Looney Tunes: Daffy et Porky sauvent le monde

By Ian Chandler - March 24, 2025

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is an intriguing case. For those unaware, Warner Bros. Shelved the supposedly well-received Coyote v. Acme film, leaving fans angered. So, seeing this film see the light of day after some shopping among distributors made me a little hopeful, until I saw its trailer. I thought, "Boy, this is going to be rough." But surprisingly, I got more enjoyment out of it than I expected; even so, some decisions kept the film from flying as high as a UFO.

The picture stars Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, who are both voiced by Eric Bauza. Bauza does a great job with these two, as they sound in line with what you'd expect. Though, it is worth noting that Daffy here doesn't reflect the angry, sarcastic duck from the 1950s cartoons. Instead, he behaves like a looney duck that sometimes bothers Porky, which is reminiscent to older shorts such as "Porky's Duck Hunt." Porky remains the same as he's been for several decades now. These two as a pair, as proven by old source material, is as perfect as peanut butter and jelly. Jokes are built on their differences and their heartfelt moments are meaningful thanks to their long friendship. Heck, in this film, they grew up together as brothers.

The first thing that is truly noteworthy about this film is its animation. It is so refreshing to see a 2D animated film on the big screen. 3D animated films are neat, but when's the last time you've seen a 2D animation in theaters? Every frame is colorful, expressive, and bursting with whimsy. Most of the signature Looney Tunes slapstick wouldn't land as well in any other format. Speaking of things that don't land well, let's bring up about a third of the film's jokes. So, the film lampoons on 1950s sci-fi films, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). This was a great move, as Looney Tunes was thriving during that decade. However, when it welcomed a B-movie alien plot, the film ended up being invaded by a foreign entity that terrorized the film's good will. What was this foul thing? Extensive, crass gross-out humor.

I understand that it's necessary to appeal to children as well, it is an animated feature after all. But, why would you put jokes that belong in SpongeBob or Ren and Stimpy into this movie? It's like telling a computer-science joke in front of an audience of football fans. The joke belongs somewhere, just not there. The looney slapstick was certainly going to make the children laugh, so the crude humor's inclusion feels even less justified. It wouldn't be so bothersome if it didn't take up a good chunk of this film's runtime. By the second act, this out of place sense of humor basically overshadows the silly, goofy gags the series is iconic for. This is Looney Tunes, not Nasty Toons.

Though it is unfortunate that the film's two prominent styles of humor whack at each other with oversized hammers, the colorful animation, silly voice acting, and good use of Porky and Daffy make the film worth a watch, maybe two. If you are not bothered by it including gross, Nickelodeon-like jokes, then you should mostly, possibly entirely, focus on the praises I have given this film. The crew obviously love the source material, but their ways of showing affection confuse me a little bit. Even so, it's still, at the very least, a competent family film. That's all I have to say about it, folks!

Score: 64/100

Summary: The Day the Earth Blew Up has a blend that includes funny gags, charming characters, and beautiful animation. However, the gross-out humor is an ingredient that doesn't belong in this Looney Tunes smoothie.

I really liked the movie. The story is a bit, well, crazy, but what else would you expect from the Looney Tunes, but Daffy Duck and Porky Pig works as a movie. However, I have to say that the action was very exaggerated. Sure, we're talking about the Looney Tunes here, especially Daffy Duck, but still. Then the joke fell a bit short for me. There were some funny moments, no question, but this appropriate wit and humor, that defines the Looney Tunes, was either missing or rare. But otherwise I can recommend the movie for an hand drawn animated movie in modern times.

This review comes from Germany, where the movie has already released.

Looney Tunes is one of the most iconic animated brands in entertainment history. Parents likely know and adore Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote, Roadrunner, Elmer Fudd, and Foghorn Leghorn, among other legendary characters from the franchise's vast catalog. Unfortunately, today's youth may not have Looney Tunes in their childhoods. My biggest fear is that this film may be the last we see of these icons. How Warner Bros. Discovery has been handling the property - and animation in general, but for this review, I'll exclusively focus on Looney Tunes - is nothing short of disgraceful. I may be anticipating numerous films from their upcoming slate, such as "A Minecraft Movie," "Sinners," "Final Destination: Bloodlines," and "Superman." However, there's no way to overlook their attempt to bury this Looney universe. If it isn't the infamous tax write-offs of projects "Bye Bye Bunny" and "Coyote vs. Acme," it's the complete removal of every Golden Age short. They kept their early efforts, but even as a kid, I focused on everything from the 1950s onward, including my favorite, "Duck Amuck," if you couldn't tell from the title. (UPDATE: I was looking on Max for verification, and they have some Golden Age shorts back, but not all of them. As of 2025, "The Looney Tunes Show" show from the last decade is gone. Okay. I'm still frustrated at WB for not extending a licensing agreement with themselves that gave them the rights to the shorts. "Duck Amuck" is still stuck in the pit of licensing hell, so I'm not accepting their half-hearted attempt at an unofficial apology) As much as I hate "Space Jam: A New Legacy," I don't attribute that to the brand's current situation. That happened way before the current circumstances. Let me go back to this fantastic adventure before discussing why the high praise. WB isn't distributing the movie themselves. Instead, they gave those rights to Ketchup Entertainment. It's no disrespect to them, but I don't feel they have enough name power to handle a film of this caliber. If Briarcliff can't make the must-watch "My Dead Friend Zoe" at least profitable enough to make the Top 10 Box Office on its debut, what hope does "The Day the Earth Blew Up" have? I'm being overdramatic. I want this film to make the Top 10, and below is why, but more importantly, show why Looney Tunes has stood the test of time. Let go of your disappointment from the Space Jam sequel and support this 2D pleaser. If your priority is elsewhere, do a double-feature after you get out of "Novocaine," "Black Bag," or, less likely, "Opus." If this film flops, we may dress up for a funeral of childhood memories in record time. By the end of this ride, I almost teared up, not only because of what was occurring in the movie but because this may be my only time seeing these guys on the big screen. If you're a Looney Tunes fan or a fan of animation, support this flick.

