When it comes to a movie’s journey from conception to theatrical release, there are bumpy roads, and then there’s the path traveled by “Coyote vs. Acme.”
In the vein of the then-technologically amazing 1988 film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Coyote vs. Acme” blends live-action and animation and features characters from Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Looney Tunes franchise, with the endlessly frustrated, Road Runner-chasing Wile E. Coyote at the center of the action.
It was produced, unsurprisingly, by Warner Animation Group. What IS surprising is that the film is being distributed by the much-lesser-known Ketchup Entertainment. As you may know, in 2023, WAG parent company Warner Bros. Discovery decided to shelve the completed film instead of releasing it to use it as a tax write-off, an action the company already had taken with the largely completed movies “Batgirl” and “Scoob! Holiday Haunt.” Long story short: After some in the industry and fans became upset, the movie’s distribution rights were put up for bid and, after lying in limbo for quite a while, were acquired by Ketchup, which also distributed the Looney Tunes science fiction comedy movie “The Day the Earth Blew Up” in late 2024 and early 2025.
Given the level of quality of “Coyote vs. Acme,” it’s wild to think the flick may never have seen the light of day. The movie business certainly can be a strange one.
Finally in theaters this week, the film is based on a 1990 article in The New Yorker by Ian Frazier, “Coyote v. Acme.” Written in the form of a legal document, the satirical piece sees Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Company, maker of the myriad products — the Acme Rocket Sled, the Acme Self-Guided Aerial Bomb, etc. — that not only have failed him in his attempts to catch the Road Runner but also have brought him an endless stream of physical pain.
After a prologue set 30 years earlier that establishes some important background for the story to come, we catch up with Wile E. on a stretch of road outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. The coyote fails yet again to capture his nemesis, whom he dreams of turning into a meal.
After seeing a commercial for an Albuquerque-based attorney who sues Acme on behalf of cartoon characters, Kevin Avery (Will Forte, “Saturday Night Live,” “The Last Man on Earth”), Wile E. packs a bag and heads for a city. He is disappointed to learn Kevin is an extremely lazy attorney, one content to settle suit after suit with Acme, for $300 a pop, instead of taking them to court for a big payday.
With the help of Kevin’s ambitious niece, Paige (Lana Condor, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”), the silent Wile E. — who communicates via a “limited number” of handheld signs — gets his day in court. There, the terrified and awkward Kevin is forced to face off against a much more successful peer from Harvard Law School, Acme’s Buddy Crane (John Cena, “Peacemaker”).
As the story unfolds, the previously aimless Kevin comes to appreciate the incredible dedication and determination Wile E. brings to his profession as a predator, as unfruitful as it may be.
Unfortunately, for Kevin, though, his client is keeping a secret.
Directed by Dave Green (“Earth to Echo,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”) from a cleverly conspiracy-soaked screenplay by Samy Burch (“May December”), “Coyote vs. Acme” won’t change your life, but it is inventive and a lot of fun.
For starters, it’s chock-full of Looney references — for example, Kevin Avery is a nod to Looney Tunes director Tex Avery, according to the film’s production notes — and characters. Running Acme? None other than Foghorn Leghorn. Elmer Fudd? He’s a senator. And then there’s poor Daffy Duck, who, well, seems to be getting the help he needs.
Oh, and an anonymous tipster trying to help Kevin and Wile E. from afar? It’s hard to say who he is (cough), but he has a habit of using the phrase, “What’s up, Doc?”
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Plus, you can’t help but to appreciate a conversation where an irritated Buddy grills an informant, Tweety. He asks, with great frustration, whether the little bird did, in fact, “tee” something or did it merely “taught” it “teed” something?
We should note that veteran Looney Tunes voice actor Eric Bauza contributes much of the voice work to the film.
As for its looks, perhaps it isn’t surprising just how seamlessly the movie’s visual effects team intertwines the real and the drawn, but it’s impressive all the same. (Breaking news: We’ve come a long way since 1988.)
Much like its lead characters, Wile E. Coyote and Kevin Avery, the story of the movie is one about striving to succeed against great odds, and we’re certainly glad it’s getting to see the light of day.
‘Coyote vs. Acme’
Where: Theaters.
When: Aug. 28.
Rated: PG for cartoon violence and some language.
Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes.
Stars (of four): 3.
Original article
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