LOS ANGELES, March 14 (UPI) -- Eric Bauza and Candi Milo are the latest in a long lineage of voice actors for the Looney Tunes franchise, which debuted in the 1930s. Bauza voices Porky Pig and Daffy Duck in The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, in theaters Friday, while Milo voices Petunia Pig.
The pair said the new movie from director Peter Browngardt captures the animated series' fruitful period of the 1940s. That is the decade when characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd became known among audiences and the studio began producing animation in color.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Bauza said Browngardt captured the energy of classic Looney Tunes directors.
"This one definitely leans into more of the Bob Clampett era of the Porky and Daffy shorts, right down to the look of just how they are designed," Bauza said.
Milo said the jokes and sight gags in Day the Earth Blew Up come as rapidly as they did in the shorts Clampett, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones and others made in the early days of Looney Tunes.
"There are people that get that '40s sensibility and Pete Browngardt is one of them," she said. "We also have Sam Register at the helm at Warner Brothers [Animation] and he loves the 40s Looney Tunes."
In the film, Daffy and Porky get jobs at a gum factory where Petunia is a flavor scientist. They discover an alien plot to possess humans with gum.
The film also addresses its audience, à la Bugs Bunny asking, "What's Up, Doc?" Bauza appreciated having Daffy address the viewer because it reminded him of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the 1988 film in which cartoon characters including Looney Tunes are actors mingling with human stars on the studio backlot.
"I think it adds a charm of why we like the Looney Tunes because they know they exist and they know that you're watching," Bauza said. "Growing up as a kid watching Roger Rabbit, I used to think that if I did go to L.A. I would see Bugs Bunny in an audition. 'Sorry, Doc, but no, I'm booking this part.'"
The Looney Tunes have struggled in modern times. A new series of shorts for Max's prior iteration, HBO Max, and directed by Browngardt, ended in 2023.
The live-action/animation hybrid movie Coyote v Acme sits unreleased by Warner Bros. Discovery. Even The Day the Earth Blew Up was developed for the streaming service and shopped around until Ketchup Entertainment picked up the rights to distribute it theatrically.
"I'm glad that it found its way to the big screen," Bauza said. "Thank goodness for Ketchup, not just the condiment but the actual production studio."
Milo is confident the Looney Tunes are in good shape now with the creators and executives returning to the classic format.
"That's the franchise that's going to work," she said. "That's what's going to work."
Longtime voice actor Bauza has been voicing Looney Tunes characters since 2020 and Milo since the '90s Tiny Toon Adventures. Milo did voice work for Coyote vs. Acme and Bauza was attached to a streaming series that never got made.
"There was supposed to be a show with Christopher Lloyd as a psychiatrist talking to a guy who saw the Looney Tunes characters in real life," he said. "It was definitely a much more adult show. What a shout out to have Christopher Lloyd, who played Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit reunite with these characters in a different way."
The Day the Earth Blew Up does rectify some oversights from classic Looney Tunes days. The film marks Milo's first time voicing Petunia, and she gets full credit, which was not the case for female voice artists in Looney Tunes' history.
Mel Blanc was exclusively credited as the voice of the Looney Tunes, even when women like June Foray played female roles in the '70s. Blanc was the voice of Bugs, Daffy, Elmer and more until his death in 1989.
"For me it's important to carry on the legend of June Foray and bring female characters to life," Milo said. "With Pete Browngardt and his entire crew writing for this millennium, writing for the 21st century, I think the female characters are in great hands."
She remains hopeful for Coyote vs. Acme to see the light of day too. If the release of The Day the Earth Blew Up is successful, Milo hopes it encourages Warner Bros. to release Coyote.
"I always say that true artistic genius can never be hidden," Milo said. "It will find its way out. "
