The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (USA, 2024) marks the triumphant return of the Looney Tunes to the big screen in their classic form. True to form, this new adventure is packed with humor, slapstick comedy, and plenty of pop culture references.
As a sci-fi comedy, the film contains nods to several genre classics along with other iconic titles. If you’ve seen the movie and want to understand these Easter eggs better, we’ve got you covered.
Movie references in The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
The Day the Earth Blew Up begins with Daffy Duck and Porky Pig job hunting to reclaim the house that Farmer Jim left them. Thanks to Petunia Pig, they get work at a bubblegum factory. However, this coincides with an alien invasion planning to use that same gum to control humanity. Discovering the plot, Daffy, Porky and Petunia team up to stop it.
Throughout the story, there are numerous nods to sci-fi classics and other genres. Spoilers ahead.
1. The Day the Earth Stood Still (USA, 1951)
The most obvious reference in The Day the Earth Blew Up is to the mid-20th century sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. At first glance, it might seem like a superficial nod to the title of the 1950s alien invasion movie.
However, the reference goes deeper (final act spoiler): The Invader’s actual plan was to use humanity to create a bubblegum bomb that would encircle Earth as protection from an asteroid. This mirrors The Day the Earth Stood Still, where an alien arrives peacefully with a gift to protect humanity from itself during the Cold War.
2. The Stuff (1985)
The Invader’s plan is essentially to infect all the factory’s bubblegum so that when consumed, humans fall under its control. Simple, right?
This resembles the 80s cult classic The Stuff (1985), also known as In-Natural, where a mysterious substance marketed as dessert turns consumers into zombies – exactly like in The Day the Earth Blew Up. The substance is actually an alien parasite.
3. The Thing (USA, 1982)
In one scene, the protagonists examine infected gum that mutates into a grotesque monster. Petunia fights it off with a flamethrower.
This directly references John Carpenter’s The Thing, where a shape-shifting parasite infects researchers in Antarctica, assuming increasingly horrifying forms. In an iconic scene, the protagonist (Kurt Russell) fights it with a flamethrower.
4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (USA, 1978)
The premise resembles another sci-fi/horror classic: the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, where alien microorganisms replace humans with perfect biological clones lacking empathy.
In the iconic climax, a transformed character points at a remaining human and emits a supernatural scream. In the Looney Tunes movie, a gum-possessed citizen does exactly this while chasing Daffy and Porky.
5. Armageddon (USA, 1998)
The Michael Bay classic Armageddon follows oil drillers sent to space to land on an Earth-bound asteroid, drill into it, and detonate a nuclear bomb to divert its course.
In the climax of The Day the Earth Blew Up (spoiler), the Invader’s plan was actually to protect Earth from an asteroid. When Daffy and Porky ruin this, they must enter the asteroid’s core to destroy it with explosive gum – a suicide mission worthy of Bay himself.
6. The Lion King (USA, 1994)
While not sci-fi, Disney’s The Lion King gets a fun reference at the end (more spoilers).
After saving Earth but failing to reclaim their home, Farmer Jim appears in the clouds Mufasa-style to say everything will work out. It’s not quite the Disney/Looney Tunes crossover we expected, but close!
The Success Behind The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
The Day the Earth Blew Up makes history as the first fully 2D-animated Looney Tunes theatrical feature.
Previously, their only big-screen outings were Space Jam (1996) and its failed sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021), which mixed animation and live-action. The sequel was criticized for using 3D animation and overcrowding the film with franchise references.
The Day the Earth Blew Up returns to traditional 2D animation and slapstick comedy in the classic Bob Clampett style that defined the characters. The film’s humor and references have attracted audiences nostalgic for classic cartoons and animation styles now rare in American productions dominated by 3D. It’s been particularly well-received in Latin America.
Yet it updates the humor for new generations too: unemployed Daffy and Porky create an OnlyFans-style channel. Through Petunia’s quest to create an original gum flavor, the film also satirizes Hollywood’s endless recycling of old formulas.
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