Ketchup Entertainment dropped the trailer for “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” on February 28 ahead of its March 14 theatrical release. The indie picked up the Daffy Duck and Porky Pig sci-fi origin story last year after Warner Bros. Discovery killed it for tax purposes (like the live-action/animated Looney Tunes hybrid “Coyote vs. Acme”).
The franchise’s first fully 2D-animated theatrical feature finds Daffy and Porky (both voiced by Eric Bauza) stumbling onto a secret alien plot to take over the world via mind-control and chewing gum. But they attempt to gum up the works with their inimitable antics.
Director Peter Browngardt (“Looney Tunes Cartoons”) admirably captures the essence of the wacky odd couple with wit and warmth, channeling the outrageous look and gags of his favorite Warner Bros. director Bob Clampett. “We wanted the audience caring about these characters,” Browngardt told IndieWire, “but still also realizing that we’re trying to make a cartoon here. And cartoons are sort of the art of the impossible, so you can do the classic Looney Tunes surrealist jokes or slapstick and push what a character can do in animation.”
The ’50s sci-fi fan was inspired by “The Day the Earth Stood Still” along with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby “Road” movies. Presented in CinemaScope, Warner Bros. Animation did the majority of the work, with assistance from Tonic DNA, Powerhouse Animation, Snipple, and Titmouse Vancouver.
Browngardt chose Daffy and Porky because they’re the only Looney Tunes buddy characters that aren’t trying to kill each another. They also provide an appealing emotional core to hang the film on. Daffy represents chaos, Porky counters with order, and they drive each other nuts on the way to becoming BFFs. Their designs were modeled after the ’40s Clampett style.
Among the highlights are the Busby Berkeley-esque musical number “Push the Button, Pull the Crank,” influenced by Art Deco posters with lots of pink (recalling the surrealism of “Pink Elephants on Parade” from “Dumbo”) and a montage where Daffy and Porky get fired from a series of gigs that end violently for their employers.
Michael Baum served as line producer, Alex Kirwan as supervising producer, and Browngardt and Sam Register as executive producers. Nick Cross was art director and Aaron Spurgeon was the production designer. Voice talent also includes Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Wayne Knight, and Laraine Newman.
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