At first glance, you might think that this movie is simple. You might think that there isn’t much substance to an animated film about Daffy Duck and Porky Pig teaming up to save the world. And, you might think, that the film is full of cheap gags and fourth wall breaks.
You’d be absolutely right, and that’s reason enough to see this movie.
I’m an animation buff and I love cartoons. Warner Bros cartoons from the classic era are brilliant – save for their penchant for racism. Nothing takes me back to my youth quite like a classic Looney Tunes production, with classic characters like Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, and Marvin the Martian defying physics and cracking wise. Hell, Bugs Bunny is one of the most easily marketable characters ever – he appeals to everyone! And you know that The Day The Earth Blew Up was made with creativity and passion because he doesn’t appear anywhere in this film to cheapen the marketing. Not even as a cameo or a reference.
Make no mistake, this is essentially a classic era Looney Tunes cartoon brought to its logical conclusion – a feature length wacky epic starring Daffy Duck (in his zany era) played opposite Porky Pig. And with Warner Bros being so disgustingly awful these days, someone fought tooth and nail to get this masterpiece made and put in theaters.
So Daffy Duck and Porky Pig star as adopted brothers who have never been apart. Raised by a kindly farmer, Farmer Jim, they are forced to act as the house they inherited is set to be demolished. This puts them on an adventure where they uncover an alien conspiracy. Everything that follows contains wacky antics, silly characters, and even romance.
The film doesn’t take any attempt at making this high art. There’s no smug “gee cartoons from back in the day were weird” comments, nor is there any attempt at making this cartoon world “realistic.” What you see is what you get – nothing that wouldn’t look out of place in a Warner Bros cartoon. But of course, this wouldn’t work if it wasn’t full of humor and charm – both of which the film has in spades. Chuck Jones would be proud as hell.
My only real criticism is in how predictable certain parts can be. This film is chaotic and creative in all the right places, but some of the choices made in the story department you can see coming right from the beginning. Take this complaint as the petty complaint that it is.
In the hellish landscape that is today, we need films like this. We need something uncompromising in its ambition, yet simplistic in its story and themes. Something that takes us back to a happier, more innocent time and revels not in nostalgia, but the stories and genuineness that made those times worth living in. This film could have very easily been direct to video schlock churned out to appease nobody but corporate executives with an agenda to fulfill. Instead, we get a roller coaster of beloved characters doing what they do best – make us laugh.
And that’s all that Farmer Jim ever wanted.
– The Madness
JStiver.com 