4 out 5 Tunes (one of the best of the year)
The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is the best movie featuring the Looney Tunes to date. It’s a fully-animated sci-fi romp that serves not only as a great love letter to its Looney heroes, but also a fantastic introduction to them and the sci-fi genre for kids. Wacky, funny, and above all fun, The Day The Earth Blew Up proves the Looney Tunes still have a place on cinema screens and should entertain fans young and old.
Looney Tunes Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (Both voiced by Eric Bauza) grew up together causing chaos under the loving eye of Farmer Jim (Voiced by Fred Tatasciore), who asked them to maintain their home upon his passing. Now years later, the lovable Loons fail a home inspection due to a gaping hole in their roof and have 10 days to fix it or wave adieu to their abode. After several comical failures at employment, they meet scientist and gum factory worker Petunia Pig (Voiced by Candi Milo) who offers them factory gigs and catches Porky’s eye. However, our trio soon discovers a dastardly Alien Invader (Voiced by Peter MacNicol) is out for gum-fueled world domination and must band together to save the earth before it’s late.
I grew up on Space Jam and Looney Tunes Back In Action. Both featured the Looney Tunes interacting with live-action humans and faced criticism for that. The Day The Earth Blew Up is the first fully animated Looney movie (in beautiful hand-drawn/’90 Disney style no less), and it makes a great case for this being the ideal medium for them going forward. The movie moves like a rocket and has constant gags (most of which hit) that should appeal to kids and adults while still taking its story and threat seriously. The romance between Porky and Petunia is sweet, the animation is zippy without having a hyperactive key-jingle effect, and the action is simultaneously cool and ridiculous. There are a few modern-day jokes early on that I’ve seen elsewhere, but the movie gets the appeal of the characters is in goofy slapstick and verbal wit and largely sticks to that for its humor. This is an all-ages sci-fi comedy that left me laughing, smiling, and hopeful it won’t be the last time we see these and other Tunes on the big screen. Whether you’re a longtime Looney Tunes fan or want a way to introduce them to your own kids, The Day The Earth Blew Up is a lovingly crafted, perfectly Looney sci-fi romp that should satisfy both sets. See it in theaters!
Rated PG for Cartoon Violence/Action and Rude/Suggestive Humor (Daffy comically twerks during a brief Influencer gag)