TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 of 2025 (No. 2042) by Leroy Douresseaux
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2025) – animated
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
Rated: MPA – PG for cartoon violence/action and rude/suggestive humor
DIRECTOR: Pete Browngardt
WRITERS: Darrick Bachman, Pete Browngardt, Kevin Costello, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Alex Kirwan, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, Johnny Ryan, and Eddie Trigueros
PRODUCERS: Michael Baum (line); Alex Kirwan (supervising)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sam Register and Pete Browngardt
EDITOR: Nick Simotas
COMPOSER: Joshua Moshier
ANIMATION/SCI-FI and COMEDY/FAMILY
Starring: (voices) Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Fred Tatasciore, Carlos Alazraqui, Kimberly Brooks, Laraine Newman, and Wayne Knight
SUMMARY OF REVIEW:
-- Fans of traditional, hand-drawn animation and fans of the “Looney Tunes” will want to give “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” a try for the simple fact that it is a traditional, hand-drawn, Looney Tunes animated film
-- However, it is good, not great, but it goes down like nostalgia-infused hot cocoa.
-- Eric Bauza's voice performances as both Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are so pitch perfect that I would swear that Looney Tunes voice legend, Mel Blanc, had performed the roles
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a 2025 American animated science fiction comedy from director Peter Browngardt. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Ketchup Entertainment, the film stars two classic “Looney Tunes” characters, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. In The Day the Earth Blew Up, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig try to save the Earth from an alien invasion involving a creepy new flavor of chewing gum.
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie opens in the town of Grandview. There, The Scientist (Fred Tatasciore) discovers an asteroid heading towards Earth, and then, he discovers a UFO hurtling alongside the asteroid. When the UFO crashes onto Earth, The Scientist goes to investigate the crash site, where he vanishes.
The story moves to Daffy Duck (Eric Bauza) and Porky Pig (Eric Bauza), and the story of how they were raised by Farmer Jim (Fred Tatasciore). When Daffy and Porky become adults, Farmer Jim leaves everything to the duo under the promise that they would learn the power of responsibility through relying on each other. Now, however, Daffy and Porky are in danger of losing the home Farmer Jim left them because they fail a city home inspection.
In need of cash for home repairs, the duo gets a job at the “Goodie Gum” factory, where they meet Petunia Pig (Candi Milo), a Goodie Gum scientist who is trying to develop the perfect chewing gum flavor. Porky falls in love with Petunia, while Daffy keeps causing disasters. That is all interrupted when the trio discovers that their is an alien conspiracy, initiated by “The Invader” (Peter MacNicol), and assisted by The Scientist, who is now possessed. The Invader seemingly wants to control the world, using the launch of Goodie Gum's new flavor, “Super Strongberry.” Are Daffy, Porky, and their new pal, Petunia, up to the challenge of saving the Earth from being... blown up?
There have been Looney Tunes films for several decades. Those include The Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), Daffy Ducks Quackbusters (1988), and the live-action animation hybrid, Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). However, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is the first fully animated and theatrically released Looney Tunes film that consists of entirely original material. I hope that it is not the last, but The Day the Earth Blew Up isn't a great film.
Don't get me wrong. It is entertaining, visually inventive, full of clever sight gags, and energetic. The voice performances are exceptional, and Canadian voice actor, Eric Bauza, matches the sound and spirit of classic Looney Tunes voice actor, the late Mel Blanc (1908-89). Two of Bauza's three Emmy Award wins are for his Looney Tunes work, and he should win some awards for his work in this film.
The Day the Earth Blew Up is charming and also respectful of its Warner Bros. animation roots and cartoon legacy. For all its energy (mostly in the second half) and novel story elements, this film feels a bit too long. Too much of the movie feels forced, and I get why Warner Bros. Pictures passed on distributing this movie itself. The Day the Earth Blew Up is niche entertainment, and its limited box office appeal probably wasn't worth the time and costs of distributing it theatrically.
Luckily, Ketchup Entertainment didn't feel that way, and it gave this film a theatrical release, both domestically and internationally. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie deserved that, because despite my reservations, I believe it can start something. Maybe, Looney Tunes can again be a really big thing with the youngest generations the way it once was with the oldest generations.
6 of 10
B
★★★ out of 4 stars
"THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP" is available on Blu-ray and DVD at Amazon.
The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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