'The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie' Delights Critics

     On February 28, 2025, Ketchup Entertainment releases 'The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie', which is currently holding at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing. In the film, "Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, one of the greatest comedic duos in history, are making their hilarious return to the big screen in the sci-fi comedy adventure, THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE. This is the first-ever fully animated Looney Tunes feature-length movie created for a cinema audience. Porky and Daffy are our unlikely heroes and Earth's only hope when facing the threat of alien invasion. In this buddy-comedy of epic proportions, they race to save the world, delivering all the laugh-out-loud gags and vibrant visuals that have made the Looney Tunes so iconic, but on a scope and scale yet to be experienced. It's going to be out of this world!" The ensemble cast includes Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Fred Tatasciore, and Peter MacNicol. Read the full review round-up below.

    Douglas Davidson of Elements of Madness says, "The Day the Earth Blew Up is by no means perfect. Daffy is, perhaps, just a little *too* daffy for the story’s own good, creating problems frequently enough to make one ponder if they should just get on with moving to the next scene. There’s also a comment made about Porky’s stutter which feels slightly offensive within the negative connotation the dialogue creates. Looney Tunes aren’t exactly saints with the characters frequently pushing the bounds of what is and is not transgressive (see: Bugs Bunny, queer icon), but they do tend to be inoffensive at their core. To that end, the first is mere annoyance and respective to personal taste while the second can be explained (though not excused) within the context of the scene and what Daffy is trying to articulate. This version of Daffy is so well-intentioned that his stupidity and resulting damage is not charming exactly, but forgivable. If there’s a favorite moment for this reviewer, it’s one that comes very late and breaks the fourth wall in a manner that harkens to another atomic age homage, Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988), as Daffy acknowledges that they’re in a movie. It’s a choice that works as a gag in the moment, but also throws a great deal of complaints about inconsistency or preference for the depiction of Porky and Daffy out the window — this isn’t *them*, they’re playing characters just like Duck Dodgers and Space Cadet — therefore allowing a bit more leeway in how the writers of this film play the characters."

   Peter Debruge of Variety notes, "Daffy (whose greatest desire is to smash things with his wooden mallet) wears on the nerves after a while, but the entire project -- including a handful of fun fourth-wall-shattering asides -- is crafted with love and a genuine respect for the franchise."

Photo by Jared Murray on Unsplash

    Rafael Motamayor of IGN Movies praises the film, stating, "Despite the '50s sci-fi plot, it all feels quite modern. The (gorgeous) animation is slick and fluid, and the pacing relentless – the jokes-per-minute ratio is astounding. The influence of 21st century cartoons like The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Chowder is apparent; there’s a randomness to the humor that echoes absurdities like the running Nosferatu gag on SpongeBob SquarePants. At the very least, The Day the Earth Blew Up proves that these characters are more than capable of carrying their own movie (and without Bugs Bunny!) and make it a laugh-out-loud riot. Hopefully, the lack of a "That's all Folks!" tag at the end means this is not the last we’ll see of the Looney Tunes on the big screen." Continuing, "The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie has enough gags per minute to leave audiences short of breath with laughter, but also a big heart that shows why these characters are so beloved even after nearly 90 years. With crisp animation, some truly hilarious and bizarre gags, and a  plot that hearkens back to 1950s sci-fi, this is the Looney Tunes movie fans have been waiting for."