Voice Actor Eric Bauza and Director Peter Browngardt talk to The Inside Reel about intention, approach, style and thematics in regards to their new animated Looney Tunes movie: "The Day The Earth Blew Up," from Ketchup Entertainment.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00We have to act fast, and there's only one person that can do the job, Daffy Duck.
00:18Daffy?
00:19Oh no, not the duck!
00:21The duck?
00:22That's right, the duck.
00:25You gotta be kidding me, who greenlit this garbage?
00:27Who's there?
00:34Get it off me, get it off me, get it off me, get it off me!
00:37Oh, is it over?
00:41Doing a Looney Tunes movie, especially original, with what you guys are doing, going off of Looney Tunes, you know, the cartoons,
00:48could you talk about why Peter First, why this story?
00:52Because it has so many different possibilities visually, and obviously in an audio sort of element for you, Eric, between Porky and Daffy, same thing.
01:03But if you can each talk about that from that perspective and pushing that boundary.
01:06Sure, when asked about if I had any ideas or thoughts on how to make or to pitch a Looney Tunes feature, Porky and Daffy came to mind first for me because of their history as a pairing,
01:22and their history as playing in sort of genre pictures or genre roles like Duck Dodgers or Dduce You Say, Rocket Squad, they played parts and played in genre, film genre, like either film noir or sci-fi adventure or whatever.
01:39So I knew those were the elements I wanted to work with, and I love classic sci-fi horror films, or sci-fi, not horror, horror two films, horror two, but sci-fi films from the 50s.
01:50And I went in and pitched the film as a Ed Wood Looney Tunes movie, and I just know that it was a good opportunity for a satirization, to satirize a genre.
02:01And also, when you're making projects and you're doing big things like this, or taking years of your life to produce something, you've got to really be wanting to dig in and put the time in to make something special and love what you're doing or love the genre you're in.
02:17So that was the idea behind it.
02:21For generations, you laughed with them.
02:26You cried with them.
02:28And watched them grow.
02:29In 2025, they're coming to the big screen like never before.
02:36Uh, Daffy.
02:36Oh, sorry.
02:49I barely even know you.
02:53We're not afraid of nothing.
02:57What?
02:58Here's the script.
02:59Catch up on your own.
03:00Just as Pete said, in the history of these famous characters, Roadrunner and Coyote, Sylvester, Tweety, Bugs Bunny voices everyone, really, Elmer, Yosemite, even Daffy.
03:16He's a stinker.
03:17I always loved seeing the Porky and Daffy shorts.
03:22Because for me, I would always start that short by saying, oh, poor Porky.
03:27Like, how is he going to suffer today at the hands of Daffy?
03:29And, you know, to know that they were going to be together in a feature film, and when I got the call from Pete to play them both, it was an easy decision to make.
03:41Um, and to know that it was the first, uh, and to know that it was the first stand-alone Looney Tunes movie without the help of AI or professional basketball players, uh, I had to say yes.
03:54I better wake up Daffy.
03:57Daffy, wake up.
03:59Wake up, Daffy.
04:00You won't, you won't take me alive at...
04:02What are you?
04:04Oh, Daffy.
04:05It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's...
04:06Yow!
04:06Yow!
04:08Daffy, wake up!
04:10The Subterranean Spider People are real, I tell you!
04:15Oh, morning, Porky.
04:17What's, what's the early wake-up call?
04:19today's our annual home standards review
04:22haha yes the good old annual
04:24home standards review
04:26no well because the thing is that it's interesting about
04:28the duality of Porky
04:29and Daffy because
04:31they're two different sides of the same
04:34coin in some ways like both
04:36with their empathy and sometimes with
04:38their just manicness more Daffy
04:40but can you talk about that duality because that
04:42comes back in visually with
04:44Pete what you did but can you talk
04:46just doing it from the character point
04:48of view
04:48well let's see I think
04:50in our friend groups we all know a Daffy
04:52and sometimes we all know
04:54a Porky
04:55so I think you know
04:58personally and in my life experience
05:00you know
05:02it's easy to
05:03kind of get into
05:05scenes or situations with these two
05:08especially when they're arguing
05:09and when Porky's at the end of his rope
05:12I feel like I've been there many times
05:14with some friends that I have
05:15and been on the receiving end
05:17you know
05:18and
05:19it's especially fun to play
05:21with these characters
05:23because again
05:24of all the history
05:26that has been built up
05:27how many original shorts
05:30of Looney Tunes were there Pete?
