TL;DR – A delightfully fun time that did something I never thought possible; it made me care about the Coyote.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Coyote vs. Acme Review Introduction

Today I have the joy of reviewing a film that almost was lost to time, buried as a tax write-off by a company that chose profit over what has turned out to be a common-sense business choice given how well the film has done. But the tax write-off was the film’s past; the new theatrical run is its future, and I am here today to talk about that future.

So, to set the scene, Wile E. Coyote (Himself) has spent an age trying to catch and eat the Road Runner (Eric Bauza/Paul Julian) using just about every ACME contraption known to man and toon alike. His latest gambit involves magnetic gloves, rocket boots, some metallic baubles, and of course a lot of bird seed. It fails, like catastrophically. But out of his defeat, he sees a TV ad for Kevin Avery (Will Forte), a lawyer from Avery, Jones & Maltese who specialises in Toon disaster cases. However, what Avery really specialises in is doing as little as possible and getting an automatic small outcome for his clients so as to never ruffle those ACME feathers. However, when Wile E. Coyote dumps every failed ACME product into the evidence box, Avery, Jones & Maltese suddenly finds itself suing the biggest corporation in the world for every defective toon product ACME has ever made. Thus, Avery is now a very famous lawyer and is completely unprepared for the wrath that is Buddy Crane (John Cena).

A Joyful Explosion

One of the things that you feel in the first few minutes is what a joyful feeling you get watching the Looney Tunes explode onto the screen when they are handled with such amusing respect. You feel from the opening gambit that the writers, director, and cast absolutely get the Looney Tunes and understand how to make that work in a real-world situation. There are so many joyful sight gags throughout this film that I am sure I didn’t see all of them on my first watch through. One of my favourites is Wile E. Coyote building a wall in the background of a shot, while a dramatic argument is taking place in the foreground. Or conversely, for the human characters, one of the more solid Texas switches that I have seen in a while. There are references to Looney Tunes lore everywhere, and there is a real respect given to the work of the past.

A Care for Characters

I was completely surprised, walking out of the cinema, by how I now cared about Wile E. Coyote as a character. He was far more than just a background one-dimensional villain who could now sit in the US Senate, and no one would bat an eye. They gave a character who does not talk, bar the occasional sign, gravity and depth so that you do feel the emotions of betrayal and care on their behalf. While a lot of the Looney Tunes are just there for one-off jokes or background appearances, each of them feels real to what made the character work. I mean, they can make a Pepé Le Pew (Eric Bauza) joke work in 2026, and that is saying something. All the big players, such as Granny (Candi Milo) and Daffy (Eric Bauza), get at least one scene to rest their hat on, and it always is such fun when you see a new one pop up.

Do You Hear the People Sing

While there is a whole range of shenanigans going on, the substance of the story involves a corporation putting people’s lives in jeopardy for an improvement to their fiscal bottom line, as represented by the CEO of ACME being Foghorn Leghorn (Eric Bauza). It is a fun bit, a very relevant bit, a probable ‘what got them cancelled‘ bit that they are not too subtle about. This gives the story its main drive, as everyone is trying to find out what Project Sisyphus is before every car in Albuquerque is destroyed by random falling boulders to keep the truth silent. While I wish they would have gone a bit harder on this storyline, it does lead to some delightful shenanigans as Tweety (Eric Bauza) hunts them down.

If there is a weakness with the film, it is the live-action part of the equation. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is the best melding of live-action and animation since Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which I know is throwing Space Jam a little under the bus, and Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers a lot under the bus. But once you get over the slight cel-shading technique they use, you feel that they are part of this world. I am more talking about how all the human characters are one-note and go on very predictable arcs. Now, this was probably to help make the Looney Tunes shine, and I do appreciate that. Also, the entire cast is clearly having fun here, and that shows. However, when you are giving a wink to shows like Better Call Saul, it would not hurt to dig a little deeper than the surface. It would have helped the second act feel a bit less meandering. I have a can of paint that could have helped you with that.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Coyote vs. Acme? This was so much fun, and I cannot begin to tell you the joy it was being in a cinema and getting to hear an audience laugh their arses off at the Looney Tunes. I am truly glad this film finally got to see the light of day, and the end credit note from the production team does land. I hope this did the numbers enough for us to see more of it going forward.   

Have you watched Coyote vs. Acme? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Coyote vs. Acme, we would recommend Detective Pikachu to you because it also shows you how you can make two very different stylistic worlds crash together.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Coyote vs. Acme
Directed by – Dave Green
Story by – James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, & Samy Burch
Screenplay by – Samy Burch
Based on – “Coyote v. Acme” by Ian Frazier
Music by – Steven Price
Cinematography by – Brandon Trost
Edited by – Carsten Kurpanek
Production/Distribution Companies – Warner Animation Group, Troll Court Entertainment, Keylight Pictures, Ketchup Entertainment, & Pinnacle Films
Starring – Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, Luis Guzmán, P. J. Byrne, John Early, Nancy Linehan Charles, Kenneth Choi, Ernie Vigil, Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, & Jim Cummings
Rating – Australia: PG; Canada: PG; Germany: 6; New Zealand: PG; United Kingdom: PG; United States: PG