By now, most moviegoers paying attention to the headlines know the history of Dave Green’s Coyote vs. Acme. Filmed in 2022, the live-action animated comedy was shelved by Warner Brothers in 2023 for tax write-offs, and almost never saw the light of day.
Well, thanks to endless campaigning and an acquisition by Ketchup Entertainment, it’s finally being released in theaters. Justice has been served, but is the film actually any good?
This jury of one has reached its conclusion, and the verdict your honor is yes! Based on a true story (we’re still fact-checking that claim), Coyote vs. Acme tells the unlikely David vs Goliath story of Wile E. Coyote taking on the Acme Corporation in court.
Directed by Dave Green and written by Samy Burch from a story by James Gunn, Jeremy Slater and Burch, it’s a legal thriller and an action comedy and a cartoon all rolled into one.
If it sounds a little silly, well, it is. For fans of the Looney Tunes, there is no shortage of slapstick violence and explosions, but instead of making fun of the cartoons who get foiled time and time again by faulty Acme products, the story takes their side.
The villain here isn’t the Coyote who spends his life trying to chase down the Roadrunner, though his desire to eat said bird is frowned upon by his lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte). The villain is the big corporation that steps on little people in the name of “progress,” AKA financial return (peronified by John Cena as a slick Harvard-eduated lawyer in a nice suit and Foghorn Leghorn as CEO).
Forte and Lana Condor (playing fellow lawyer Paige Avery), lead the human cast taking advantage of a smart script that cleverly pokes holes in the legal system and how it fails the marginalized by using cartoons as an allegory. Forte is hangdog claims lawyers Kevin who has all but given up before Wile walks in the door, contrasted by the young and optimistic Paige who pushes them to take the case.
The film is eerily prescient given its journey to the big screen and a commentary on the corporate greed decimiating Hollywood. It’s asking for cartoons to not get blown up but it’s also asking for corporations to be held accountable for their greed-driven harm to society and for the government do something.
The film isn’t just Erin Brockovich with cartoons though, it’s equally funny as it is heartfelt. A younger generation may lack a personal connection with the Looney Tunes or live action-animated comps like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but those gaps won’t be a hurdle to enjoying the gags.
Someone getting blown up, hit by a train, falling off a cliff, etc… well, that’s timeless physical comedy.
The whole crew is there, in addition to Wile there are appearances from Tweety, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, maybe a wascally wabbit and more.
Supporting roles from cult-favorite comedic actors like Martha Kelly and John Early add to the human comedy.
Some of the jokes are a little on the nose (at one point the Tasmanian Devil is referred to as a “spin doctor” as Acme’s head of public relations). But the sincerity of the movie overcomes any potential cheesiness.
You can appreciate the Looney Tunes’ charm and humor even if you don’t understand all the easter eggs and references packed in. By the end of the case, you’ll learn to care for them just as much as Kevin does.