Coyote vs. Acme
After Wile E. Coyote is foiled again in his attempts to catch the Roadrunner, this time using Acme's magnetic birdseed and rocket skates, he's had enough, marching into the law firm of Avery, Jones and Maltese armed with signs to communicate with personal injury lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte, "Nebraska," TV's 'The Last Man on Earth'), who has settled hundreds of cases against the company for $200. But Wile E. is not at all happy with this resolution, providing a heaping mound of evidence that the company continually releases defective products. Kevin's niece Paige (Lana Condor, Netflix's "To All the Boys I've Loved Before") sees an opportunity to right a big wrong and files a suit much to the surprise of Kevin, who isn't at all happy to be up against Acme's chief legal counsel, his old classmate Buddy Crane (John Cena, "The Suicide Squad," TV's 'Peacemaker'). with "Coyote vs. Acme."
Laura's Review: B-
Screenwriter Samy Burch ("May December," "Late Fame"), who shares the story by credit with James Gunn and Jeremy Slater, finds an amusing concept for some Looney entertainment, but the (Tasmanian) devilish fun is in the details while the corporate malfeasance story itself runs out of gas. This is the second Looney Tunes movie ditched by David Zaslav at Warner Brothers to be rescued for distribution by Ketchup Entertainment who should be having the last laugh given the affection for these characters and while the film is hit or miss, it is stuffed to the gills with old friends like Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Gossamer, Witch Hazel, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Dr. Lorre, Granny, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, the Tasmanian Devil and more.
After a hilarious opening which illustrates all the various ways Acme products literally blow up in Wile E.'s face, we're introduced to Kevin's toon client-based law firm. It's automated menu features such instructions as 'if you've been hit by a falling piano, press 3.' Kevin, who clearly prefers the easy way out, nervously attends a meeting with his client and Acme, where Buddy, snidely noting his opponent's tendency to settle, offers one for $50K. Kevin is astonished when Wile E. rips it up right at the conference table, then dismayed to have to put the coyote up right next door to his own room at the Prickly Pear motel (a reference to "Leaving Las Vegas" or the Looney Tune short "A Prickly Pair?"). Paige urges an investigation, she and Kevin responding to a mysterious caller who asks 'What's up Doc?' that leads them towards the secret Acme Sisyphus Project, responsible for the disappearance of Dr. Lorre when trying to save Tweety Bird thirty years earlier. Faced with a case that just might bankrupt them, the lawyers discover their client plans to trap their star witness - the Roadrunner - in the courtroom.
Director Dave Green ("Earth to Echo") does a great job melding animation with live action, not only with his characters but with animated props (a judge played by Luis Guzmán bangs his gavel, revealing an animated squeaky toy). The animation itself is top notch, Wile E. display a full range of facial expressions, some quite Grinchian. It is a disturbing to see Foghorn Leghorn made a corporate villain as Acme's CEO, but the bird's bombastic nature is perfect for his courtroom speechifying. Unfortunately the logic of the case is made both ways and suddenly the whole thing ends up as a congressional hearing with little reason (but Fudd as a Senator). What "Coyote vs. Acme" comes down to is friendship, especially new found ones between former foes. 'Meep meep,' it turns out, can actually make one verklempt.
Robin's Review: B-
Wile E. Coyote has been on the chase for the Road Runner for time immemorial. Every time he gets close to his goal his equipment, made by the Acme Corporation, fails him. Now, he has a lawyer, Kevin Avery (Will Forte), and a lawsuit in "Coyote vs. Acme."
I, quite literally have been watching Wile E. Coyote try to catch the Road Runner, and fail, my entire life. (Their first appearance was in 1949 and mine was in '51.) Even as a kid, I questioned Wile E's reliance on equipment from Acme Corp, We saw him blown up, crushed by giant boulders, launched into the stratosphere and plunged to the bottom of a deep canyon, among many nasty outcomes from Coyote's brand loyalty.
Well, after three quarters of a century, Coyote has had it with Acme and, seeing a billboard for a local "I'll get you a quick settlement" lawyer named Kevin Avery (Will Forte), he pays him a visit. Exhibit A: Acme rocket skates. Avery promise Coyote that he can get him as much as $150! Fortunately, Kevin's much more savvy assistant, Paige (Lana Condor), sees this as a major litigation.
Director Dave Green and his team of writers, Sammy Burch, James Gunn and Jeremy Slater visit past live action/animation films like 1988's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" by Roger Zemeckis and Ralph Bakshi's "Cool World (1992)". They take this idea and refine it to bring us a live action courtroom drama with many Looney Tunes characters as both principle and cameo players.
But, the story is about one tiny coyote taking on the largest corporation on earth for their faulty and dangerous equipment. Kevin, though, learns that his boss from his former law firm is now the CEO of Acme, Buddy Crane (John Cena). Avery is facing huge odds in his David vs. Goliath battle for justice.
The prosecution's case is that Acme used cartoon characters, e.g. Wile E. Coyote, to test their questionable equipment before releasing them on the human population. It is an open and shut case of discrimination and endangerment of cartoon characters – and you see lots, like Tweetie, Granny, Porky, Bugs, Daffy, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn and more. Unfortunately, the great vocal talent and mainstay voice for Looney Tunes 'toons for decades, Mel Blanc (1908-1989, RIP), is no longer with us and his "thousand voices" gave life to Tunedom's most iconic and beloved characters. The filmmakers try, but fail, at re-creating those great voices – an impossible feat, even with AI.
Will "Coyote vs, Acme" achieve a similar claim to fame as "Roger Rabbit"? I do not thinks so, but it is fun to watch. The use of WB animated characters in a live action format sometimes works and sometimes does not – like Elmer Fudd as the head of a Congressional committee. Still, it is amusing, though I am not quite sure of the target audience – too cerebral for kids?
Ketchup Entertainment releases "Coyote vs. Acme" in theaters on 8/28/26.
