The Looney Tunes have been a major part of pop culture since they were first drawn in the 1930s. The iconic cartoon characters have been featured in multiple TV series, books, comic books, video games, and live action films. Weirdly enough, there hasn’t been a fully 2D-animated theatrically-released Looney Tunes movie; until now, that is.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie won a lot of audiences and critics over when it made its premiere at film festivals, and it’s been doing rather well since it received a wide release. Let’s take a look at one of the few 2D-animated films to hit the big screen in recent years to see if it gives fans what they’ve been longing for.

The Good

Not only is it extremely satisfying seeing a 2D-animated movie on the big screen like the old days, but the animation is especially impressive. It’s aesthetically pleasing while also allowing the characters to bend and stretch the way animation was intended for. There are even elements that use different 2D animation styles, some of which are used for humor while others are just plain fun to watch. It’s all very impressive to see on the big screen.

Looney Toons has always been known for its slapstick humor, and it’s thankfully here in full force. Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and other characters being blown up, launched through walls, and being tossed around lead to big laughs. Outside of the comical, over-the-top violence, humor can be found in the witty dialogue, wacky situations,and visual gags. The banter between the characters is genuinely funny. There were several moments throughout that made me laugh louder than I wanted to. This is probably one of the funniest movies to hit theaters in some time.

There’s also a surprising amount of heart throughout the movie. The friendship between Porky and Daffy is well-written and leads to quite a few emotional moments. Their brotherly bond is touching, and you’ll find yourself fighting for them to overcome any differences and succeed in overcoming the various obstacles they come across during the story. None of it makes this film a tear-jerker, but it’s enough to really feel for them.

The movie is also quite suspenseful. The stakes keep getting raised as the story progresses, and it’s never clear exactly how the characters will overcome each threat. There were several twists and turns that were legitimately shocking, which kept everything that much more suspenseful.

The voice acting in this film is top tier. Eric Bauza pulls double duty as both Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. Not only does he sound perfect in both roles, replicating their iconic voices and making them stand out from each other, but he brings both humor and emotion to the characters. Candi Milo (Petunia Pig) and Peter MacNicol (The Invader) also add a lot of depth to their respective characters while also being wildly entertaining. The rest of the cast, including Wayne Knight, Jeff Bergman, and Carlos Alazraqui, are also top notch. It’s worth noting that they didn’t get random celebrities to just use their regular voices for any of these characters. Everyone here is a professional voice actor who can actually voice act. This is something we need to see more of when it comes to animated films.

The Bad

While the humor is absolutely hilarious throughout, there are a few moments in which the comedy takes a bit of a break. It’s paced a little weirdly with the suspenseful and emotional scenes instead of being blended seamlessly throughout the whole runtime. The comedy, emotion, and suspense are all handled well, they just could have been mixed and paced better here and there.

It’s genuinely great to see Porky and Daffy on the big screen, and it’s awesome to see Petunia Pig finally get some love. However, it’s a little unfortunate to not see other Looney Tunes iconic, and rather strange to not see other anthropomorphic animals outside of these three. That being said, hopefully this can lead to other similar movies featuring other beloved members of the cast.

It goes without saying that one shouldn’t nitpick logic or physics in the world of Looney Tunes, but I’m going to do it. Part of the plot relies heavily on gum being chewed, and they need to chew gum without it being in their mouths. They do so with novelty plastic teeth, but that wouldn’t make sense. In order for gum to become moist and chewy and ultimately take effect, it would require saliva, which the toy teeth don’t have. They could have made a point of getting the gum wet but they don’t. Again, I’m aware this is Looney Tunes and is not to be nitpicked, but it bothered me enough to mention it here.

Conclusion

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie feels like the original Looney Tunes cartoons as a feature-length movie. It perfectly captures the feeling of watching the classic TV series while telling a fantastic 90-minute story. It’s well-animated, hilarious, heartfelt, and exciting. There are a lot of creative ideas and twists, and the characters are truly worth caring about. Some of it could have been paced a bit differently when it comes with mixing humor and emotion, but it’s ultimately a phenomenal moviegoing experience, and a welcome return to 2D American animated movies in a theater.

Rating: 9.5/10

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