For nearly a century, Looney Tunes has been a staple of animation, bringing audiences timeless humor and unforgettable characters. Now, in The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, fans finally get to see Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Petunia Pig take center stage in their first-ever feature-length adventure. Hand-drawn and brimming with classic slapstick energy, the film is a love letter to the golden age of animation, capturing the essence of what has made Looney Tunes beloved for generations.
Eric Bauza, who voices both Daffy and Porky, and Candi Milo, who voices Petunia, took some time to talk about bringing these beloved characters to the big screen, the joy of seeing audiences embrace the film, and the deep responsibility of continuing the Looney Tunes legacy. Plus, they shared their thoughts on the magic of hand-drawn animation and why it remains so important in an era dominated by CGI and AI.
I watched the movie with my daughter and they absolutely loved it. It took me back to when I was a kid and the classic Looney Tunes cartoons.
Eric Bauza: I remember seeing it for the first time at the Animation is Film Festival in a room full of, you know, definitely animation fans and Looney Tunes fans. But it was like, it sounded like it was like, we were like a taping of a full house or marriage of children, you know, like a sitcom laughs. I was like, wow, people are really into this.
Candi Milo: Yeah. I saw it in a small theater, Lance, in LA when they were doing the Oscar screenings. And it was a small room, so it was like a more of a niche place and it was jam-packed. It sounded like a taping of a sitcom that everybody laughed. And I was looking at my daughter who’s an adult and I was looking at her like, ‘are you hearing that?’ And she was like, ‘I think this is genuine. People are absolutely loving this.’
I’m shocked that this is like the first standalone Looney Tunes movie.
Eric Bauza: Yeah, 90 years ago they were introduced into theaters as shorts. I mean, if you were in the theater in like the mid to late forties, if you were up to get a drink or popcorn before getting back to the feature, you may have missed some of those cartoons. And it wasn’t even like they were made to be rerun in syndication anyway, either. That wasn’t the point of it, it was throwaway gag cartoons. So, to know that they’ve made it this far is pretty remarkable.
And I always say, yeah, we talk about these guys and gals like we talk about our grandparents, you know? Like we’ve known them for 90 years.
Candi Milo: I think it’s especially important that it’s a film getting us into theaters and that it’s hand-drawn and it’s 2D animation. I think in this time of AI, it’s very important to get back to true artistry and storytelling through color and art. And I would love to move all the kids away from AI and back into hand-drawn. As an actor, I would love to see it.
It’s got to be such a kick to be playing these iconic characters. I mean, when you were a kid, could you imagine voice these legends?
Candi Milo: I’ve said this and he gets very embarrassed, but I’m going to say it again, I just think that he does a great job. And one of the things that I think is so great is because he has such a love for these characters, personally, emotionally, psychologically, he’s the one. And then because he gets to do both, there’s this cohesion in the film where they are completely separate, but they are of one mind.
And I just love the fact that he’s able to do both so well. And because he was such a fan, I’ll let him speak to how it’s mind-blowing, but he’s so good. I’m so, like I’m like a proud parent.
Eric Bauza: As equal as she praises June Foray for being the godmother of animated voices, I praise Mel Blanc for being the blueprint of not just the voices, but the personalities, the personas, we’ll say, of these characters.
And we’ve seen them evolve themselves, like Daffy. If anything, it’s going back to Daffy’s roots as being a screwball character, as opposed to the Chuck Jones’ money, greedy, version of Daffy. It’s just the- My favorite, that version of Daffy.
I recently read an interview with Eddie Murphy and he said when he does his voices, he doesn’t really have to think about it. It just comes out. How was it for you two? How long did it take you guys to perfect these characters voices?
Candi Milo: When I first started, I will always ask, what do you like about my audition? And what did you not like? Play me what you like so that I can get into the pitch of what I need to be. And then we, you just nailed it, we just become them.
And once you get the voice down and you’re reading, you are reading the script and you’re acting. It’s like you have that second sight where you’re reading, but you’re not really reading. You’re seeing the character in your line and you’re delivering as if we are on-camera actors.
That’s what it becomes. The lines that I’m reading become the actor I’m reading to. It’s the page and it becomes Porky or it becomes Daffy or it becomes whatever it is. And I think that’s why it’s easier for some of us.
And we always say, if you’re going to be a voice actor, you have to study acting so that you have the skill to be able to delve into that character and the voice is secondary.
But the voice will always come if you’re always that character.
“If you’re going to be a voice actor, you have to study acting so that you have the skill to be able to delve into that character and the voice is secondary.”
– Eric Bauza
Eric Bauza: And that goes for original voices. Like Candy is portraying Petunia Fink who is a classic character, but she also has the freedom and more than enough capability to develop it into her own version of Petunia, which is great.
Now on my side of the fence, I do have to pay close attention because again, I’m not the only one that grew up with these characters, everyone did. And everyone remembers what Mel Blanc did and I don’t want to veer. I don’t want to make it my own. I want to make it as close to his as possible. But keeping in mind that these are words and scenes that not even Mel has read.
So you have to wonder and think, okay, this is what the character sounds like, but how would he react? And that just goes to my memory of all the shorts. I think there was, I mean, over, gosh, like thousands, over a thousand original shorts for sure, which is incredible to know that they exist in that many different stories.
But I have that as reference. I could find any of those Daffy and Porky shorts and draw from that. And hopefully it resonates with the audience.
Going back to Eddie Murphy though, and thinking about someone like Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob, he said it best where it’s like, ‘we do character voices and they, the celebrities, have voices with character.’ If you’re Eddie Murphy, or Seth Rogen and Chris Rock, they have such distinct sounding voices. And I think that’s when it works. Or if you’re like someone like Mike Myers who can do dialects and can put on a character because he’s a student of Second City. And I think that’s where it works, where a celebrity can step in and wants to do the silly voices.
