Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up Review
Since the 1930s, Looney Tunes has been a staple of American animation alongside the likes of Disney; “that’s all, folks” is an iconic image ingrained in the minds of generations. However, aside from appearing in live-action/animation hybrid films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, the franchise has never had a theatrically released fully animated feature. That’s set to change with Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up, which is finally arriving in UK cinemas over a year after its US debut.
A homage to classic sci-fi B movies, The Day the Earth Blew Up follows Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced by Eric Bauza), who, after failing a home inspection due to a mysterious hole that has appeared in their roof, must raise money to repair their home or risk having it condemned. After floundering at several jobs, they believe they’ve finally found something they’re good at when Petunia Pig (Candi Milo) helps them land work at a bubble gum factory. However, Daffy soon realises that something sinister is happening inside the factory, and it may be connected to an impending alien invasion.
Western animation, especially with the over-saturation of 3D CGI from studios like Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks from the late 2010’s onwards, fell into a period of stagnation that was only broken when Into the Spider-Verse burst onto the scene, onomatopoeia and all. That film’s success set in motion a shift within the western animation industry where style and flair became king. Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up fully embraces this new era of animation, delivering a fusion of classic Looney Tunes energy, B-movie sci-fi, and modern sheen. The film is visually stunning, brimming with colour and personality. It feels like a contemporary evolution of the classic Looney Tunes formula.
Aside from the live-action hybrids, classic Looney Tunes were largely confined to shorts, with the longest running around 9 minutes and 48 seconds. This means their stories and humour traditionally arrive in quick bursts rather than in a sustained, feature-length format, and that’s where Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up falters. Much like traditional comedies or spoof films, The Day the Earth Blew Up fires off a joke every minute and hopes it lands. It’s an approach that naturally carries risks; if you don’t align with the film’s sense of humour, the experience is more likely to fall flat than entertain. For me, the film really missed the mark.
While Daffy Duck’s inherently selfish and chaotic nature works brilliantly in short bursts, often delivering sharp, rapid-fire laughs, the effect wears thin over a 1-hour and 31-minute runtime. The film certainly contains flashes of his classic hilarity, but after a while, he began to grate on my nerves, making me question whether the humour was genuinely funny or simply obnoxious. This exaggerated version of Daffy also affects the narrative, as many plot beats occur solely because he’s acting irrationally or selfishly. The result is a story that would have thrived as a tight 45-minute short rather than a full-length feature. And the fact that the film credits eleven writers makes me wonder whether there were simply too many cooks in the kitchen.
I just wanted more from Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up. While there were moments that had me laughing out loud, the film also boasts stunning animation and a strong voice cast. But I didn’t find it consistently funny, and large stretches felt like a drag; if I wasn’t laughing, I was simply bored. That said, comedy is entirely subjective, so if you love Looney Tunes and want to see them on the big screen, give it a bash; you might find the laugh-a-minute approach refreshing and genuinely hilarious.
★★1/2
Out in UK Cinemas from 13th February 2026 / Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Carlos Alazraqui, Fred Tatasciore / Dir: Peter Browngardt / Vertigo Releasing / PG
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