The Looney Tunes return to the big screen for a limited release of The Day the Earth Blew Up. Photo: Warner Bros.
Gone are the days of hand-drawn feature-length films.
It’s a shame, really, as it’s an art form that’s produced some of the most iconic films of all time. Alladin, The Lion King, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Road to El Dorado – all of these masterpieces were drawn by the hands of some of the world’s best animators.
Even Disney, which owes 75 of its 90-year dominance of animation to the craft, hasn’t made a hand-drawn theatrical release since 2009 with The Princess and the Frog.
Even the iconic Looney Tunes made the transition to CG animation in the awful Space Jam 2. Fortunately, someone at Warner Bros pointed out that hand-drawn is the way to go moving forward, and with their first release since making that decision, we get the ridiculously good Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up.
Following the iconic Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, the new Looney Tunes film follows the duo as they look to raise money to stop their house from being condemned. After accepting a job at a chewing gum factory, they soon realise that the gum they are packaging is turning people into mindless zombies.
It is then up to the pair, and newcomer Petunia Pig, to save the world from this unknown threat.
This is a ridiculous plot in all the best ways. You don’t come to a movie with the word looney in the title if you are looking for something grounded.
From the get-go, the viewer knows exactly what they are in for. Silly gags, stylised slapstick violence, crude humour and brilliant hand-drawn animation.
If it isn’t clear, I had an absolute blast with this film.
It teleported me back to my bedroom when I was watching cartoons after school. Instead of updating the characters to look new or modern, it was a love letter to what people associate with the characters.
It wasn’t trying to spread a message or move ahead with the times. It was a simple adventure with two iconic characters that have been in pop culture for almost a century.
There was clearly love for the source material poured into this film. Each frame had some visual or audio gag to look at or listen to. Whether it was Daffy giving some exaggerated facial expression or Porky fighting his often-parodied stutters, it all worked.
I think other IPs can learn a lot from this project.
Audiences love what they love. They don’t always need a live-action remake or sequel with a different animation style; I’m looking at you, Snow White!
The only downside I had from a story perspective is that I would have liked to see some other famous Looney Tunes characters. There’s no Bugs Bunny, Sylvester and Tweety, Wile E Coyote, Road Runner, Elmer Fudd or Foghorn Leghorn. Not one. However, the two characters the film does focus on do enough to carry the banner.
The biggest shame about this film, however, is that not enough people are seeing it.
This should have been released during the summer or winter breaks, not left to die on a random Thursday in March. It will be lost in the shuffle, and that’s a shame.
On one hand, this film could have been sent straight to streaming and received moderate viewership, which would have been fine, but hand-drawn animation needs a win on the big screen, and this film could have been it if Warner Bros had backed it.
So do yourself a favour – take the family to see it. There is so much fun to have here. Adults will enjoy seeing iconic characters being silly while younger audiences will appreciate the slapstick style of it all and the gorgeous animation.
Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up is showing in select cinemas across the country for a limited time.
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Riotact.
