Plot: Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Petunia Pig are Earth’s only hope when facing the threat of alien invasion.
Review: During a time when moral compasses are pointing anywhere but up, and on a day when you find your credit card is beyond its limit, it sure is nice to feel like a kid again. Few things could bring me back to when Sesame Street’s “12 and Pinball” animation was the hottest jam of the Summer, like Looney Tunes. Every morning, and sometimes on Saturdays, Bugs, Daffy, Porky Pig, and their eclectic cast of friends molded my sense of humor, gave me a fondness for classical music, and invited sunshine into even the rainiest days.
I lost my mind when I heard Daffy Duck and Porky Pig would reunite for an unconventional 2D Looney Tunes movie. The news helped lick the wounds of losing the shelved Coyote vs. Acme, and flashbacks of repeatedly watching Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters came flooding back. My body was ready to embrace the duo’s new film, though what form it would take remained a mystery. As luck would have it, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is everything an old-school Looney Tunes fan could ask for, and it’s clever enough to appeal to younger generations, too.
The Day the Earth Blew Up frames Daffy and Porky as lifelong chums, having been adopted as infants by Farmer Jim, a kind and patient parental figure able to tolerate the duo’s antics throughout the years. When Farmer Jim walks off into the sunset, leaving Daffy and Porky in charge of their childhood home, their journey toward responsibility and heroism begins. It’s a special day for Daffy and Porky, the day of their Annual Home Standards Review, an evaluation of their house that’s fallen into various states of disrepair. During the review, a rigid Karen-like investigator alerts the duo to their missing roof, a gaping hole left by an out-of-control UFO the night before.
To meet the inspector’s standards, Daffy and Porky must find work. After several botched attempts at entering the workforce, the duo meets Petunia Pig, a flavor scientist, who invites them to work at the Goodie Gum factory. Daffy discovers a nefarious plot to infuse every piece of a “new” gum flavor with alien elements, turning chewers into mindless zombies. With nowhere left to turn and the world’s fate at stake, Daffy, Porky, and Petunia join forces against a maniacal alien intending to transform Earth.
The Day the Earth Blew Up is a work of art. Sometimes manic in its presentation, the film taps directly into what makes the Looney Tunes a timeless brand. Like many of Daffy and Porky’s misadventures of yesteryear, The Day the Earth Blew Up is a science-fiction feature akin to 1954’s Duck Dodgers in the 241/2th Century, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and classic Twilight Zone episodes. The film brilliantly (and seamlessly) uses different art styles to keep the presentation fresh and imaginative. One moment, you’re experiencing traditional (albeit polished) hand-drawn 2D, while the next scene offers a painterly look reminiscent of gross-out close-ups from Spumco’s Ren & Stimpy.
Like any Looney Tunes feature worth its salt, The Day the Earth Blew Up includes a rousing sci-fi score and inspired needle drops that folks from my generation will flip for. My biggest laugh in the film comes from a flashback sequence set to a 1991 chart-topper that had me clutching my sides with laughter. Seriously, my wife heard me cackling from the second floor of our house. That moment was pure comedic perfection.
It’s nice to know that even in 2024, the Looney Tunes brand hasn’t lost its knack for thinly veiled sexualized humor. Daffy is a fountain of double entendre, with a love of “pulling his crank” being one of his many adult-coded jokes. While some of the humor in The Day the Earth Blew Up could go over the heads of younger audience members, it’s great to keep the tradition of peppering the presentation with mature humor alive for old-school fans. It’s fun to catch the joke on the first go-around, finally, now that we’re older and life has twisted our perspective.
Another stand-out element of the film is Petunia Pig, voiced by the talented Candi Milo. Petunia is far more than an offset “gender balance” character and love interest for Porky. She’s a nerdy addition to the group who solves problems like Velma Dinkley and torches aliens like Ellen Ripley. She brings an energy to the story that otherwise would feel formulaic, given Daffy and Porky’s team-up dynamic. Her love of science (my wife is an accomplished microbiologist) and disdain for the “new” Goodie Gum flavor immediately endeared me to her, and the movie is better for her being in it.
In addition to its slapstick, The Day the Earth Blew Up brings drama to the stage. Daffy and Porky are the Odd Couple of the Looney Tunes universe. Sometimes mixing like oil and water, Porky occasionally expresses intolerance for Daffy’s shenanigans, leading to deception and hurt feelings. Daffy is an unhinged menace, but he’s also a loyal friend whose antics are often the answer to unsolvable problems. Let the duck do his thing, Porky. Your style is already cramped despite your efforts to appear smooth and in control of your emotions. Blowing up at your best friend isn’t doing you any favors in the eyes of those getting to know you.
Peter MacNicol joins the cast as The Invader, a seemingly evil alien infecting the gum with his biological weapons. In classic Looney Tunes fashion, The Invader is over-the-top, has a dry sense of humor, and underestimates our heroes. It’s a joy to watch him adapt to the threat the trio poses to his plans, and his arc throughout the story evolves nicely, adding an extra layer of depth.
They don’t make movies like The Day the Earth Blew Up anymore, framing this film as a treat for the whole family. In a time when Minions, Bluey, and Spongebob continue to dominate the animated medium for youngsters, it’s glorious to see old friends like Daffy and Porky treated with such respect. While The Day the Earth Blew Up leans toward viewers in their 30s and 40s, I’m confident kids will delight in Daffy’s deranged behavior and learn a valuable lesson from Porky’s evaluation of his deceptive decisions and selfishness. The Day the Earth Blew Up opens a window to let the stink of Space Jam: A New Legacy out of the room and invites audiences to inhale a fresh and frenetic approach to timeless character chemistry and exceptional science-fiction storytelling.
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