As a lifelong fan of Looney Tunes, I’ve found the ways Warner Brothers has been treating its iconic characters as of late disheartening, to say the least. Since the company merged with Discovery to become Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) in 2022, CEO David Zaslav has shelved several high-profile projects to obtain tax write-offs that would help the company scrape itself out of debt. One of these projects is the widely reported Coyote vs. Acme.
The completed live-action/animated hybrid Looney Tunes movie starring Will Forte and John Cena was shelved in November 2023, seeing the studio net a $30 million write-down on a $70 million production price tag. Since the studio abandoned the film, fans and industry leaders have pleaded with WBD to reconsider. At one point, when it seemed as though the studio would give in, it shopped the film around to other studios and distributors, screening it on several occasions. However, no studio could provide what the company was looking for.
As of today, it seems Coyote vs. Acme will never see the light of day. It’s a miracle that director Peter Browngardt’s The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2025) managed to avoid a similar fate.
The first-ever fully animated theatrically released Looney Tunes movie was originally planned as an original movie for Max before the WBD merger. Due to the project’s low budget of $15 million and positive responses from studio insiders, the powers that be permitted the filmmakers to continue finishing their work and later shop it around to other studios. Ketchup Entertainment picked up the movie after its premiere at the Annecy Film Festival in the summer of 2024, and it is finally receiving its domestic theatrical release. Thankfully, the stars aligned with this film because it is a dream come true for anyone who has ever been a fan of Looney Tunes.
The Day the Earth Blew Up features Daffy Duck (Eric Bauza) and Porky Pig (Bauza) in starring roles and follows the two lifelong pals as they defend the earth from an alien invasion, all while trying to obtain funds to save their home from condemnation.
Though the story isn’t without its charm and heartfelt moments, the main attraction of The Day the Earth Blew Up is its stellar humor and animation. These elements brilliantly hearken back to some of the most iconic cartoons from the golden age of Looney Tunes while subtly and ingeniously modernizing them for a new generation.
Browngardt and the feature’s 14 other writers create a mixture of clever gags and visual humor that viewers might see featured in cartoons from the 1930s and 1940s. They excellently blend these elements with humor unique to Browngardt’s generation and subsequent generations who grew up with those cartoons and modern cartoons that aired on networks like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network in the 1990s and early 2000s. In a way, the film is a love letter not just to the Looney Tunes canon but to all of the cartoons that have shaped the last several generations who, at the end of the day, will forever be kids at heart.
The best part is that Porky and Daffy are still the same characters that any viewer of any age knows and loves. They simply fit perfectly in a modern setting. It’s hilarious to see Daffy and Porky attempt to work at a Starbucks, become social media influencers, and start their own rideshare business in a sequence that is easily one of the film’s best. It’s also incredible to see the two get up to similar shenanigans in a factory setting, which they did in legendary Looney Tunes director Bob Clampett’s classic Daffy and Porky cartoon Baby Bottleneck (1946), all the while wearing the same uniforms they wore in that particular short.
So much love is poured into every frame, particularly regarding Clampett’s contributions to the Looney Tunes mythos. The character designs and zany animation style most clearly reflect those seen in Clampett’s shorts, as do how the characters behave. Daffy is his whacky and fun-loving chaotic self most often seen in Clampett’s cartoons rather than the “dethpicable” primadonna seen in the equally immortal work of director Chuck Jones. Stutter intact, Porky is just as loveable as he was in 1935. Ever the straight man in his odd couple dynamic with Daffy, the pair’s charm is essential to the feature’s success.
Given how iconic the pair already is together, it’s so ingenious of Browngardt and his team to add a familial dynamic to their relationship, which is where the movie achieves several of its most endearing moments. As often as the two show signs of drifting apart throughout the plot, they understand how important it is to stick together to save their home and the people they care about. One such individual is Petunia Pig (Candi Milo), who steals the picture almost as soon as she enters the frame. Although Petunia’s appearances in Looney Tunes projects are slim, she instantly proves herself a classic character in the making, right alongside her two co-stars. Her loveable romance with Porky provides several other side-splitting moments whenever the pair finishes each other’s stutters.
One of the only original characters in The Day the Earth Blew Up is the antagonistic The Invader (Peter MacNicol). The Invader is also the film’s weakest element, not often relegated to much more than a scheming self-serious presence, mostly in the background until the third act. The main story surrounding his character is the least interesting aspect of the plot and often feels like a means to an end to keep things moving. That being said, MacNicol’s voice work adds character to The Invader. If anyone else lent their voice to the character, his presence might have further distracted.
The voice work all around is top-notch, especially from Bauza, who does double duty with Porky and Daffy. In fact, he has voiced many other Looney Tunes characters in different projects, including Bugs Bunny. Bauza has always felt like a perfect fit to carry on the legacy set forth by Mel Blanc with these characters. It never feels like he’s doing an impression. Rather, he’s embodying the characters, giving them new meaning while preserving everything that has made them who they are for nearly the last century.
Looney Tunes and its legacy mean a lot to many, including film historians, artists, and people who simply like to laugh. It’s easy to forget how much the brand has impacted, not only animation, but comedy as an art form since its inception. Looney Tunes continues to influence new artists today and deserves to be represented on a big screen as it prominently was during Hollywood’s golden age. It’s disrespectful to the legacy and art of filmmaking to even attempt to reduce the brand to nothing more than a tax write-off. If The Day the Earth Blew Up proves anything, it’s these characters are as relevant as ever and continue to hold a special place in the hearts of audiences and creatives.
The Day the Earth Blew Up shouldn’t only be required viewing for Looney Tunes fans but also for any studio executives who think there isn’t a place for these characters today. It’s time for a new generation to fall in love with the toons, and The Day the Earth Blew Up is deservedly the film to begin what will hopefully be their new era.
Review Courtesy of Evan Miller
Feature Image Credit to Ketchup/Warner Bros. Animation via TheWrap