Released: 27th March
Seen: 29th March
David Zaslav is probably one of the worst executives any movie studio has ever had to suffer under, at least in my opinion. Sure, there are many morally worse than him and some who should probably just die in prison for what they have done. However, in terms of how they have abused their stature in the industry to destroy the art of others, few are as reviled as Zaslav. The man runs Warner Brothers and yet seems to hate anything to do with animation, notably removing large amounts of historic Looney Tunes cartoons from the studio’s streaming service and infamously cancelling the completed film Coyote VS Acme. It honestly has started to feel like the man in charge of one of the most legendary animation IP brands of all time was going to kill it through sheer incompetence as a studio head… but fortunately for us, one slipped through his slimy fingers and made it out into the world and it’s one of the best animated films in recent memory.
The Day the Earth Blew Up begins in the tranquil, run-down home of Porky Pig (Eric Bauza) and Daffy Duck (also Eric Bauza). After barely making it through an inspection of their home, the two of them are required to get jobs because they need the money to fix a giant hole that’s appeared in their roof. That hole has a strange origin though; it turns out that an unidentified flying object containing an alien (Peter MacNicol) flew through town, took a chunk out of Porky and Daffy’s roof before landing in a clearing. That alien has a plan to take over the people of Earth using something truly vile… extra fruity bubble gum. The only ones who can stop this plan are Porky, Daffy and a scientist named Petunia Pig (Candi Milo) who are going to have to work together to get this job done, if they can do it without Daffy doing something looney to mess it all up.
The Day the Earth Blew Up feels like classic Looney Tunes in the best way possible; every single frame of the film is a chance for a new joke and more often than not, they end up landing. The entire film has a huge vibe of “Throw everything out and let’s see what works” Visual jokes, puns, silliness, awkwardness- all of it is exploited for comedy by this incredible little film. There’s a confidence behind everything, a feeling that the people making it were certain that everything was going to work and somehow, that confidence is well deserved. It’s compelling watching this film take such wild swings that would only work in the world of the Looney Tunes; only the Looney Tunes could make bubble gum a central element of a disaster film and have it be completely legitimate.
It also helps that The Day the Earth Blew Up is a cinematic treat, taking full advantage of being presented in a cinema by pushing the 2D animation in every direction it can. Lately, it feels like the only way to see a 2D animated film is if it’s some weird indie film that slips through the cracks. Hand-drawn animated films are a dying breed and The Day the Earth Blew Up wants to remind us of the joy that artform can bring.
It does this by flipping between styles, sometimes the hyper-fluid animation associated with classic Fleischer cartoons or sometimes the hyper-detailed strangeness that was a big deal in the 90s, thanks to things like Ren & Stimpy. The aspect ratio will change so the entire film can go off and just do a classic Looney Tunes short with the classic comedic editing, or they’ll tone things down a little for a brief emotional moment. It all blends flawlessly, with some of the changes in animated style getting the biggest laughs in a film that’s just stuffed to the brim with comedic brilliance.
What’s perhaps most stunning is that even with the madcap nature of the film and over-the-top tone of everything it all is held together by a well thought out plot that builds effectively, has a pretty great third act that works comedically and as an elaborate action scene but also gives Daffy and Porky some serious emotional depth. Perhaps the hardest part of taking these characters meant to deliver slapstick comedy for 11 minutes work in a 90-minute film is figuring out how to give the two stars some emotional stakes, letting them grow and change throughout the film and The Day the Earth Blew Up manages to make it work. Giving Porky a love interest in Petunia is just straight-up charming and their interactions are adorable while having Daffy’s entire story revolving around how his insanity keeps creating issues for the two of them is delightful and lends itself to a lot of opportunities for some legendary Looney Tunes comedy.
The Day the Earth Blew Up feels like a joyful surprise, like something that escaped containment and is now out where it can just delight the world. From the moment the opening music plays till the last pie is thrown, it’s one of the funniest films of the year with a ton to offer for everyone from die-hard animation fans who can spot every reference, to people who somehow avoided everything Looney Tunes related and need an introduction to their zaniness. It’s a film that one can only hope will remind the studios that there is still love for these characters and for this particular art style, that we don’t need everything to be either 3D realistic looking drek or live action remakes of films that worked better when people made them with a bunch of paint and a dream.
The Day the Earth Blew Up is a glorious love letter to one of the animation institutions and to the art of animation itself. It deserves all the praise in the world and hopefully enough money to force the studios to try and make more films like it… I hear they have one still in a vault somewhere that’s ready to go that would be a great way to follow up a movie like this.
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