Looney Tunes has been around since 1930, and it was one of the first animated franchises outside of Disney. The franchise originated as a series of animated short films that ran for nearly four decades, from 1930 to 1969. Looney Tunes also had a spinoff series called Merrie Melodies, which ran largely concurrently with the mainline group of shorts, from 1931 to 1969. Both franchises introduced key characters such as Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Foghorn Leghorn, all of whom have become iconic animated characters.

In the 1970s, Warner Bros. and United Artists started releasing feature-length versions of Looney Tunes tales. This began with the documentary film Bugs Bunny Superstar, which interspersed shorts with the classic rabbit while also exploring the artists behind these tales. This was followed up by The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie in 1979, which was largely a compilation film, and later, the franchise broke out into the original film sphere in 1996 with the fan-favorite Space Jam. Now, Looney Tunes actually had an original movie come out this year, and it is on streaming.

The Day The Earth Blew Up Is A New Looney Tunes Movie That’s Now Streaming On Max

It Came Out In Theaters In March

In March, Ketchup Entertainment released The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. The 2D animated film diverted from the franchise’s short-form origins by telling a science-fiction plot about Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. Living together after leaving the home of Farmer Jim, Daffy and Porky end up on the search for a job to make repairs to their new home, but wind up in a sticky (literally and figuratively) situation as the chewing gum factory they work at becomes involved in an alien scheme. Both main characters are voiced by Eric Bauza.

The Day the Earth Blew Up had an unusual path to theatrical release. It was originally supposed to come out on Max, but then restructuring led Warner Bros. to offer up the film to other streaming services. Ketchup Entertainment later acquired distribution rights for the movie in August 2024, and released it the following year. The film ended up making $15.1 million at the box office, which was not enough to turn a big profit on the $15 million budget. That said, its streaming status gives The Day the Earth Blew Up an opportunity to recover.

The Day The Earth Blew Up Got Rave Reviews From Critics & Audiences

The Tomatometer Is At 86%

The Day the Earth Blew Up ultimately got great reviews from both critics and audiences, despite its low box office returns. The film has a Certified Fresh 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes from the 104 people who reviewed it. Critics approved of the way that the movie modernizes the format that has worked so well for past Looney Tunes projects, and marveled at the animation style. Reviewing the film for ScreenRant, Ben Gibbons wrote that it is “a wonderful feature-length cartoon that has a lot to offer the entire family.” It got an even higher 88% Popcornmeter from audiences.

Why You Should Watch The Day The Earth Blew Up

The Film Is Very Clever

The Day the Earth Blew Up is one of the best animated movies of the year so far. In a world inundated with 3D computer animation, the Looney Tunes movie is a refreshing example of 2D animation’s lasting joy. Not only does The Day the Earth Blew Up include animation in this style, but it does so quite cleverly. It includes comical features on the human character, Farmer Jim, who appears almost painting-like while still having the exaggerated features of animation. It also still includes text on screen and pullaway moments in different styles, keeping things interesting.

The plot itself is fairly simple and not overly noteworthy, but the story maintains a lightheartedness that is consistently funny. It is at once a sci-fi caper and a strict comedy, as the physical comedy gaffs that characterized earlier Looney Tunes work remain present in this film. The wordplay and comedic dialogue are also well actualized by Bauza’s great vocal performance in both lead roles. All of these elements make The Day the Earth Blew Up well worth a watch.