I consider myself sophisticated, but I still go to superhero movies. So if I can channel my inner 11 year old to watch Spider-Man or Batman, why couldn’t I go a little younger and channel my inner 6 year old and watch The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie?
This flick which opens in theaters on Friday was advertised as completely hand drawn and the first ever fully animated feature film in Looney Tunes history. As I reminisced about all the childhood hours spent laughing at the whacky hi-jinks of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig I figured I had to watch this.
Oof that was a painful mistake.
I now realize why Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and all the other creative minds that provided the anarchy that put the younger version of me in stitches never tried to turn their seven minute cartoons into ninety minute movies. You stretch out a concept of talking animals blowing each other up into a continuous hour and a half and you’re going to feel the need to create a plot which gets in the way of what Looney Tunes are all about which is slapstick humor, violence, speech impediments, and crass, ethnic stereotypes.
The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie serves as an origin story for Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
Raised by a farmer, they have to make money to save their childhood home. They find a job at a bubblegum factory where they learn an alien is using the gum to take over the Earth.
The animation is smooth enough to look at, but I quickly found myself slack jawed and bored to the point that I thought maybe I outgrew the stuttering pig and lisping duck. But a rewatch of their first 1938 black and white adventure “Daffy & Porky” still put a smile on my face.
It wasn’t me that changed, it was the times. The violence is not as explosive, nor are there ridiculous accents. Worst of all the attempts at humor were more of the wink-wink variety than over-the-top shenanigans we expect.
I was ready for the th-th-that’s all folks. It finally came after the credits only for Daffy to stop Porky to say, “That can’t be all folks. we have to keep things open for a sequel.” If you find that clever, this might be the movie for you. I’ll stick with the old stuff.
