Movie: The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024)
Production Companies: Warner Bros. Animation
Distributed by: Ketchup Entertainment
Producers: Peter Browngardt
Directed by: Peter Browngardt
Written by: Darrick Bachman, Pete Browngardt, Kevin Costello, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Alex Kirwan, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, & Johnny Ryan
Starring: Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, & Peter MacNicol
Review by: Kirk Dulin & Cam Wiggs

KIRK: Cam.
CAM: Yes?
KIRK: Cam.
CAM: What’s up?
KIRK: CAM!
CAM: WHAT?! JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!
KIRK: It’s not what I want. It’s what I need.
CAM: …
KIRK: …
CAM: …and what do you need?
KIRK: I need to know if you identify more as Daffy the Duck or Porky the Pig.
CAM: Well, for starters, it’s just “Daffy Duck” and “Porky Pig”.
KIRK: That’s not what I heard.
CAM: …
KIRK: …
CAM: Can’t we just review the movie?
KIRK: What movie?
CAM: “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.” The literal reason why we are writing this together.
KIRK: Of course. But I expect an answer by the end of this review. Before we start, though, in order to understand the Looney Tunes, we first must understand ourselves.
CAM: That makes absolutely no sense. Why do we have to – 

UNDERSTANDING OURSELVES AND A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LOONEY TUNES 

According to the best news resource out there, Wikipedia cites the Looney Tunes Origin Story dating back to 1930 as a series of short films. The cast of characters naturally grew over time and became one of the highest grossing media franchises of all time. Aside from Space Jam, we’re pretty sure most of their revenue came from VIP Meet & Greets at Six Flags Theme Parks.

KIRK: Cam, did you watch Looney Tunes in the 90s? And if so, what’s your earliest memory of the show and how has that shaped you as a functioning human in society? 
CAM: I watched all manner of Looney Tunes shows growing up: Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, Baby Looney Tunes. My favorite characters have always been Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. I remember watching them on Cartoon Network before school and the unique sense of humor that Looney Tunes provided was a perfect way to start the day and it has always stuck with me.
KIRK: Ahhhhhh…I thought you would mention Animaniacs. What a time to be alive.
CAM: What about you? What’s your favorite Looney Tunes memory or show? 
KIRK: I would EASILY say watching the new episode premieres and syndicated reruns on weekend mornings. This was before ONE SATURDAY MORNING on Disney, if my timeline is correct, and this was appointment television. If you didn’t wake up on time, you were DOOMED. I remember wrapping myself in my grandmother’s quilt and escaping into the wild, wild world of these characters.
CAM: Given your track record with sleeping in, I am shocked you caught any Saturday morning cartoons.
KIRK: Touché. Now that we’ve effectively psychoanalyzed ourselves and what the toons/tunes mean to us, we can review this movie in a spoiler free manner.
CAM: Not sure the psychoanalysis was necessary for this review. 
KIRK: You’re probably right. But now our enlightened selves can offer an authentic review of the movie.
CAM: You’re not gonna do that thing again where you introduce the next pillar of our review, immediately repeating –

OUR ENLIGHTENED SELVES OFFER AN AUTHENTIC REVIEW OF THE MOVIE

CAM: Please stop.
KIRK: I’m so sorry.

Our weekly Spoiler Free Movie Reviews offer (5) Categories where we award various performances and creative elements of the movie. This helps audience members like YOU  (yes, YOU, who are reading this…even this parenthetical bonus line here) decide to see the movie based on your own movie story preferences and current stage of enlightenment.

CAM: You have to stop using “enlightenment”. It sounds cultish.
KIRK: Oops. Very good point.

– decide to see the movie based on your own movie story preferences and current stage of enlightenment life. Today’s categories are slightly different:

1. Animation Accolades (AKA: The aspect of the animated film we like the most)
2. Director’s Shoes (AKA: What we would’ve done if we directed the movie)
3. Last Looks (Kids’ Edition) (AKA: Final comments on the movie, and what kids would likely score  this)
4. Last Looks (Movie Critic Edition) (AKA: Final comments on the movie, and our official score)

KIRK: The fun part about being Movie Review partners (and brothers-in-law) is that we don’t always have the same opinion. We’ll give BOTH of our opinions per category, and you can decide who you relate to the most. Then email us at contact@popcorn4breakfast.com and tell us who and why! Oh! And like and subscribe and follow us everywhere! OH OH! And BE OUR FRIENDS! 
CAM: Pretty sure any chance of that happening vanished about 4 paragraphs ago.

Animation Accolades

CAM: The animation itself is the clear standout in this film. In an era where so many classic animated characters undergo questionable to downright bad redesigns (looking at you, Shrek), it is refreshing to see such a reverent approach to these beloved Looney Tunes. And that’s not to say the character design or overall animation looks old. On the contrary, this film features high-quality animation you typically don’t see from American 2D animated films. The vibrance of the Looney Tunes characters and world is on full display in dazzling modern animation that maintains the warmth and familiarity of the cartoons that made these characters famous.

