The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Loony Tunes Movie

It's old-school Warner Bros. cartoon fun -- don't you dare call it animation -- starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck in an adventure involving intergalactic aliens and zombie-inducing bubble gum.

I think my kids only know Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and the rest of the classic roster of Warner Bros. cartoon characters from the “Space Jam” reboot with LeBron James. It’s weird to think there are entire generations of people now who have grown up without watching them every Saturday morning.

Dating myself, I only learned a few years ago that Saturday morning cartoons aren’t a thing any more. Although there was a new version of Loony Tunes that ran on television for a few years recently.

So here’s a new WB feature-length cartoon — don’t you dare call it animation — as a reintroduction for today’s kids, and a nostalgia trip for old-timers.

“The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Loony Tunes Movie” is a zany 90 minutes of goofy humor, PG-rated antics and old-school ‘toon characters. It’s largely made by the same people behind the modern TV series.

The plot is about a huge asteroid on its way to destroy the Earth, accompanied by a green(ish) intergalactic invader who wants to turn the entire human (and anthropomorphic animal) populace into compliant zombies by feeding them bubble gum tainted with alien goo. Daffy and Porky are our very underdog designated protectors.

It’s funny how even cartoon characters evolve over the years. In his later iteration, Daffy was a rather cynical, peevish fowl fellow who seemed to spend most of his time resenting Bugs Bunny because of his status as the alpha ‘toon. But when he started out, he was more of a dimwitted loon, a hyperactive machine of destruction who tended to leave things in tatters in his wake.

This version of Daffy, voiced by Eric Bauza, is very much in that vein. Bauza provides the voice of Porky, too, who’s a rather sweet and shy version. I seem to recall the latter-day Porky was more assertive and had a temper.

Directed by Peter Browngardt, who also co-wrote the script with about 15 other people I’m not going to name, “Day” was originally intended to debut on the HBO Max streaming platform, but they decided to give it a theatrical release first. Good on ‘em for doing so.

The set-up is that Porky and Daffy were abandoned as babies and raised by Farmer Jim (Fred Tatasciore), a Paul Bunyan-esque figure who admonishes them to “always stick together.” He eventually passes, walking off into the clouds as a Mufasa-like spirit who will occasionally return with more advice.

Farmer Jim left them their house, where they’ve lived ever since without ever getting jobs or doing much of anything constructive. When the alien probe smashes a huge hole in their roof, the uppity pink-clad Karen housing inspector gives them just 10 days to fix it or be evicted.

Porky’s erstwhile girlfriend, Petunia Pig (Candi Milo), makes an appearance as a flavor scientist working at the local Goodie Gum Factory. She’s a bit of loner who gets kidded for her wacky ideas, such as gum that explodes in your mouth — and for real. She offers the boys jobs at the factory, and soon a chaste little romance with Porky has begun.

It turns out the probe is the work of the Invader (Peter MacNicol), a classic swole-head villain type, and anyone who comes in contact with the green goo becomes an addle-brained zombie. He forces the local astronomer (Tatasciore again) to dump the goo into into the vat brewing up the newest Goodie flavor, Super Strongberry.

(Petunia sniffs disdainfully that it’s the same old berry formula repackaged.)

Soon the whole town of Grandview is filled with gum-chomping slaves, and it’s up to the three of them to save the day.

The humor is very much in the flavor of classic Loony Tunes, with a few modern nods. Such as Daffy and Porky fretting about what they’ll do about their smashed house, and one suggests, “Wait for a stimulus check?”

There’s also a brief sequence where Daffy tries to raise money by becoming an online influencer, which to his simple mind means pumping up his nether region to an eye-catching size.

(Snort if you will, but Kim Kardashian is a billionaire.)

I also appreciated a throwaway joke depicting Daffy messing around as a toddler, and one inadvertent act becomes the cause of Porky’s signature stutter.

And it’s neat how the infected gum doesn’t just sway people’s minds, but actually is a living organism itself a la “The Thing” that will sprout tentacles and even eyeballs so the Invader can see what’s happening.

The animation style is a mix of old and new, employing the aesthetic and motion of the vintage Loony stuff while bringing crisp outlines and vibrant colors.

Honestly, it feels like stretching out on the couch for another morning of over-sweetened cereal and Loony Tunes with the gang. “The Day the Earth Blew Up” is a delightful throwback I’m betting will be enjoyed by little kids, and by aging adults who want to remember what it was like to be one.