Coyote vs. Acme

If you’ve followed news around the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, Inc., chances are you’ve heard about president/CEO David Zaslav’s controversial decisions to shelve a number of projects in 2023 for the sake of a tax write-off. While Bat-Girl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt were mostly completed at the time of this decision, there was severe backlash from both the internet and the larger film industry over the decision to write off Coyote vs. Acme due to it being already fully-completed. In response to the backlash, Warner Bros. Discovery eventually reversed this decision with the intent to sell the distribution rights to another company. Eventually, it went into the hands of Ketchup Entertainment (distributor of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie), whose promotional campaign for the long-awaited theatrical release included throwing a lot of shade at Warner Bros. Discovery for wanting to write it off, as well as an early screening during San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year. As a show of support for the movie, I made sure to see it opening weekend and found it to have been worth saving.

For years, Wile E. Coyote has tried, and failed, to capture the Road Runner (Eric Bauza). As Coyote starts coming up with another plan in his cave filled with failed attempts, he hears an ad for Avery, Jones & Maltese, a law firm that settles cases relating to cartoons using Acme Corporation products. After realizing how many of his failed contraptions have come from Acme, Coyote decides to take advantage of this newfound opportunity.

While the setup is simple, the story features a number of twists and turns that manage to all come together in a satisfying manner. It’s clear that the writers had a lot of reverence for the Looney Tunes cartoons and characters, as it manages to take itself just seriously enough to sell the story without sacrificing what makes Looney Tunes what it is; in other words, a perfect middle-ground between pathos and comedy. There is also some internal consistency with established mannerisms from the source material, such as Wile E. Coyote managing to go the entire movie communicating exclusively through pantomime and a limited number of written signs.

Wile E. Coyote (left), with lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte, right), takes Acme to court
for their faulty products.

 

In a sense, Coyote vs. Acme manages to more successfully capture the stylings of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with seamless integration between the live-action and animation in a way that is believable. The cartoon characters are obviously CG renders rather than traditional animation, but the classic Looney Tunes visual style manages to (mostly) translate well to 3D, complete with the squash and stretch and comedic timing that the style is known for, while still making them feel like they have actual weight in the live-action setting. The live-action cast are not immune to the cartoonish slapstick, but is handled in a way that doesn’t look ridiculous while still maintaining the Looney Tunes charm.

Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and, to a certain extent, the original Ghostbusters, what really helps tie everything together is that the human cast are fully committed to their roles, acting like the on-screen events are actually happening rather than being “in on the joke.” Will Forte does well at this as lawyer Kevin Avery, as does Lana Condor as his niece Paige Avery, whose interactions with Wile E. Coyote for much of the runtime are treated just as seriously as any other live-action role, creating the illusion that they actually are communicating with a mute cartoon coyote and making Kevin’s character arc hit harder. Eric Bauza also displays incredible range voicing the majority of the Looney Tunes characters, alongside Candi Milo voicing multiple roles and Jim Cummings as the Tasmanian Devil.

Divorced from the controversy surrounding it before release, Coyote vs. Acme is a fun movie that faithfully captures the spirit of Looney Tunes while telling a compelling story. It might not have gotten as much attention as it otherwise would have if not for having said controversy on its back, but the movie turning out to actually be good makes the effort to get it released well worth it. Whether you want to help prove Warner Discovery wrong or are just looking for a fun Looney Tunes feature, please support the theatrical run while you can.