The Day The Earth Blew Up - A Looney Tunes Movie has had a very turbulent past couple of years, after somehow surviving Warner Bros' previous shelving. The film was going to be released on HBO Max. Back in 2022, the film, like on-again / off-again / on again Coyote vs Acme was caught in David Zaslav's highly controversial cost cutting regime of cancelling near completed or completed movies for tax purposes like Batgirl, Scoob 2 Holiday Haunt & Coyote vs Acme.. Unlike Coyote vs Acme, The Day The Earth Blew Up is completely hand drawn in traditional 2-D animation. A style that is rarely seen in cinemas these days for feature films. Although it's said Coyote vs Acme will feature traditionally animated elements, taking influence from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
The Day The Earth Blew Up was, believe it or not, my first experience of seeing a Looney Tunes movie in the cinemas. As a life long Looney Tunes fan, I only managed to see films like 1996's Space Jam and 2003's Looney Tunes Back In Action on VHS (or DVD). I missed 2021's highly controversial Space Jam A New Legacy in theaters as well. I guess I didn't really care much for the Space Jam film series.
The Day The Earth Blew Up is directed by Peter Browngardt, who is most famous for creating shows like Uncle Grandpa, so I felt right at home with his adaption of Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny is not in this movie at all, however the film's plot focuses on my favourite Looney Tunes duo, Daffy & Porky.
I have to give credit to Eric Bauza, who voices both Porky and Daffy in this film, delivered quit a emotional and enjoyable job with his performance that certainly deserves an Academy Award.
The movie does start off as an origins story of how Porky Pig and Daffy Duck were raised by Farmer Jim. I'm sure this point they're taking the piss out of Disney's The Lion King at certain moments with this character.
Speaking of plot, the film's story never seems to slow down or get boring. The movie parodies 1950's B-Grade science fiction films. Also at other times stays true to the original show with some throwback 4:3 aspect ratio moments thrown in during a few montages for some good pleasure, with a couple of Merrie Melodies and Seuge breakdown music to boot. Sometimes you can hear the build, then these classical orchestral pieces comes up with a pleasant surprise. There were people around the cinema complex that day whistling to the Merrie Melodies theme.
In Australia, the film was purchased swiftly by Pinnacle Films, who I think did a fantastic job of distributing the movie theatrically in every part of the country with no limitations. It was released here on March 27, and they also plan to release it here on Bluray too (4K version, please?) sometime soon.
The film has been a moderate success, and has been getting loads of good reviews. It's also certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and has a high audience score. There was hints that if The Day The Earth Blew Up does well, the shelved but completed Coyote vs Acme could be released. Now it looks like Coyote vs Acme is in fact being saved and is planning to release in 2026 if negotiations go well. If Coyote vs Acme does get saved, I hope Pinnacle Films nab the distribution rights for that here in Australia as well.
The Day The Earth Blew Up looks like it was made with a lot of respect for the Looney Tunes characters. Which makes me feel more confident about the now upcoming Coyote vs Acme, which was made under the same circumstances. Hopefully we don't need to have another Space Jam or other commercial product placed Looney Tunes movie. These newer films are their own original stories, and that's what's more fun about them.
The Day The Earth Blew Up was a blast and I had loads of fun. There are some jokes for both kids and adults. The movie gets crazier as the film goes on. It's nice to see the Looney Tunes aren't being used to promote a shoe product for a change.
I think both oldschool and new fans of Looney Tunes or traditional animation in general would enjoy this movie. If you're fed up with pretentious live action CGI remakes of Disney films, or anything else on in the cinemas right now, The Day The Earth Blew Up is a nice breath of fresh air that the whole family can enjoy.
Why Warner Bros. decided to shelve this movie, along with Coyote vs Acme in the first place is beyond me, but I think it just shows how out of touch their current management is with these animated franchises. The Day The Earth Blew Up - A Looney Tunes Movie is now playing in cinemas across Australia & New Zealand from Pinnacle Films, and in the US from Ketchup Entertainment.
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