EXCLUSIVE: Ketchup Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to Warner Bros. Animation’s The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie from GFM Animation, which handles worldwide distribution sales. The sci-fi comedy adventure film following the adventures of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig will be released theatrically nationwide; a date has yet to be confirmed.
Directed by Pete Browngardt, the film stars two-time Emmy Award-winner Eric Bauza reprising his roles as lifelong friends Daffy Duck and Porky Pig who uncover a sinister alien invasion plot while working at the local bubble gum factory. Together with Petunia Pig, the unlikely heroes embark on a high-stakes mission to fight off zombies and aliens while delivering all the gags and visuals recognized by Looney Tunes fans.
Franchise vets Candi Milo and Fred Tatasciore also lend their voices to the film as do Peter MacNicol, Wayne Knight and Laraine Newman.
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“The Day the Earth Blew Up is a historical moment for the Looney Tunes franchise, and 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,” shared Gareth West, CEO of Ketchup Entertainment.
“Gareth’s enthusiasm for Warner Bros. Animation’s spectacular, Looney adventure persuaded us that 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,” said Fred Hedman of GFM Animation.
The project was originally greenlit for HBO Max in 2021 but the movie was among the content write-offs at HBO Max during restructuring. Production continued and WBA was permitted to shop it elsewhere; sales were launched at the American Film Market by GFM Animation. The Day the Earth Blew Up hosted its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June and was met with positive reactions from attendees and critics in attendance.
Alex Kirwan is supervising producer The Day the Earth Blew Up written by Darrick Bachman, Pete Browngardt, Kevin Costello, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Alex Kirwan, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, Johnny Ryan, and Eddie Trigueros. Nick Cross serves as Art Director and Aaron Spurgeon as Production Designer. Sam Register and Pete Browngardt are executive producers on the project produced by Warner Bros. Animation.