Adapted from a 1990 New Yorker article(!) by Ian Frazier, Coyote vs. Acme is clever in its premise and (pretty much) stays true to the Looney Tunes characters we know and love. Along with Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, a host of beloved Warner Brothers toons pop in and out of the movie, adding small bursts of momentary fun. This time, the Toons co-exist with humans in the real world.
Comparisons to the 1988 Robert Zemeckis groundbreaker Who Framed Roger Rabbit are inevitable. Where that film took a comedic 1940s detective story angle to create a love letter to the joy of cartoons, Coyote vs. Acme uses legendary cartoon characters to make a statement about corporate evils and the pollution of good fun in the name of money. While there are laughs to be found, using the classic WB toons to make a statement does them a slight injustice. For a movie that takes on those who would sully something beloved in search of the almighty dollar, the ironic weight is almost embarrassing.
Hypocrisy notwithstanding, the movie manages some clever humor, as we find Wile E. still on the trail of the Road Runner, using various over-the-top devices designed by the Acme company. Every single time, the contraptions fail and Coyote gets hurt and Road Runner always gets away. After more than 75 years of dogged pursuit, Coyote is fed up.
Watching television one night, our favorite animated “Canis latrans” catches a commercial for a personal injury lawyer, Kevin Avery (Will Forte) who specializes in cartoons, Coyote comes up with a plan; he decides to sue Acme.
Forte is a talented comedic actor whose talents fit nicely into the cartoon silliness of it all. His character is down on his luck and his law business is close to folding. Kevin is terrified to take on Acme, as their head lawyer, the ruthless Buddy Crane (John Cena) is an intimidating freight train of confidence and success. While screenwriter Sammy Burch (working from a story idea by Jeremy Slater and James Gunn), doesn’t do anything special with Buddy Crane, the movie has fun with the lead up to the big courtroom finale, as Coyote does everything he can to talk Kevin into taking the case.
What follows is a goofily absurdist movie that, while not great, is light years ahead of the popular Space Jam pictures. Those dreadful films (and the cursed studio-defiled Looney Tunes: Back in Action) were droll experiences with questionable animation and bad scripts. Coyote vs. Acme is a better tribute to the Looney Tunes legacy; keeping the characters as fans know them. Unlike every post-heyday movie or television special, the beloved cartoon characters come away with their personalities intact.
Director David Green understands what fans want. His debut film (the under-appreciated 2014 Earth to Echo) was a sweet surprise about a group of kids trying to help an alien. Green captured the innocence of films such as Joe Dante’s Explorers and (of course) Spielberg’s E.T. the Extraterrestrial. Coyote vs. Acme shares that film’s desire to entertain through nostalgic fun.
The blend of the cartoon and human worlds works well and Green gets a bit of good mileage from the idea. It is fun to watch the human characters use animated devices to help them along and there is always a classic toon walking around in any given scene. The movie has good moments and some earned chuckles, but it cannot hold a candle to the pure joy of experiencing any classic Looney Tunes short. Coyote vs. Acme stumbles when trying to sneak in modern ideas and unnecessary social commentaries.
There is no need to invent an emotional connection between Coyote and Road Runner. Their relationship was set seven decades prior and doesn’t need explanation, nor does a large portion of the intended audience care about a message regarding corporate greed. We don’t need Looney Tunes as Erin Brokovich.
That the movie is seeing the light of day is something of a miracle. Warner Brothers unexpectedly buried the film upon completion, using it as a tax write-off. Villainous CEO David Zaslav decided against a release (in theaters or on streaming), choosing to get a tax break rather than paying for marketing and distribution.
The decision was met with outrage across the industry while fans loudly joined in protest. Warner Brothers finally relented, allowing the filmmakers to find another path to distribution. The hero came in the form of Ketchup Entertainment, who agreed to a theatrical release. The movie was saved.
Coyote vs. Acme will certainly leave a cultural impact, as its off-screen David-versus-Goliath battle for release became instant Hollywood legend. As a movie, David Green and company have crafted a fun little one-off peppered with some clever ideas.
Coyote vs. Acme
Written by Sammy Burch, from a story by Burch, Jeremy Slater, & James Gunn
Directed by David Green
Starring Will Forte, John Cena, P.J. Byrne, Lana Condor, Tone Bell
PG, 101 Minutes, Ketchup Entertainment
