Word-of-mouth marketing can do a lot for a film; certain features like “Rocky Horror Picture Show“ and “Napoleon Dynamite“ got their modern notoriety because of friends telling friends to see these movies in decades past. Social media, nowadays, can do a lot of that same legwork. Even if it’s just posts asking, “There’s a Looney Tunes movie in theaters right now?”
“The Day the Earth Blew Up” is a new film featuring Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and the traditionally sidelined Petunia Pig, and it is the first fully animated Looney Tunes movie to be released in theaters that isn’t made up of pre-made shorts and segments. Frankly, it’s a miracle the film even exists at this point. Originally produced for Cartoon Network and streaming services, Warner Brothers’ studios decided to effectively trash the film after it was completed, unless a company was willing to buy it out for distribution. That is exactly what Ketchup Entertainment has done.
“Blew Up” is a fun, silly, family-friendly movie that retains a lot of the heart of older Looney Tunes cartoons, with an updated setting and premise. Instead of the classic cartoon set-ups, Daffy and Porky are presented as adopted brothers and best friends, living in a somewhat logical reality (though Daffy still has his giant wooden hammer). While the film maintains the tone and energy of a Looney Tunes short, the plot takes its inspiration from 1950’s B films, with a plot featuring alien invasions, zombies and giant monsters.
Another notable sidestep from Looney Tunes tradition is the decision to omit some of their most famous characters. While Porky was arguably the franchise’s first star — his short films predate many famous Looney Tunes characters — and Daffy is a recognizable face of the brand, the movie raises the question “Can you do a Looney Tunes movie without Bugs Bunny?” The answer, shockingly, is yes. If nothing else, this film proves the fact that you can make a feature without having to resort to the quickest references and mainstays. However, there were other characters who might have benefitted the film with their inclusion.
While one may question the decision to exclude the franchise’s most famous extraterrestrial Marvin the Martian in a film featuring an alien antagonist, the film’s plot demonstrates the need for a fresh character with less familiar motivations along with a subtle joke at the character’s exclusion, with the villain proclaiming he’s “not the blow-stuff-up type of alien.”
By sidelining more established characters, the film gives rise to an unexpected third pillar; Petunia Pig, in this film presented as an eccentric scientist, has normally not existed much in Looney Tunes beyond being support for Porky. Here, she is given her own motivations, personality and life before she even meets Porky and Daffy.
“The Day the Earth Blew Up” is a movie that doesn’t seem like it would work on paper, but manages to exceed the expectations it sets for itself with its unconventional cast and marketing (or lack thereof). Ketchup Entertainment was not able to promote the film much beyond social media campaigns, mainly because the budget they’d normally have for the film’s advertising was spent on purchasing the film. However, a respectable opening weekend has opened new doors for Ketchup Entertainment.
While I enjoyed this movie, and I do recommend it, the thing I love most about “Blew Up” is the fact that it brought back to life a film that many saw as dead in the water: “Coyote vs. Acme” was viewed as the epitome of Warner Bros’ misplaced corporate greed stifling artists and the industry. Now, as of the time of this writing, Ketchup Entertainment is officially in negotiations to distribute the completed film, years after its very public cancellation.
“The Day the Earth Blew Up” is not just a good Looney Tunes movie, and it’s more than a fun time at the theater. It’s a light forward for the franchise, for its studio, and if all goes well, maybe on some microscopic level, it can be a shining guide for the future of the animation industry too.
