Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up
It is often the nature of science to be solitary, and few researchers are as isolated by distance and time as the astronomer, alone atop a hill through long cold nights at the observatory, thrilled and aghast in equal measure at his new discovery, not only an asteroid travelling at great speed on a collision course with Earth but what appears to be a flying saucer on a parallel course.
The arrival of the UFO occurring before the astronomer is able to warn anyone in Grandview, in the direct path of the mysterious object is the house where best friends Daffy Duck and Porky Pig have lived together since the passing of Farmer Jim who raised them, the damaged roof the last straw in a general state of disrepair which will see them evicted but their feeble attempts to raise funds leading to the discovery of a sinister plot based in the local bubble gum factory.
Premiered in June 2024 and receiving North American theatrical distribution the following spring despite being originally conceived as streaming content but only now finding its way to British shores, though still ahead of the much delayed Coyote vs Acme, currently scheduled for late this summer, the Looney Tunes are back in action with their riff on fifties science-fiction B-movies, The Day the Earth Blew Up.
Directed by Peter Browngardt from a script credited to an astonishing and, given that the film breaks no new ground, scarcely credible eleven writers, that is not to say that The Day the Earth Blew Up is not wholly enjoyable, offering moods familiar from Warner Brothers’ more dramatic superhero animations in the opening scene as the threat is introduced before switching to the manic playful Looney Tunes style as Porky and Daffy are introduced, with digressions into a classic cartoon format and a big forties musical production.
Porky Pig originally introduced in 1935 and Daffy Duck two years later, both here voiced by Eric Bauza, they are joined by a character of the same vintage though less well-known, Candi Milo’s Petunia Pig, flavour researcher at Goodie Gum and apple of Porky’s snout, with Fred Tatasciore doubling as Farmer Jim and the Scientist and Peter MacNicol as the sinister Invader whose plan unfolds as a cross between Mars Attacks! and The Stuff.
The bright colours and buoyant harmonies belying the fact that the lead duo were a product of the Great Depression rather than some mythical carefree age, placing them in modern America is an easier fit than might have been expected, allowing a few jokes parents will appreciate while their offspring are kept engaged with the shenanigans as the Invader’s plans are countered by the most unlikely and apparently incompetent pairing of farmyard heroes.
Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up will be in UK and Irish cinemas from Friday 13th February