Okay. Let me get back on track and discuss "The Day the Earth Blew Up" now.

First, the animation was stellar. It resembles the style of old-school Looney Tunes cartoons while achieving the feat of not being a direct replica.

The voice acting was also top-notch. Looking at who did the voices just now, did you know that Eric Bauza did the voices of both Daffy Duck and Porky Pig? Admittedly, beyond "A New Legacy," I haven't seen much new from this universe. Either way, Bauza's performance can't be understated, helping to create a believable dynamic between Daffy and Porky. Additionally, he's been playing the Duck and other Looney characters for years, so thank you, Bauza, for your involvement in this franchise. The other voice actors did exceptionally, with the other standout being Candi Milo as Petunia Pig.

The comedy's priceless, too. Like the animation, it has the spark of the franchise's Golden era, and I was highly entertained and nostalgic without it being nostalgia bait. It has more writers than "Captain America: Brave New World," but I'm giving them all credit anyway. Alex Kirwan, Andrew Dickman, Darrick Bachman, David Gemmill, Eddie Trigueros, Jason Reichmer, Johnny Ryan, Kevin Costello, Michael Ruocco, Peter Browngardt, and Ryan Kramer, you all killed it, not only with the comedy but the genuinely investing story. Browngardt deserves added attention for his directing, voice acting, producing, and character layout, as well as for his massive involvement with the franchise alongside Bauza, Dickman, Gemmill, Kirwan, Kramer, Ruocco, Ryan, and Trigueros.

All the above elements didn't forget to be Looney. Once again, it feels like old-school Looney Tunes, which I love. It's as simple as that: a Looney time at the movies that's never bad. It ceases to be too juvenile, making for pure family fun!

Technically, the voice acting, directing, 11-man screenplay, and outstanding animation make for a 10/10 technical score.

The enjoyment score may be biased since I grew up with Looney Tunes, but it's a project that honors its legacy, so it doesn't matter. "The Day the Earth Blew Up" is one of the effortless 10/10 enjoyment scores I've ever given, further proof that this franchise deserves better. It's a must-watch worth the theatrical experience!

When I heard there was a horror-comedy involving Looney Tunes and an alien invasion, I thought it would be either brilliant or a total mess. Luckily, it turned out to be the former. This film is wild, ridiculous, and surprisingly terrifying. Watching Daffy Duck and Porky Pig try to save the Earth from mind-controlling bubblegum was both hilarious and genuinely unsettling. There were scenes where the body-horror elements made me squirm, especially when characters turned into alien zombies. What impressed me was how well it balanced humor with horror-it never felt too silly or too dark. It's a clever homage to 80s horror classics while still being unmistakably Looney Tunes. Honestly, it's one of the weirdest and most creative films I've seen in a while.

I write this review from Italy, where the movie was released on November 7th.

I was pretty curious to check it out for all the various reasons many others had already expressed.

And once I ended watching it all I could think was ... Finally They Made It!

Finally they realized a REAL movie in which these characters can show all of their crazy traits in the more genuine way.

The result is a great balance between this more Classic aura (in more senses than you could think) and the more Modern setting.

First of All, the thing I'm sure everyone will agree on: it was so satisfying seeing 2D being used again in a large production, and in a so fluid way that perfectly serves the characters' expressiveness and dynamism, and all of the settings' dimensions.

And speaking of characters, I appreciated the idea of centering it about Porky and Daffy, they're simply the best duo of the Tunes' lot, even though I have to admit I do prefer the Chuck Jones' version of the duck, the more greedy and egotistical one, rather than the complete lunatic one, but it does serve well his job here, so I can't complain.

Porky is just Porky, but he too does pretty well, and I liked the use of Petunia, she was really entertaining in her on way, and her design was really loveable.

The Alien invader too had his moments, his design is maybe simple but pretty efficient, it clearly pays homage to the classic Sci-Fi movies of the 40's, just like the rest of the movie does.

And the thing about the mind-controlling Gum gives life to some images that managed to be both funny and hideous.

So, all in all, a perfect Looney Tunes plot, that to many though may come out as too simple or void of any originality, and while I do agree that they could've been a bit more ambitious in terms of the plot, and that some of the gags don't really work out, I also think that all in all you should take this as a sincere Love Letter to the characters and their legacy, a good way to introduce them to new audiences, and to remember to old fans that this is N-N-N-Not All Folks, yet!