Looney Tunes makes its cinematic debut

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, March 14th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: classic cartoon characters on the big screen.

EICHER: Looney Tunes has been delighting audiences for almost a century … with slapstick violence and witty repartee.

I am one of the generations of Americans who grew up on these animated classics, so it’s a little surprising that the franchise has never produced a fully animated feature film that was more than just a compilation.

BROWN: This weekend, that changes. Arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino now on the new film The Day the Earth Blew Up.

COLLIN GARBARINO: When I was young, Looney Tunes and its carrot-chomping hero Bugs Bunny, seemed like the faster, brasher alternative to Disney’s Mickey Mouse and friends. I could expect break-neck chases and falling anvils served up with plenty of sass.

Most of the Looney Tunes shorts I watched had been created decades before, but I didn’t really notice because they possessed a timeless quality. Now, Warner Bros. Animation is offering a new spin on those old classics. The Day the Earth Blew Up stars Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. It’s an engaging 91-minute homage to the science-fiction B-movies of the 1950s.

The film begins with the odd couple Porky and Daffy living in a dilapidated farmhouse.

PORKY PIG: Today’s our annual home standards review.

DAFFY DUCK: Ah, yes… The good old annual home standards review. What is that again?

PORKY PIG: [sigh]

The two friends are struggling to bring their home up to code to avoid its condemnation by the city, and while Porky is a conscientious sort of fellow who works with a plan.

DAFFY DUCK: And me… I’m just plain loony.

His looniness put their home improvements in jeopardy.

The situation becomes even more dire when a UFO crashes into their home, destroying the roof. With a city-imposed deadline looming, Porky and Daffy need a new roof fast, but they can’t afford to hire a roofer. They need some quick cash to save their home.

PORKY PIG: There is one thing we can do.

DAFFY DUCK: Wait for a stimulus check?

PORKY PIG: No. Get a job.

DAFFY DUCK: A job? You mean like work?

Their quest for gainful employment has its share of hiccups—most of which are brought on by Daffy’s erratic behavior. But things begin looking up for the pals when they meet a new friend.

PETUNIA PIG: Hi. I’m Petunia Pig. Nice to meet you.

DAFFY DUCK: That indecisive scatter brains over there is my BFF Porky Pig.

PORKY PIG: Uh, hi.

Petunia Pig is a scientist at the local gum factory, and she gets Porky and Daffy jobs on the production floor.

This zany adventure kicks into high gear when Daffy discovers an alien plot at the gum factory to turn the world’s population into mindless zombies. Will Daffy and Porky be able to save the world by thwarting an extraterrestrial mastermind? Or will the unpredictable Daffy gum it up again?

ALIEN: Someone stop that loony duck!

It might seem odd that Looney Tunes’ first 100 percent animated theatrical feature-length film doesn’t include the franchise’s signature character Bugs Bunny, but the film wasn’t originally intended for cinemas. Warner Bros. Animation originally developed The Day the Earth Blew Up as fodder for the Max streaming service. But parent company Warner Bros. Discovery started prioritizing profits over subscriber growth, which led to the film’s theatrical release.

DAFFY DUCK: Why this is just the opportunity we’ve been waiting for! Whoo hoo!

There’s a risk in taking Looney Tunes characters whose natural habitat is the 10-minute sketch and asking them to carry a feature length film. But the filmmakers of The Day the Earth Blew Up managed to craft a story that doesn’t wear thin, while cramming in the slapstick gags and action sequences set to music that audiences have come to expect.

The movie is rated PG for the kinds of things that have characterized Looney Tunes throughout its 95 years: cartoon violence and rude humor. Characters get pummeled, launched, run over, and exploded. There’s also a number of jokes involving derrières. And Daffy engages in some unintentional double entendre that feels like a 21st-century update meant to replace the kinds of mildly risqué moments that sometimes popped up in the classic cartoons.

What hasn’t been updated is the visual style, which takes its inspiration from the Golden Age of Warner Bros. Animation. The Day the Earth Blew Up proves that what was once old has become new again. Its 2D hand-drawn style manages to feel both refreshing and nostalgic at the same time.

PORKY PIG: Daffy, I need you to go down there and fix this.

DAFFY DUCK: But Porky, you know I can’t. I always make things worse.

PORKY PIG: And that’s exactly what we need.

The film isn’t merely pleasant to look at. It has a genuinely appealing story. We sympathize with Porky who desperately looks for ways to minimize Daffy’s chaos—and who also hopes to impress the lovely Petunia. But we also sympathize with Daffy who’s hurt when he discovers how others view him. The relational arc, coupled with an out-of-this-world plot twist make The Day the Earth Blew Up a madcap good time.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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