The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

by Mike McGranaghan

Daffy Duck and Porky Pig are front and center in The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. It’s been four years since we’ve seen the characters in a feature-length film, and Space Jam: A New Legacy didn’t exactly light the world on fire. This new feature is likely to get a far warmer reception from Looney Tunes fans, as it delivers the expected comedic anarchy wrapped up in a witty sci-fi spoof.

When a UFO crashes on Earth sending a projectile smashing into the friends’ roof, the homeowner’s association gives them a week to fix it or be tossed out. Porky and Daffy go through an uproarious montage in which they apply for – and fail at – a number of jobs before finally landing a gig at a bubblegum factory. Porky likes the job because it keeps him in proximity to co-worker Petunia Pig.

Meanwhile, the alien invader (voiced by Peter MacNichol) hatches a plan to put a mind control substance inside the bubblegum. This new “flavor” takes off, turning a significant chunk of the planet’s population into zombie-like creatures. Only the duck and the two pigs can potentially avert a global catastrophe – provided they can agree on a plan.

Humor arrives in two forms in The Day the Earth Blew Up. Part of the movie is a buddy comedy where two opposite personalities clash. Despite being best buds, Porky and Daffy are quite capable of getting on each other’s nerves, Abbott and Costello style. Their back-and-forth is frequently funny in that patented Looney Tunes manner. The screenplay – credited to a whopping eleven writers – comes impressively packed with zingers, several of which are shrewdly designed to resonate with adults in the audience.

Even better is the parody of old-school sci-fi classics. You can’t miss the influence of pictures like The Blob and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The bubblegum angle is delightfully absurd, going in increasingly hilarious directions as the story moves forward. Director Peter Browngardt and his animation team visually skewer the look and paranoid feel of those creature features, where seemingly innocuous objects prove dangerous.

The Day the Earth Blew Up was made for the Max streaming service, then sold off when Warner Bros. studio management stupidly began getting rid of completed projects (including another Looney Tunes effort, Coyote vs. Acme). You can kind of tell that it wasn’t initially intended for the theatrical market, as it lacks the big budget sheen of the two Space Jams or Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Regardless, Porky and Daffy offer up ninety minutes of madcap fun that are destined to delight fans both young and old.

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