For the first time in their near hundred year history, the Looney Tunes are appearing in a fully animated theatrically released film. Porky Pig and Daffy Duck must fight to save the family home they inherited from they beloved adoptive father, Farmer Jim. After various false starts they find a job alongside bubble gum scientist Petunia Pig, who is obsessed with finding the perfect gum flavour. Naturally it’s only a matter of time before they uncover a terrible alien invasion conspiracy to conquer the entire world…with chewing gum.
The Looney Tunes have of course appeared on screen many times, always sharing the screen with live action performers. Transporting the Looney Tunes to the live action world, or vice versa, is a natural dramatic device to give the audience easy stakes and to provide a cookie-cutter fish out of water structure. This film has us meet the Toons in their world, on their terms. The danger of handing the reigns of the narrative entirely over to characters more accustomed to short form sketches that rely on visual gags and malleable world where anything is possible so long as its funny, is managing the pacing and the audience’s emotional investment.
In 1992, there was a similar attempt at adapting cartoon shorts characters to a feature with Tom and Jerry The Movie. That film opened with a classic skit in the style of the shorts before abandoning the antics and central character dynamic in favour of a bland Disney-esque narrative. Conversely and fortunately, The Day the Earth Blew Up uses an genuinely funny overarching story as a framework into which several sequences of traditional visual comedy can be inserted naturally. Daffy and Porky growing up on the farm, trying different careers and learning to work at the factory, all form natural divergences from the central premise. The commitment to bringing this style of humour to the screen is evident in the writing process in which nine storyboard artists have received writing credits for their work shaping the film.
Embracing the potentially anachronistic joy of seeing these kinds of skits and these characters on the big screen again, the film also utilises a 1950’s sci fi premise and aesthetic, replete with theremin music. But what allows the film to maintain interest across 91 minutes is the strength of the central dynamic. Porky and Daffy are natural foils but Porky is spared from the traditional straight-man/pig role. The duo form the quintessential “dumb and dumber” dynamic that puts them at odds with the world whilst allowing plenty of tension between the lunatic and his slightly less deranged friend who aspires to being less looney to win the girl (who is in fact just as crazy as the central duo).
All of this impressive comedic work is only possible due to a talented voice cast. Eric Bauza has been playing both characters for seven years and is excellent playing against himself. In particular he captures the beautiful eccentricity of Daffy. Candi Milo brings obsessive life to Petunia pig and and Peter MacNicol is instantly recognisable and decidedly funny as The Invader. These portrayals of classic characters feel newly definitive.
That it works so well, is so funny, and delivers on the essential joy of the Looney Tunes shorts without feeling like navel-gazing nostalgia is truly a great feat. It’s all so effortlessly charming it makes one wonder why it took so long to get the Looney Tunes on the big screen without roping in a famous basketball player.
Four Stars