Daffy Duck and Porky Pig live together in the house that they were raised in. After failing a house inspection, the duo have just ten days to fix their roof that had a hole in it. While they get a job in a gum factory that could help them pay for the damage, an alien conjures a scheme involving gum and it is up to Daffy, Porky and Petunia to foil it.
The Day the Earth Blew Up is a Looney Tunes fan's cinematic dream. I've enjoyed all of the live-action Looney Tunes films to varying degrees (yes, even A New Legacy to an extent), but this movie beats all of them. There are no pointless celebrity voices here, no live-action bits, no product placement and no rapping. This is just 91 minutes of funny, exciting and expressive Looney Tunes madness. From the amazingly hilarious opening credits sequence, I knew I was in for a fun ride.
The story is a pretty solid monster movie parody where the crazy one is right for once. This movie could have easily felt stretched too thin, but the pacing allows this movie to progress naturally and allow the apocalypse to build up one step at time. The stakes gradually grow higher each act and it leads to some fun twists. The story is not groundbreaking, but it works very well for this kind of movie.
What really shines though is the writing and humor here. This movie has a huge variety of gags and jokes that all fit Looney Tunes like a glove. It has visual gags, subtle humor, slapstick, fourth-wall breaking moments, animation sequences, black comedy, outrageous facial expressions and so much more. There all kinds of gags here that you could write down a list of all what this film has to offer and almost all of the humor lands. The timing of these gags are great and the script is clever at incorporating them in the story.
Also, Porky and Daffy make for incredibly likable leads. They are two adorably hilarious goofballs who drive each other crazy, but are really good friends deep down and it is heartwarming to see a pair of Looney Tunes characters who care about each other. Also, I really liked seeing Daffy's loonier side shine here. We have seen a lot of Daffy's jealous and egotistical side in the other films so it's refreshing to see his original crazy personality here. Porky makes for a great straight man in this movie, but he has his silly moments and lines too.
Porky's relationship with Petunia is absolutely adorable. They play off each other perfectly and their chemistry is genuine and sweet. Also, Porky and Petunia get a really bonkers scene that has them kick a lot of butt which put a big smile on my face. This along with Porky's friendship with Daffy brings a lot of heart to this goofy movie and gave me a few moments that I found surprisingly touching. Now there are a couple moments that I thought the emotional moments were cheesy, but in general, Pete Browngardt delivers on the heart here.
Eric Bauza voices Daffy and Porky and he kills both roles. With Daffy, I knew he would because Bauza nails Daffy's goofy personality and outbursts so well, that he reminds me of Mel Blanc's performance as Daffy. With Porky, I was a little more worried because Porky is usually voiced by Bob Bergen who is perfect for the role. Bauza does a great job as Porky. He sounds exactly like the pig with his tics, speech and stutters and it does not sound that different from Bergen's performance. Also, Bauza's freakouts for both characters are a joy to watch. He is an absolute gem of a voice actor and he gives two of his best performances in this movie.
Candi Milo is no slouch as Petunia though. Milo's voice for Petunia is as adorable and as it is expressive and she gives a lot of personality to Petunia with her voice work. Milo and Bauza play off each other perfectly. Peter MacNicol hams it up as The Invader. He does not hold anything back in playing an alien who has a scheme revolving gum of all things. My only minor issue is I kind of wish that Marvin was the antagonist in this movie instead of this guy since Daffy and Marvin have a show where they are enemies. His role for this character is small, but Fred Tatasciore cracked me up as Farmer Jim. Tatasciore sounds like he is in a completely different movie as Farmer Jim looks like a character from a different movie making any of his scenes hilarious to watch. The supporting cast is wonderful too as it seems they all have the time of their lives voicing these characters and exaggerate their expressions.
The animation in this movie is awesome. This movie looks so smooth on the big screen with the expressive movements and facial expressions of the characters. There are also some great backgrounds and comedic details throughout the film. One of my favorite scenes here is a beautiful animation sequence where Daffy and Porky are working in the gum factory and the style shifts to a sequence that seems to be inspired by the pink elephant set piece from Dumbo. It such a visually creative and funny way to show how Porky and Daffy found a job they work well together. For a movie that was supposed to come out on HBOMax or Cartoon Network, this movie looks amazing and it is more than worthy of a theatrical release.
The soundtrack is great too. The movie has a fantastic score by Joshua Moshier that captures the zany nature of the story and there are pretty cool needle drops too. My favorite is "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R. E. M. Which plays in an action sequence. Normally, I don't typically care for needle drops in animated films, but this one fits perfectly with the scene.
There are really not a whole lot of problems I have with this movie, but it is not perfect. Some of the jokes do not land, particularly one involving influencers. I know it is a gag meant to poke fun at the job, but it just made me cringe and it is the only time I did so here. Again, the antagonist is okay and I like the twist on him, but he pales in comparison to the trio of heroes. I kind of wonder how the movie would turn out if Marvin was the villain.
I will also say that I noticed that a couple of fans were disappointed when they saw that Bugs Bunny was not in this movie. I can understand wanting to see Bugs in a movie like this, but as someone who is a huge fan of Bugs, I don't see why this is a deal breaker. Daffy and Porky are good enough characters to carry this movie on their shoulders and their dynamic blends to a movie pretty well. I do not think this movie needed Bugs at all.
I had a blast with The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. I felt like a kid in the theater watching their favorite show's movie in theaters. Just seeing a beautiful hand-drawn Looney Tunes movie on the big screen in 2025 is surreal, but for it to turn out to be as entertaining as this makes it even better. I am really grateful that I not only got to see this movie, but in theaters. It is early in the year, but I would not be surprised if this ends up being my favorite animated movie of 2025. Definitely go see this movie in theaters, especially if you're a Looney Tunes fan. I guarantee you are gonna have a great time with this one.
