‘The Day the Earth Blew Up’ Review
Stars: Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Fred Tatasciore | Written by Darrick Bachman, Pete Browngardt, Kevin Costello, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Alex Kirwan, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, Johnny Ryan, Eddie Trigueros | Directed by Pete Browngardt
The Day the Earth Blew Up is the fourth Looney Tunes feature film and the first to be a completely animated production. This time, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig take the lead.
Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced by Eric Bauza) have grown up with each other and are inseparable despite their different personalities. After a house inspector finds a hole in their roof, the pair have ten days to raise money to fix it. Their money-making ventures coincide with an alien-controlled scientist (Fred Tatasciore) contaminating the global supply of chewing gum, which turns anyone who chews it into mind-controlled zombies.
The Day the Earth Blew Up had a long road to the cinema. It was initially intended to be released as a straight-to-streaming film, but Warner Bros. Discovery ultimately sold the film to other distributors. Ketchup Entertainment brought the North American distribution rights, whilst Vertigo Releasing distributed the film in the UK and Ireland.
The Looney Tunes don’t need much of an introduction. They have been around since 1930 and have been reinterpreted many times. The feature films have made Bugs Bunny the main Tune, so it was refreshing to see Daffy and Porky getting the limelight. Causal fans probably won’t think of that pairing, so it added to scenes of freshness. Porky and Daffy were a chalk-and-cheese pairing since Porky was the sensible one, whilst Daffy was a destructive agent of chaos. Despite their differences, they did care for each other and had each other’s backs. It made for a nice dynamic, and their relationship gave the film an emotional core.
The Day the Earth Blew Up was made to be a loving spoof of 1950s sci-fi. The title references the 1951 classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, whilst the plot was inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It was a fun, family-friendly version of these types of films and can act as an introduction to those types of films for younger audiences. The film does embrace ‘50s fashion and aesthetic, yet also has modern elements like smartphones and Daffy and Porky trying to be influencers (it doesn’t end well).
The Day the Earth Blew Up aimed to be a pure comedy film. The goal was to make people laugh, and it did that successfully. My favourite joke involved a new report about the characters who were trying to save the world. It was a zany, mile-a-minute film that had little respite. It was hard not to get bored watching the film.
The film was also a wonderful throwback to 2D animation. It was a great-looking film, especially for its $15 million budget. The Looney Tunes looked great, especially compared to Space Jam: A New Legacy, which had 10 times the budget, but the animation looked flat. The designs of the human characters looked like they were influenced by Ren and Stimpy. This was especially true of Daffy and Porky’s adopted dad, Farmer Jim (Fred Tatasciore), who was beautifully drawn and painted, but had limited movement for comic effect.
On a final note, the cast was made up of professional voice actors instead of celebrities. The most famous actor in the film was Wayne Knight, and he’s known as a character actor and comedy actor. This helped the film feel more like an animated film from the past and allowed the audience to appreciate the voices rather than think of the person behind them. Daffy and Porky have distinct voices and needed someone who could recreate them.
The Day the Earth Blew Up is a simple yet delightful film that should evoke nostalgia in older audiences and entertain younger ones.
***½ 3.5/5
The Day the Earth Blew Up is in cinemas now.
