Last night at the Annecy Animation Festival , Warner Bros. Animation’s “The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Film” premiered to a raucous reception at the Bonlieu Grande Salle. Directed by Peter Browngardt (“Looney Tunes Cartoons”), the new Looney Tunes film marks the franchise’s first fully animated feature.
An introduction from Browngardt, who won the Annecy Cristal for best series in 2012 with “Secret Mountain Fort Awesome,” and Warner Brothers Animation president Sam Register stressed the legacy of the Looney Tunes characters, and as such, the film pays plenty of winking homage to their long history. “The Day the Earth Blew Up” follows Porky Pig and Daffy Duck as they attempt to thwart an alien invasion of Earth, at the same time trying to raise enough money to rescue their destitute house from demolition. Along the way, they meet Petunia Pig, a scientist working at a local factory central to the invasion and an equally awkward love interest for Porky.
Drawn in traditional 2D, it played to an enthusiastic reception from a crowd full of career animators and students. Many were delighted by both its nostalgic nods and the quality of its production. Xinzi, a student at Gobelins, loved the film for its “combination of really old-school animation and more modern jokes.
” Mario, a character design student, similarly highlighted the synthesis of old and new techniques, “We love how they brought the old style to the modern era. It was really thematic.
