Daffy, Porky, and the Meaning of Love in The Day the Earth Blew Up

I know what some of you are probably thinking. A Looney Tunes movie? Really? What’s next, Paw Patrol and The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth? But hear me out. Sure, the cartoon-loving kid in me was super excited to see these characters on the big screen, but nostalgia wasn’t the only reason I wanted to check out The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. The early critical buzz for this film was surprisingly positive, so I had to see it for myself. I wanted to know if the movie lived up to the hype, and after finally getting a chance to watch it, I'm happy to report that it's a total blast.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie was directed by Pete Browngardt, and it stars the voices of Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Peter MacNicol. In the film, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig were raised together by a man named Farmer Jim, and even though Jim has passed, they still live in the same house where they grew up.

They seem to lead a fairly normal life (or at least as normal as Looney Tunes characters can be), but that all changes when a mysterious UFO crash-lands near their neighborhood. An evil alien creates a mind-control drug to take over the planet, and of course, the only people who can stop him are Daffy, Porky, and their new friend Petunia Pig.

If you’re a longtime Looney Tunes fan like me, you’ll be happy to hear that The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie sticks very closely to the original cartoons. Unlike, say, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, this movie doesn’t reinvent its beloved characters for a new generation. Porky and Daffy look and sound exactly like they did when I was a kid, and they get up to all the same hilariously ridiculous shenanigans that made me love them all those years ago.

That being said, there is one big difference. The classic Looney Tunes was basically just a sketch comedy show, so the stories were never the series’s string point. In fact, they were usually little more than excuses to showcase a bunch of over-the-top slapstick humor. They rarely had much genuine heart or humanity to them, but The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie bucks that trend.

For starters, the film highlights two key relationships that will melt your heart: Porky and Daffy, and Porky and Petunia. Let’s start with the first duo. Like I said, Porky and Daffy were raised together by Farmer Jim, and the movie wastes no time showing us how their unbreakable bond grew from childhood to the present day.

It’s more than enough to get us on board with these characters, but The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie doesn’t stop there. Soon after the film begins, Jim dies. On screen, it actually looks like the guy just walks away, but director Pete Browngardt gives adult viewers enough clues that we can easily figure out what’s really going on.

It’s an unexpectedly poignant scene, so if you’ve ever lost a loved one, you’ll be sure to feel for Porky and Daffy. What’s more, before Jim leaves, he tells his adopted sons they’ll be okay as long as they stick together, and that line seals the deal for us. In that moment of grief, we want these two characters to follow the farmer’s advice, so from then on, we care deeply about this unlikely pair both as individuals and as a team.

In contrast, Petunia joins the fray as an adult, and from the moment Porky lays eyes on her, he’s absolutely smitten. She doesn’t reciprocate right away, but it doesn’t take long for their relationship to advance beyond mere friendship. And when that happens, they’re adorable together. Most notably, there are a number of times when the pigs stutter in perfect harmony, and while that might sound a bit cheesy on paper, those moments are guaranteed to put a big smile on your face.

These two relationships are the heart and soul of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, and as the story progresses, it essentially ends up being an examination of the dynamics of real-life human relationships. Through its over-the-top characters and their often ridiculous antics, the film explores love, loss, and the ups and downs we all experience with our friends and loved ones, so it’s tough to distill just one message from it.

This movie is simply about what it means to be human, and it embodies its various interlocking themes in a way that’s simple enough for kids to understand but also deep enough for adults to appreciate. It’s exactly the kind of uplifting, soul-nourishing experience all family films should strive to be, so if you’re even remotely the kind of person who would enjoy a feature-length Looney Tunes flick, I highly recommend that you check out The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.