I must admit a certain bias in reviewing a film like this. Any review of recent Looney Tunes projects is colored by the fact that the brand has been chewed up and spit out by the current Warner Bros. regime, infamous for canceling films like Batgirl, Scoob 2, and Coyote vs. Acme as tax write-offs. Whatever good or bad I can say about a film such as this is in the context of the fact that Warner Bros. has gone from one of the most pro-artist studios in Hollywood to committing atrocities against art preservation. It’s easy to be biased when a film like this is fighting for the right to exist in a heavily corporatized status quo.
Content Guide
Violence/Scary Images: PG-comedic violence, including a character comedically skinning himself, repeatedly hitting his head, and using a flamethrower. Nothing inappropriate for young viewers.
Language/Crude Humor: Limited language, one use of “screw”.
Drug/Alcohol References: None.
Sexual Content: Brief double-entendre.
Spiritual Content: None.
Other Negative Content: None.
Positive Content: Themes of brotherhood, loyalty, love, and self-sacrifice.
Review
I must admit that life circumstances have kept me out of the theaters for recent months. I’m not up to date on major releases, but my biggest regret this year was not getting out to see The Day the Earth Blew Up, the newest Looney Tunes project to be rescued by Ketchup Entertainment and given a much-deserved theatrical release. With its recent release on Blu-ray and DVD (and plans to release on HBO Max on June 27), I’m happy to redress this mistake and finally check it out!
The film comes from Looney Tunes Cartoons creator Peter Browngardt, who did an excellent job directing and ushering the prestigious animated characters in their strongest iteration since Tiny Toon Adventures. The HBO Max exclusive series’ four-year run (2020-2024) flew under the radar of most streaming viewers, but stands as some of the best comedy the franchise has produced in decades.
The Day the Earth Blew Up is a natural extension of the cartoon shorts, borrowing heavily from its style and humor, and blown up into a rare, feature-length 2D animated film. The film has to make some concessions to modern audiences with references to TikTok and boba tea. It’s also faster paced than classic Looney Tunes, with less subtle characterization, more hyperkinetic energy, and a few needle drop music choices.
Taking inspiration from 1950s science fiction B-movies, the film follows Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as adoptive brothers, having been adopted by a loving farmer, and now struggling to raise the money to save their aging farmhouse from being condemned and destroyed by busybody neighbors. When a job at a gum factory accidentally results in the discovery of an alien conspiracy to conquer the earth, they find themselves the only ones avoiding zombification and capable of saving the world.
The film’s story isn’t much to write home about beyond its functionality. The machinations of the alien plot are mostly shallow and intentionally vague, mostly set up for a lame joke, until the film’s climax. It makes for a cliche skeleton for imaginative visual storytelling, creative gags, and excellent 2D animation. There are concurrent stories of Daffy and Porky learning to rely on each other, while Porky falls in love with a dorky romantic partner, but it’s not the core of the movie’s strengths.
At its face, the movie has to fundamentally shift the nature of Porky and Daffy’s core dynamic to make this story work. Instead of the traditional rivalry of a chaotic jerk torturing a kindly shuddering victim, these characters are loving brothers working to help each other, only failing occasionally due to their own weaknesses. Daffy is still characteristically looney, and Porky is still put upon and easily frustrated, but both characters are ultimately less antagonistic toward each other, even if their faults do cause major problems. Amusingly, though, the film does manage to build these character traits into both their story arcs.
Again, though, it’s hard to knock the film for minor points, itemize its storytelling failures, or concessions to modern sensibilities, when it’s so clearly on the side of the angels. 2D animation is already rare in modern Hollywood, and Warner Bros. effectively buried the film with poor promotion. The film is a victim of its industry and declining theatrical patronage across the industry. The fact that it’s also still a funny and creative animated flick and a great showcase for the classical comedic style of the Looney Tunes (arguably making it the first good theatrical Looney Tunes movie… shots fired…) makes it all the more impressive, and well worth seeking out!
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