05:31a thousand
05:32thirty
05:32over a thousand
05:34there's so much to reference
05:35back to
05:37refer back to
05:37and
05:38to know that this is like
05:40that but under a microscope
05:42on the big screen
05:44is
05:44is a challenge
05:45it's scary
05:47it's exciting
05:47and
05:48and I hope that we
05:49we live up
05:50to what people like
05:51Mel Blanc
05:52and Bob Clampett
05:53have
05:54done before us
05:55almost
05:56more than
05:57ninety years ago
05:58now
05:58a UFO
06:02time for the next phase
06:07of my plan
06:08nothing can stop me now
06:11I hope that
06:14shatterproof glass
06:14can withstand the abuse
06:16but it's interesting
06:17because this
06:17this movie does work
06:19on so many different levels
06:20it can be appreciated
06:21on so many different levels
06:22but it's also
06:23using sort of
06:24that mythic
06:25farmer
06:25you know
06:26having this larger
06:27than life thing
06:28and the way you sort of
06:29play it almost in a
06:29Paul Bunyan
06:30type of way
06:31with those sort of
06:32odes
06:33but then coming back
06:34to like even have
06:35that's all folks
06:35and having that
06:36almost be an
06:37abstract ghost painting
06:39or something like that
06:39there's all these things
06:41that you can see
06:42the background
06:43and how much
06:44research and love
06:45goes into it
06:46but also
06:46the kinds of things
06:47where you can play
06:48with the form
06:49which you do
06:51can you talk about
06:52that
06:52finding that balance
06:53but also pushing
06:54the boundary
06:55and doing some
06:55really cool
06:56visual and thematic
06:58things
06:58sure
06:59that's always my goal
07:02when I sort of
07:04dive into any kind
07:05of project
07:05is
07:05I love
07:08playing with the form
07:09and especially
07:11cartoons
07:12I feel like you're
07:13able to play
07:14with the form
07:14the most
07:15you can break
07:16the rules
07:16the most
07:17or you can
07:17just sort of
07:19twist the rules
07:20and sort of
07:20guide the rules
07:21how you want
07:21them
07:22I just love
07:25that
07:25I love stuff
07:25that doesn't
07:26take itself
07:26too seriously
07:27that's self
07:28aware a lot
07:28of times
07:29and I knew
07:32I went into
07:33the film
07:33not trying
07:34to be
07:34over conscious
07:36about originality
07:37or anything
07:38I just wanted
07:38to be true
07:38to trust my
07:39instincts
07:40and be true
07:41to if it's
07:42a good joke
07:43no matter
07:43if it's
07:43an old
07:44sort of
07:44style joke
07:45or sort
07:45of a throwback
07:46joke
07:46or a modern
07:47reference
07:48to
07:48boba
07:49or to
07:51whatever
07:51that as long
07:53as it's funny
07:53if it remains
07:55to be funny
07:55because we watch
07:56this stuff
07:56hundreds of times
07:57while we're
07:57making it
07:58mother
08:01looks like
08:03it's up to
08:03us to
08:04save the
08:04earth
08:04it was nice
08:05knowing you
08:06guys
08:06now who
08:07gets what
08:08if it keeps
08:15keeps an interest
08:17or keeps you
08:17chuckling to
08:18yourself
08:19then you know
08:20you're onto
08:20something
08:20and I think
08:22that's the
08:22most important
08:23thing as
08:23a filmmaker
08:24in a lot
08:25of ways
08:25is to
08:26trust your
08:26own instincts
08:27and be an
08:28audience member
08:28and be conscious
08:30of that
08:30and as far
08:32as like
08:33style
08:33and the
08:34look of
08:34the film
08:35Looney Tunes
08:36really don't
08:37have a style
08:38of course
08:38there is a
08:39sort of
08:39it's become
08:39a style
08:40but when
08:40they were
08:40making it
08:41they were
08:41just assigning
08:42the style
08:43so they
08:43played with
08:43style a lot
08:44like a lot
08:45of there's
08:45no set
08:46stock
08:46Looney Tunes
08:46every film
08:47it's its own
08:48film
08:48there's no
08:49background
08:49there's no
08:50Simpsons couch
08:51right
08:51there's no
08:52that they go
08:52back to
08:53and if you
08:54look at all
08:54the classic
08:55shorts
08:55one might be
08:56more graphic
08:57in its
08:57background
08:58and art
08:58one might
08:58be more
08:59lush
08:59and more
08:59dimensional
09:00in its
09:00background
09:00stylings
09:01even the
09:01characters
09:02changed per
09:02director
09:03and they
09:03evolved
09:04so I
09:05wanted to
09:05have a sense
09:06of that
09:06in this
09:06film
09:06as an ode
09:07or sort
09:08of a nod
09:08to the
09:09classic
09:10Looney Tunes
09:10and also
09:11it's a lot
09:12of fun
09:12as a
09:12filmmaker
09:12to do
09:13a sequence
09:14that's more
09:14like a horror
09:15film
09:15and then one
09:16sequence
09:16that's more
09:16like a
09:17Busby Berkeley
09:18sort of
09:18musical number
09:19or you know
09:19it's really
09:20really
09:20it's a rare
09:22opportunity
09:22to sort of
09:23play with
09:23style and
09:24tone
09:24like that
09:25situation
09:26is under
09:27control
09:27there's no
09:28way we
09:28could screw
09:29this up
09:29boy
09:43that
09:44almost
09:44blew up
09:44in our
09:45movie