Porky and Daffy deal with an alien invasion via bubblegum. If you need to know more before deciding whether to see it the movie probably isn’t for you.
Tongue in cheek snark out of the way, this is the first ever full new animation Looney Tunes movie. The others were all either reused skits with new connecting animation or a mix of animation and live action.
If you were unaware the movie is now in theaters you aren’t alone: marketing has been practically non-existent. I was vaguely aware a Looney Tunes movie had been made that was sidelined by Warner Bros’ recent questionable business decisions, but had no idea it had been picked up and released. I stumbled onto it by accident when I happened to have an opportunity to catch a movie and pulled up the listings to see what was playing.
What a lucky break it was. I’m a big fan of classic Looney Tunes and some of the recent reimaginings and was certainly willing to give this a try.
The plot is serviceable, providing a framework for the gags and jokes and structure to support the movie’s length versus the short doses the characters usually are presented in. Porky and Daffy having grown up together and some other changes give narrative flow, and some straightforward yet weighty moral themes carry things along well.
But let’s be honest: while important the story is tertiary at best. Something like Looney Tunes lives or dies on the animation and humor. Both are more than up to par here.
The movie is gorgeous. Vivid, fluid animation (except when purposely not for comedic effect). There are some really clever moments and particularly innovative uses of animation both for aesthetics and to enhance the comedy.
The physical humor and gags were on point and it all got better and better as the movie went on (shoutout to a hilarious job hunting sequence early in the movie though). The spoken jokes were a little hit or miss, and I found the pacing off at times, but no major issues overall.
Most importantly this feels like Looney Tunes, and is a lot of fun. This was clearly made by people who not only get the essence of what Looney Tunes is, but also what it can be when pushed. It’s ridiculous because it’s supposed to be, it did what it was supposed to, and is well worth watching.
This is an excellent movie length Looney Tunes adventure, and I hope anyone who’s even potentially interested checks it out to help it overcome the stumbling blocks put in its way and give WB a reality check on the real viability of making more.
Thanks to everyone who’s given this a read. 2024 was a sporadic return for this blog and I hope to have more regular updates going forward in 2025. Derailments of Thought currently updates on Wednesday and Saturday.
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