The Day the Earth Blew Up (2024)

Warner Bros. made a brand new Looney Tunes movie, then dropped it in a company shake-up and let a smaller outfit put it in American theaters. Strange call, because it’s the most Looney Tunes thing in decades. Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, both voiced by Eric Bauza, need cash to fix the house Farmer Jim left them, and Daffy can’t hold a job past his first disaster. They land at a gum factory with Petunia Pig right as an alien starts spiking the new flavor and everyone who chews it turns into a gum-popping zombie. It’s a fifties flying saucer picture run through a cartoon blender, drawn in the stretchy, rubbery style of old Bob Clampett shorts, and Daffy is a gloriously selfish menace again. The story is just a coat hanger for gags, and the buddy lessons are ones you’ve heard before. It made $15.5 million worldwide on a reported $15M. A 7.3 because the jokes fly fast and the animation actually moves. $2,813 says you stutter through your next goodbye on purpose.

What works: The gags come at a ridiculous pace, the old-school animation has real bounce, and Eric Bauza nails both Daffy and Porky.

What doesn’t: The plot is a thin excuse to string jokes together, and the friendship lesson between Daffy and Porky is one you’ve seen in a hundred buddy cartoons.

Who it’s for: Families with kids who’ve never seen a classic Looney Tune, and grown-ups who still quote them.