Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 43 minutes, Director – Dave Green
After years of Acme products failing on him whilst trying to catch the Road Runner, Wile E Coyote hires a small-claims lawyer (Will Forte) to help him sue the corporation.
It’s been a long road for Coyote Vs Acme to get to the big screen. Initially set for release in 2023 before being almost deleted as part of Warner Bros set of tax write-offs – one of the most egregiously anti-art moves in modern cinema – campaigns at awards shows, outside the studio lot and across social media; all of which are thanked in the end credits, saw Ketchup Entertainment; who also saved this year’s animated Looney Tunes feature The Day The Earth Blew Up, purchase distribution rights for the film.
It’s fitting then, that the film looks at the resilience and determination of cartoons, particularly Wile E Coyote in his attempts to catch the Road Runner. No matter how many roadblocks he hits, or cliffs he plummets from, he gets back up and purchases another Acme product. However, when they keep failing on him he decides that he’s faced enough humiliation and must sue the corporation.
Hiring crumpled small-claims lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte) a case for faulty rocket boots soon escalates into a multi-million dollar suit, facing off against Acme’s chief counsel Buddy Crane (an entertainingly straight-faced, cartoonish John Cena). Despite being told to be on his best behaviour, antics start to unfold both in and out of the courtroom.
This is the world of the Looney Tunes characters that humans just happen to be living in, with some using the cartoon aspects to their advantage. There’s an enjoyable chaos as the Tasmanian Devil spins a whirlwind through the courtroom, or Bugs Bunny playfully amusing himself with wisecracks and parody.
Eric Bauza, who has been the resident Looney voice actor for the last few years, and brings as much energy as many of these characters would have had almost 80 years ago, was one of the most vocal figures in the campaign to get the film released – yelling in the voice of Daffy Duck “release Coyote Vs Acme” during a speech at the Annie Awards in 2024. He takes Foghorn Leghorn and, alongside Samy Burch’s screenplay, manages to turn him into a boo hiss corporate villain as the CEO of Acme while still keeping the heart of the character.
Coyote Vs Acme sticks true to these characters. Their wackiness, ability to defy gravity until they look down and just how squashable, flexible and chaotic they can be. They fit in to a human world because their presence already defies it and continues to do so through their actions, while humans more exist alongside them, like Eddie Valiant plunging into Toontown. There’s consistently funny slapstick and playfulness amongst the growing levels of courtroom comedy. Fully embracing the humour and determination of cartoons in our world, those ideas match some of the journey it took to get this released, and what a great thing that it was.
Much like its cartoons, Coyote Vs Acme has proved to be determined, resilient and just a bit chaotic. Embracing that about the animated characters who maintain their heart, the world and trial are successfully formed around them for plenty of humour.
Just A Little Bit Random 