The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie had a day to remember with its premiere screening Tuesday.
It debuted during a late-night event at the Annecy Animation Festival in France, where director Pete Browngardt and Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register took the stage to introduce the movie. Centering on Looney Tunes mainstays Porky Pig and Daffy Duck (both voiced by Eric Bauza), The Day the Earth Blew Up hails from Warner Bros. Animation and is aiming to hit theaters later this year, although it does not yet have an announced release date.
The film spurred enthusiastic laughter throughout the screening, with some standout moments for the crowd including scenes that focused on the lead duo’s upbringing and their attempts to find a job. The Day the Earth Blew Up features the two characters teaming up in an effort to prevent a powerful alien from taking control of the planet, with the situation getting complicated as Porky takes an interest in Petunia Pig (Candi Milo).
Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) noted that this year marks his fifth time attending the animation festival. “This is a labor of love for not only me but also the whole team of artists that worked on this,” the filmmaker said of his movie. “All the Looney Tunes fans, I hope you enjoy this.”
He continued, “It’s been a long road. We worked four years on this. It’s 2D-animated. We put our hearts and souls into this, so I hope you enjoy it tonight.”
In addressing the crowd, Register praised Browngardt’s vision for the project. “Annecy is the best place to premiere this movie because the Looney Tunes are very important characters,” Register said. “This is a very important movie because these characters mean so much to us and to the animation community. There was no one I trusted more in making a full-length animated movie about these characters than Pete Browngardt.”
The Day the Earth Blew Up marks the first fully animated Looney Tunes feature to launch with a theatrical run. Its premiere follows Warner Bros.’ recent decision not to release Coyote vs. Acme, a hybrid of live-action and CG animation focusing on Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote and starring John Cena and Will Forte.