KIRK: So I am, notoriously, the one who doesn’t watch that many animated movies. I have some sort of mental block to them. Let me clarify that because I do not have enough animated experience outside of Disney and DreamWorks, that I am also not likely to get this right. THAT SAID…I was BLOWN AWAY by the animation. It was crisp, creative, familiar, new, and lovely to look at. It was bright, perfectly saturated, and the wacky.

Director’s Shoes

CAM: In short, this movie needed to be Looney-er! Of course you don’t come into this movie expecting the plot to rival War and Peace. But if there is one expectation you do have heading into the movie, it’s an expectation the film will be chock-full of classic, slapstick Looney Tunes gags. Frankly, there just weren’t enough. Way too much time is spent trying to create emotional stakes and character relationships when, in the end, it feels disingenuous. What I would have preferred is less time with exposition and more time spent ratcheting up the chaos we’ve come to expect from these characters. Sure, in a feature film you have to have the heartfelt emotional beats to give the story meaning and justify the longer runtime, but the movie fails to be funny enough on its own already, so those beats drag the movie into the doldrums.

KIRK: In the first 15 minutes, I was convinced this would be my gateway drug to animation. Those first 15 were perfectly rounded in animation and story. Then, I lost interest pretty quickly. The story lost me as it became wrapped in too many specifics, and not a general, silly adventure. IT’S LOONEY TUNES. I DO NOT NEED A BIG MORAL COMPASS HERE. You laid the foundation of the Odd Couple in Daffy and Porky, now just wrap this up in 90 minutes or less please. This movie also had three, COUNT EM – THREE endings. I could feel my blood boiling by the time the credits finally rolled. 

Last Looks (Kids’ Edition)

CAM: Since we were given a screener for this movie, I was fortunate to get to prescreen the movie with my boys who are six and four. Both loved Daffy Duck but I only caught two or three genuine laughs from them. Both admitted they were confused by the movie’s plot and asked many times during stretches of dialogue what was going on. Given their ages, it’s not unusual for them to struggle to keep up with the plots of certain movies but they’ve had no problem recently with movies like The Wild Robot, Dog Man, and How to Train Your Dragon. When asked how they liked the movie, both of my boys said they thought the characters were great and they thought the movie was good “sometimes but not the whole time.” 

My kids’ score: 7.0/10.0 kernels

KIRK: I am always cautious what my kids consume because we live in a world where there is SO much content. Also, my kids are big scaredy cats. Some elements of this movie are TOO scary for them. There are also moments of innuendo that make NO sense to include. My rating for the Kids’ Edition is strictly based on if they would like it. Honestly, I think the infractions listed above would make them have a few big laughs, but I don’t see them begging to turn this on over and over again.

My hypothetical kids’ score: 6.0/10 kernels

Last Looks (Movie Critic Edition)

CAM: The Day the Earth Blew Up was a real letdown for me. I was eager to watch a feature-length 2D animated movie that was not anime (though I love anime films!), and even more eager to be reunited with a few of my favorite childhood comfort characters. In the end, however, this movie fell flat with its convoluted plot, lackluster cast of characters (particularly Petunia Pig), and overall lack of the types of gags that make Looney Tunes a timeless classic. As mentioned earlier, the animation is superb and I hope to see more movies like this one from Warner Bros. soon with similar stylish sensibilities (thought that may be a long shot given their attempt to kill this movie for a tax write-off before ultimately agreeing to a distribution deal with Ketchup Entertainment). For the sake of the Looney Tunes and their many fans worldwide, let’s hope their next cartoony caper is more memorable than The Day the Earth Blew Up.

My score: 4.9/10.0  

KIRK: Multipole endings will ALWAYS make me lose interest in a movie. It directly tells me that the writer did not have a firm enough grasp on where the characters should end up. It’s a lack of trust in him or herself in the writing, and a lack of trust in the audience. The best part of this creative endeavor is how incredible the animation is. I believe the Looney Tunes CAN be reborn…they just have to get a better premise.

My score: 3.7/10 kernels

DAFFY DUCK OR PORKY PIG

KIRK: Cam.
CAM: What?
KIRK: We have to fulfil our promise to the people.
CAM: ::sigh:: I was hoping you’d forget.
KIRK: I never forget when I try to embarrass myself or you. Moment of Truth: do you identify more as Daffy Duck or Porky Pig?
CAM: As much as I’d like to say I identify with the carefree Daffy Duck persona, I am more of a Porky Pig. I’ve become cautious and self-conscious in my old age and tend to shy away from being too wacky. Maybe this movie will inspire me to embrace my inner Daffy.
KIRK: PERFECT. ANSWER.
CAM: How about you?
KIRK: I am, of course, Daffy Duck. I break things. I am silly. I also have a one track mind, and if I don’t get my way, I can become hysterical or inconsolable. But you, my dear, Double P – 
CAM: – don’t ever call me that again – 
KIRK: – inspire me to be more chill. Because you are the chillest, and your logic grounds my insanity.
CAM: Ah, thanks, man. I think.
KIRK: Wanna close us out?
CAM: How so?
KIRK: In the only way possible with a Looney Tunes movie sendoff. 
CAM:  That’s all folks!