Coyote Vs. Acme Review: Over-The-Top With A Purpose

Coyote Vs ACME

WARNER BROS

When Warner Bros. first announced it was shelving its cross-live-action-animated feature Coyote Vs. Acme in 2023 for “tax purposes,” the film community protested, as it was considered one of the most anticipated films of the year. Only a select few industry and media folks were given the opportunity to view the film before being shelved, and they praised its comedy and believable fusion of animation and live-action. It was expected to be lost forever until Ketchup Entertainment acquired the distribution rights in 2025, finally giving it the light of day fans have been waiting for.

Now set to be released this Friday, Coyote Vs. Acme gives animated characters more depth than the slapstick antics – and even their rights to exist. In the film, Wile E. Coyote has spent years trying to hunt down the Road Runner but has failed miserably because Acme products keep malfunctioning. After years of exploding detonators, failed rocket skates, and multiple injuries, he hires Kevin Avery (Will Forte), a down-on-his-luck personal attorney. Now, they take on the richest corporation – Acme, which hires the best lawyers to fight for them, including Kevin’s old law school friend and slick corporate shark, Buddy Crane (John Cena).

Filled with expected slapstick comedy and cameos from legacy Looney Tunes characters, Coyote Vs. Acme isn’t Oscar-winning cinema, but it is heartfelt, funny, and has many satirical yet relatable moments of reflection. The story plays on real-world events: the little guy always failing against multi-million-dollar corporations.

Directed by Dave Green, Wile E. Coyote does have nefarious plans when it comes to catching the Road Runner, with the expectation of eating the speedy animal. Yet, it’s pretty funny and ironic that the character spends hundreds of dollars on Acme products when he could use that money to purchase a fully cooked meal. But after years of non-stop failure, Wile seems done with being constantly beaten up – even though they all cannot die.

What started as a simple injury case becomes something even bigger—something that could change the world, especially for animated characters in this real world. Wile is just tired, and he’s been all alone all these years trying to chase the impossible. It’s pretty cute to watch as Wile tries to communicate with Kevin, given his limited signs. It’s a reminder of a non-verbal person struggling to get their ideas across without a voice or words. But despite the language barrier and Wile’s determination to capture the Road Runner, Wile and Kevin bond, finding common ground in being seen as the “losers,” but can finally do something about it, discovering the secret project – Project Sisyphus (named after the man cursed to keep pushing a boulder up a hill, only to watch it fail and fall back down), which Dr. Lorre spearheaded.

The film sticks to its Looney Tunes comedy with over-the-top cartoons – random pianos falling on top of the animations, including Porky Pig, who seems to be constantly making small claims against Acme. It was also nice to see some of the familiar Looney Tunes characters, especially Bugs E. Bunny (Eric Bauza) and an unhinged Daffy Duck (again, Bauza). (Though if anyone saw Marvin the Martian (Bauza) in the film, please tell me where.)

The animation against the live-action backdrop was stunning – a major improvement from 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy, which highlights animated characters living among the real world versus humans entering Looney Tunes. The coexistence of animated characters with humans is played well. Many of the cartoony gimmicks – like a giant black circle being tossed on the ground to create a black hole or lifting a wall with a lever to make an entrance – were creatively used in the film.

With this coexistence, there is bound to be bias and discrimination against the minority groups – in this case, the cartoons. The idea that cartoons are seen as inferior and accepted for use in experiments reflects society and justifies their use to make the rich richer through their pain. The film also shows the deep relationship between Wile E. Coyote and his supposed nemesis, Roadrunner – this Catch-Me-If-You-Can relationship that has been around since 1949. While Wile sees Roadrunner as food, the Roadrunner sees their interaction as playing as friends, which may have changed some things between them – maybe. Maybe not.

The film does falter in some aspects, especially becoming too zany at times when there were already multiple outrageous moments – and sometimes predictable. It is also disappointing that Paige (Lana Condor) was not really utilized in the film and was reduced to being the sweet, overeager intern/niece of the main character. She deserves far more than just being that moral support.

Overall, the film is enjoyable for fans of this type of film, especially for seeing another side of the Looney Tunes characters, who are rarely given the spotlight to show their multi-layered nature.

Coyote Vs. Acme opens in theaters everywhere on August 28.