Movie review - The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes movie

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie *** (out of 5) (PG) I was surprised to read that this is the first all-animated theatrical release from Warner Brothers! They’ve been cranking out delightful ‘toons for nearly a century, some live-action/animated feature mixes, and even had a chain of retail stores before this. So, apart from historical significance, is this a fun watch? Yes. Good, but not great.

Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are the stars. No Bugs or Elmer. The premise is that a projectile smacks into Earth loaded with a green goo that turns people into mindless zombies in the thrall of an alien who plans to conquer our planet (I use “our” on the assumption that you readers are fellow Earthlings, but Others are welcome, too.). The delivery method is contaminating a popular new flavor of gum on its big worldwide release to take control over the chewers. Our intrepid heroes just happen to get jobs at the gum factory after meeting Petunia Pig, who researches and develops flavors for the company (surprisingly, not named Acme).

Daffy is the first to notice people transforming, but he’s been so …well, daffy that no one believes him, leading to mass subjugation. But the boys and Petunia stumble onto ways to reverse the process. Nothing goes smoothly and the plot takes a weird turn that may not make a lot of sense to those who care about such things.

On the plus side, youngsters should be captivated by the slapstick extremes akin to the studio’s early decades of shorts. The quality of animation is first-rate, looking like the classics, but crisper. Action scenes fill the screen with wild colors and movements. Adults in the house can enjoy the nostalgia factor and appreciate a handful of wisecracks and throwaway lines with pop-culture and other references inserted for their benefit.

Eric Bauza sounds true to Mel Blanc’s marvelous legacy while voicing Porky and Daffy. Other well-known actors (including Peter MacNicol, Carlos Alazraqui, Wayne Knight and Laraine Newman) chip in for supporting characters’ dialog. It’s fine as entertainment for all ages, but probably won’t rival the popularity or endurance of fare like Space Jam.

(The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie opens in theaters on 3/14/25)