi Milo), a taste test engineer whose flavor experiments will cause some kids watching to yell out “Ooooooohhh!” and “Gross!”

The fun is the point. And first-time feature director Peter Browngardt, who helmed several recent “Looney Tunes Cartoons” episodes, finds a nice rhythm and pacing to his comedic adventure. However, with 15 (count ‘em!) credited screenwriters and story consultants, several of whom worked on “Spongebob Squarepants” through the years, the film can overwhelm its rather simple narrative structure. Daffy, rife with conspiracy theories and boundless enthusiasm, can also overstay his welcome at times.

Though in blending a familiar and inviting look in the character design, along with a silly plot that never loses its audience, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is one of the first genuine surprises of the movie year.

And what’s bittersweet about all of this is that we have no idea what comes next. Will Warner Bros. snatch this back and stream it on Max? Will Ketchup Entertainment strike a deal and stream this somewhere else? Or does this groundbreaking Looney Tunes franchise film simply fade into the ether once its theatrical run is over?

I hope people find this and families give it a chance. We all could use a laugh right now and The Day the Earth Blew Up appears to more than meet the moment.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Carlos Alazraqui, Kimberly Brooks, Rachel Butera, Laraine Newman, Fred Tatasciore, Wayne Knight

Director: Peter Browngardt
Written by: Darrick Bachman, Peter Browngardt, Kevin Costello, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Alex Kirwan, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, Johnny Ryan, Eddie Trigueros (screenplay); Katie Rice, Guy Bar’ely, Josie Campbell, Gilli Nissim (story consultants)
Release Date: December 13, 2024
Re-Release Date: March 14, 2025
Ketchup Entertainment

The animated science-fiction comedy starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck you never knew you needed.

After years of upheaval in trying to get this released, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a laugh-out-loud comedy that feels both nostalgic and new at the same time.

Deserves to find an audience and offers the potential for Looney Tunes to be introduced to a whole lot of new eyes.

When compared to some of its contemporaries, The Day the Earth Blew Up looks more like the streaming platform film it was originally intended to be.

Daffy is … a lot in this movie. And though by design, that energy may be a bit much for older viewers to handle.

The throwback nature of the sci-fi story may be lost on viewers. Perhaps, the jokes will not land for you and the breaking of the fourth wall may not resonate. That’s a bummer for you. Is this the greatest film ever? No. Should you give it a chance? Yes … if you can find it.