'The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie' Finds Its North American Distributor
Ketchup Entertainment is bringing the mustard for the film’s impending U.S. release after a long, treacherous journey
Nearly two years after being abandoned by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, and fresh off its theatrical release in Germany and Switzerland, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie has taken a major step in coming home. Ketchup Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to the Warner Bros. Animation film from GFM Animation, and has confirmed a nationwide theatrical release at a date to be confirmed.
Starring Eric Bauza as both Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, they’re local bubble gum factory workers who uncover a sinister alien invasion plot. They and Petunia Pig, voiced by Candi Milo, form an unlikely trio of heroes embarking on a high-stakes mission to fight off not only aliens but zombies too in the familiar Looney Tunes manner. The film also stars Peter MacNicol as The Invader with Wayne Knight as Homeless Man, Fred Tatasciore as Farmer Jim and a scientist, and Laraine Newman as the landlady.
Gareth West the CEO of Ketchup Entertainment, calls The Day the Earth Blew Up a “historical moment for the Looney Tunes franchise”. He continues “We are proud to be partnering with Warner Bros. Animation to bring this film to audiences theatrically. We cannot wait for audiences of all ages to experience one of the smartest animated films in recent years. Fred Hedman of GFM Animation pointed to West’s enthusiasm as what convinced them Ketchup Entertainment were the “right partners” for releasing the film in North America. “We’re looking forward to continuing to work with the team as they prepare for audiences to embrace Porky Pig and Daffy Duck on the big screen.”
The Day the Earth Blew Up is directed by Looney Tunes Cartoons showrunner Pete Browngardt. It is the first fully-animated theatrical Looney Tunes film with 100% new material, as all others previous only had new material bookending previously-existing shorts compiled. It was originally announced in September 2021 for Cartoon Network’s ACME Night and Max, with two of the projects it would later be dropped with: Did I Do That To The Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story, since released as Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie! and Merry Little Batman. 102 weeks ago in August 2022, the new Warner Bros. Discovery regime halted development on them, The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie, and a second Looney Tunes film, Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical, forcing all of them to be shopped. It was revealed in June at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where The Day the Earth Blew Up had its world premiere, that because The Amazing World of Gumball was able to move faster than its movie, the latter essentially went into redevelopment, unable to use the bridging story it intended between the last season and the next. Both Merry Little Batman and Urkel Saves Santa were released in time for the 2023 holiday season through Amazon Prime Video and an unceremonious home video release respectively, premiering the also-rescued Batman: Caped Crusader last week to much bigger fanfare. A Bat-Family spinoff series ordered when picking up Merry Little Batman has not had a release date announced yet.
The writing credits on the film have apparently expanded beyond Kevin Costello, and include Browngardt, supervising producer Alex Kirwan, Darrick Bachman, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, Johnny Ryan, and Eddie Trigueros. Nick Cross serves as Art Director and Aaron Spurgeon as Production Designer. Browngardt and Sam Register are executive producers.
Source: Deadline