I think it’s safe to say that 2D animation is on the decline. I have not seen a single kid’s show or movie nowadays that uses this kind of animation except for maybe Bluey. And honestly, I kinda miss 2D animation. So when they announced a new Looney Tunes movie animated entirely in this style, I got very excited.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the Looney Tunes franchise. You know, the cartoons with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Tweety Bird. There have been a lot of spinoffs and movies for the franchise over the years like Wabbit, Duck Dodgers, and Space Jam. All of these cartoons have been consistently awesome. Never once did the franchise fall downhill, so I expected this movie to be just the same.
The movie is called The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. According to IMDB, the plot is that “Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are Earth’s only hope when facing the threat of alien invasion.” The cast consists of Eric Bauza as both Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, Candi Milo as Petunia Pig, Keith Ferguson as Chewy, and Peter MacNicol as the Invader. The movie was received very well, with a score of 7.0/10 stars and 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was supposed to release on February 28, 2025, but got pushed to March 14.
Before watching, I really thought Marvin the Martian would be the main villain since this is basically an alien invasion movie. But the main villain of the movie is actually an alien named the Invader, a boba tea-loving alien who wants to put a bubblegum barrier around the Earth. Yeah, crazy stuff!
With Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as the main protagonists, it really reminded me of Duck Dodgers. The dynamic between Daffy and Porky was really well written in this movie. They’re brothers being raised by a farmer named Farmer Jim. Even though they cause chaos around the house, he still loves them and only wants the best for them. He gives them the house to call their own when they grow up. I really like that Porky keeps a picture of Farmer Jim in his shirt pocket all the time. In one scene, Daffy tells Porky that he’ll let him have the house and the will if he dies. I just thought it was so heartwarming, because it shows that they really care about each other. Even though they have a few arguments here and there, they still make up in the end and help each other out.
I also really like Petunia Pig. She works at a bubblegum factory and usually tries to make new flavors with some unusual ingredients like leftover rotten eggs. She doesn’t really like the strawberry flavor being released. She was right to feel that way intuitively, because this was actually the Invader’s gum that takes over people’s minds. She helps Daffy and Porky on their mission to save Earth and is definitely the reason they get around to doing it. She really knows her way around science and is able to come up with a gum flavor that will save the humans from the Invader’s mind-controlling gum. Petunia usually wears pigtails and a dress; but here, she had a bob cut and wore a lab uniform. Yes, she did all that in a lab uniform and heels, truly a feminist icon.
My biggest pet peeve with kid’s movies nowadays is that some of the jokes and cursing feels a little forced at times, so it doesn’t really land for me. But in this movie, nothing really feels forced at all. Although, I will say the Tik Tok joke at the beginning made me cringe; but other than that, the humor was top-notch. I like the scene of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig trying to find jobs, since it follows the typical style of an old Looney Tunes cartoon. There’s a title card, the aspect ratio changes from 16:9 to 4:3, and of course, Porky says “That’s all, folks!” at the end. Another scene that made me laugh was when the Invader was trying to do an evil laugh, but coughed uncontrollably. That was very relatable to me and it’s a cartoon trope I love a lot. His obsession with boba tea was really funny, too. I also really like some of the fourth wall breaks. They genuinely belonged in the movie, because they furthered the plot and kept it interesting. And if you told me that you watched the Farmer Jim segments with a straight face, you’re probably lying.
I think the most important part of this movie is the 2D animation. Looney Tunes has always had great animation, even nowadays. But I’d say this movie is superior. The style was so smooth and consistent, and the characters were just so expressive in this style. Long story short, it was eye candy. It was definitely a breath of fresh air from CGI. The coloring was nice, the backgrounds were really good, and the facial expressions were hilarious, as always. I’d argue that this is the movie that saved 2D animation. It’s a dying breed nowadays, so it’s always fun to see it make a comeback–and this movie pulled it off so well. I hope we get more movies like this in the future.
I could keep talking about this movie for five more paragraphs, but I think I’ve said enough now. This was a really enjoyable movie overall. It’s a great expansion on the Looney Tunes franchise and has made it on my top five favorite movies list. Am I overly obsessed with this movie? Yeah! Am I ashamed of it? NO! I will definitely be rewatching this movie when it hits streaming and I think you guys should do the same! Just be sure to have a cup of boba ready.
