For a cartoon guy such as myself, I knew it was important to bring up my son into a world where he knew the classics. Popeye, Scooby-Doo, Batman, all the great cartoons that a boy should know and love. But one stands above all others and deserves the term legend and that’s Looney Tunes. I wanted to make sure that my son could know whether its “Duck Season” or “Rabbit Season”. He also learned that Wile E Coyote was a super genius. Perhaps teaching my son to have a slight stutter in order to say “That’s All Folks” was too much (I kid, I kid). Anyhow, it was no wonder that when The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie was released, we knew that it would be a true father and son bonding moment. Let’s take a look.
Somewhere in a laboratory, an alarm sounds. This alerts the nearby scientist (voiced by Fred Tatasciore). Apparently, there is an asteroid hurtling towards the Earth, but wait there is a second anomaly, an UFO! The UFO streaks across the sky, past the Goode Gum Factory, singes the roof of a nearby house and then comes to a explosive halt in a nearby field causing a huge crater. The scientist makes it to the scene of the crater and then the camera pans away as we hear a dreadful scream. Let’s roll those credits.
Many years ago, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck (both voiced by Eric Bauza) were raised by Farmer Jim (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) out in the country. We watch a montage unfold as we witness the two as kids growing up and then going to school. Farmer Jim always stressed to them that Porky and Daffy needed to stick together. When Porky and Daffy grew up, Farmer Jim abruptly left but in the process gave them the deed to the house.
Fast forward a few years, Porky Pig wakes up to start the day. He realizes that its their annual home standards review. Porky and Daffy proceed to show us some imaginative ways to repair the house so that it stays up to code. However, when Mrs.Grecht (voiced by Laraine Newman) rides up to inspect the house the boys seem to have forgot one important detail. The gaping hole in the roof of the house.
Looks like Porky and Daffy needs some roof money. In the spirit of of a Looney Tunes cartoon short, we get “Raise the Roof Money” where Porky and Daffy try out zany ways to get some extra money like newspaper delivery, making coffee, running a rideshare, plumbing and even being a pair of influencers. All miserably failing of course. But their luck changes one day at a diner where the two are on their last nickel and Petunia Pig (voiced by Candi Milo), a scientist at the Goodie Gum factory walks in.
Eventually Porky and Daffy find themselves with a job at the Goodie Gum factory thanks to Petunia. That’s where our plot really starts to take off. Apparently there is an alien with a sinister plan and eventually it will be up to the three Looney Tunes characters to save the planet Earth.
The first thing one might notice is that this film is a homage to The Day the Earth Stood Still. But that’s certainly not the only classic sci-fi movie it references. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Alien, The Thing, and even The Night of the Living Dead can all easily be picked out during the course of ninety minutes. It’s a love letter to those invasion movies and parents will enjoy pointing out these references to their kids which might even prompt them to watch the source material. Now…how to get my nine year old to watch Alien without my wife knowing, *thinks*.
Anyway, the voice acting in this film is top notch. The fact that Eric Bauza voiced both of the main characters (and did a fantastic job with it) is crazy to even think of. Both Laraine Newman and Candi Milo do their usual wonderful job. But then you have other talented voice actors such as Peter MacNicol (voicing the Invader), Wayne Knight (voicing the Mayor), and Andrew Kishino (voicing the Floor Manager) included as well. Don’t forget Fred Tatasciore either who is one of my favorite voice actors of all time.
The film is excellent, full of smart jokes and funny gags. The film is also not afraid to poke fun at itself by breaking the fourth wall. I particularly enjoyed the line “Who greenlit this garbage?” There are laugh out loud moments and the animation is superb by not only keeping many of the original Looney Tunes elements but also sharpening it up in spots where it can benefit.
But there are negatives too. Since I am always taking my son to the theaters, I always watch him for his reactions. It gives me a true judge of how funny something might or might not be (even if I am crying in laughter over some of the spots) for his age group. Many of the jokes were going over his head and he lost interest at certain points. Keep in mind that this kid is extremely well versed in Looney Tunes and has watched most of the classic shorts (at least any I can get my hands on).
There are a lot of adult jokes in this movie. I don’t mean particularly raunchy ones, I mean jokes that people of my generation might only get at least on initial reaction. It’s not a bad thing mind you, but it is something that might keep this movie from finding its footing among the younger crowd.
One thing that I don’t mention often in these type of reviews is marketing. In fact, while I was aware of the film, I had no idea that it was opening up last weekend until Thursday afternoon. Suddenly, it was there and they were selling tickets. My family likes seeing films on Friday and Saturday but we couldn’t figure out a time until Sunday afternoon. When we got to our cinema of choice, there were only two other groups of people in the entire theater. But truth be told, everyone in the theater stayed for the entire credits (there is a mid-credit scene and a funny gag at the very end).
That’s not really on Ketchup Entertainment, the distributors. That’s entirely on WB who pretty much disowned this film and treated it like a cousin twice removed that no one talks about. Even though it’s their characters. They were more interested in burying everything that’s Looney Tunes including Coyote vs Acme which most likely will never see light of day. Heck, I read reports they are removing Looney Tunes cartoons from MAX as we speak. But then we all know that Zaslav has no interest in animation as his company drowns in flames around him.
So far, this film has made a little over 5 million worldwide. It is set to make a presence in other international markets in April which could help to improve this box office total. This film will have to survive on word of mouth and individuals such as myself using their platform to promote the film which is what I’m asking here. If you have any interest in Looney Tunes or this film, please go see it this week. It’s a great film and a love letter to classic animation and invasion style movies. It’s two of my favorite cartoon characters being funny, manic, and even a little bit vulnerable. It’s a chance to be with your son, daughter, and have a good time when times aren’t that great in the world. The Day The Earth Blew Up is a fine film and I heavily recommended it. Go see it. Now. Enjoy.
| Overall: |  (8 / 10) |
