They may not be the draw that they once were, but never discount the Looney Tunes. Those who think the general population has forgotten the kooky cartoons will find themselves on the wrong end of public opinion, whether it’s by removing the original shorts from the newly-rechristened HBO Max or straight-up using a fully-made film as a tax write-off. In the case of the latter, Ketchup Entertainment swooped in and won the rights to resurrect Coyote vs. Acme for theatrical release in 2026. And, honestly, why wouldn’t they after the success they experienced when they purchased director Peter Browngardt’s (The Curse of the Monkeybird; Hole Lotta Trouble) The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie after its intended release on HBO Max and Cartoon Network was pulled and put it out on the festival circuit in 2024 before a 2025 wider theatrical release? Unfortunately, despite the positive critical and general audience response, the home release edition of The Day the Earth Blew Up is a bare-bones affair with only a trailer, subtitle support, and the film included on the disc. But, for both fans of the Looney Tunes and of physical media, the sheer fact that you can own the film is a victory unto itself.
If you’d like to learn about The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie in a spoiler-free capacity, head over to EoM Founder Douglas Davidson’s initial release review.
L-R: Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced by Eric Bauza) in THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE. Photo courtesy of Ketchup Entertainment.
Raised as siblings, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck (both voiced by Eric Bauza) have stuck together through first steps and first pimples, prom dates and odd jobs, thick and thin, but nothing could prepare them for homeownership. Left to them by their adoptive father Farmer Jim (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), their house is all they have. When something from space knocks a hole in their roof right before an inspection, they lack the funds necessary to fix it, which may mean eviction. When other attempts at roof repair funds fall short, the duo get lucky and meet Petunia Pig (voiced by Candi Milo), a flavor scientist at the local Goodie Gum Factory, who helps them get a job. What should have them on an upswing is actually a setup for right-place-wrong-time shenanigans as Daffy stumbles onto a seemingly nefarious plot from outer space to corrupt the gum and turn its chewers into controllable zombies with one directive: chew, chew, and keeping chewing until the Earth is blown up.
L-R: Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced by Eric Bauza) in THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE. Photo courtesy of Ketchup Entertainment.
The fun part of revisiting a film is not just the tempered expectations, it’s discovering what you didn’t notice the first time. The whole of The Day the Earth Blew Up leans into the Atomic Era of cinema from its fluorescent green goo, interstellar invader (voiced by Ghostbuster II’s Peter MacNicol), and 1950s pop song for Goodie Gum denoting an era of simple living and extraordinary science fiction — this part is not only known, it’s obvious. What’s less so, yet true to form for Looney Tunes, is that it’s full of misdirects, the biggest of which playing out in the opening of the film just after the scientist (also voiced by Tatasciore) discovers the incoming asteroid. As he reads his observations into a recorder while looking through a telescope, the audience, aware that something is coming to blow up the Earth, observes a green, glowing receptacle careen around the asteroid and fly toward the planet. With what we know of the Atomic Era and the title of the film, we connect the receptacle and the asteroid as tandem objects, unable to see them as the individual things they are. Combine this with the invader’s own maniacal line delivery and desire to turn all sentient life on Earth into gum-chewing zombies and the audience is primed for a standard battle of wits, to which Daffy and Porky will arrive entirely unarmed. So how do you subvert this expectation? By making the invader an ally whose methods are looney, even if effective, in trying to prevent the asteroid from destroying Earth. Thus, if one focuses on the scientist’s alarm about the asteroid and not the object that swoops around it, the audience realizes, on the rewatch, that the team of 11 writers on this picture were setting up the invader as helper and not infiltrator from the beginning.
L-R: Daffy Duck (voiced by Eric Bauza) and The Scientist (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) in THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE. Photo courtesy of Ketchup Entertainment.
Additionally, upon rewatch, one can really absorb the phenomenal art direction from Nick Cross (Over the Garden Wall). It’s not just the use of bright colors and strong, distinct lines that give the world of the film a hyperreality feel, it’s the way the visual language of the film also denotes classic cartoons, such as when Daffy appears to aid Porky and Petunia in battle (against Porky’s hopes) and his arrival is met with shining lights (as if borne from a spotlight) behind him, illuminating the dark blue of the night sky. Or, in the scene before it, as Porky and Petunia dispense their stinky egg odor mixture to cause the infected to retch up their gum, the plumes of aerosol waver between a putrid green and a muddy brown which fill the screen, yet we can still make out the purple eyes of the infected and their shadowy dark forms. The distinction of image position, separation of coloring, and staging of characters gives each frame a precise depth of field that draws in admiration, even if the scene itself is, well, yucky. Admirably, even the early short-like segments where Porky and Daffy attempt jobs, though presented in a different art style than the rest of the film, still maintain a hegemony so that, even as a departure from the visual norm, they still functions as part of the whole. It’s a hard needle to thread, but they manage it well.
L-R: Daffy Duck (voiced by Eric Bauza), Porky Pig (voiced by Eric Bauza), and Petunia Pig (voiced by Candi Milo) in THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE. Photo courtesy of GFM Animation.
Unfortunately, despite the entertaining nature of the film, that’s where the enjoyment ends. There’s not a single featurette, behind-the-scenes look, or image gallery included. Even the details on the case liner don’t include information on audio or video specs, which is pretty odd, frankly. While the details surrounding what Ketchup Entertainment did and didn’t have access to when they picked up this title from Warner Bros. Pictures are murky, the absence of any way to explore the making of this film is an absolute missed opportunity. Given the social media response from Bauza and others, one suspects that members of the cast would’ve jumped at the chance to do a commentary track, record an interview discussing the production, or anything else that would help audiences who had fun with this title dig a little deeper. Speaking as a physical media fan, the fact that this film got released at all is a mini-miracle, so one doesn’t want to appear ungrateful, yet the lack of bonus materials remains bothersome. More than that, it feels like a missed opportunity given that Ketchup picked up Coyote vs. Acme and home release bonus materials are a great way to market upcoming projects. What better way to remind folks that a new film is coming starring the Looney Tunes than with special features exploring the way this latest theatrical title (the first fully-animated one, to be exact) was made and received. There are special features that are strictly for educational purposes (most of the on-disc materials from boutique labels like Criterion, Radiance, and 88 Films), but audiences accept that most are promotional (such as from WB Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures, and Well Go USA) that also include details that curious movie-watchers can learn from. With so much rich animation history being controlled by corporations who’ll delete something they presume is unprofitable rather than preserve it for history, special features are a great way to ensure that something lasts. Hence the frustration here.
L-R: Petunia Pig (voiced by Candi Milo) and Porky Pig (voiced by Eric Bauza) in THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE. Photo courtesy of Ketchup Entertainment.
More Looney Tunes is always better than fewer. Why? Because just like adults need reminders that it’s ok to get silly from time to time (and this film is definitely too spooky at times for the under-10 crowd), kids need affirmations that being looney is what keeps you flexible in a situation. Not only that, Looney Tunes offer an introduction to smart ass and crass humor that’s still generally accepted by society. You can’t just run straight for National Lampoon, The Simpsons, or Brave New World. you gotta work up to humorists and satirists, build a foundation of the ridiculous so that you can cultivate a generation of odd thinkers who may just turn the world upside-down in order for it to make sense again. So, while we wait for the next adventure, and 2026 is less than seven months away right now, at least we have the ability to enjoy something looney now.
No bonus features are included with this home release.
Available on VOD and digital April 15th, 2025.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD May 27th, 2025.
Available on HBO Max June 27th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Ketchup Entertainment The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie website.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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