Coyote vs. Acme, 2026.
Directed by Dave Green.
Starring Will Forte, Lana Condor, Tone Bell, John Cena, Eric Bauza, P.J. Byrne, Martha Kelly, Luis Guzmán, Kenneth Choi, John Early, Jeff Bergman, Candi Milo, Nancy Linehan Charles, Ernie Vigil, and Jim Cummings.
SYNOPSIS:
After Acme products fail him one too many times in his dogged pursuit of the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote decides to hire a billboard lawyer to sue the Acme Corporation.
“Why don’t you just give up?” – a corporate stooge lawyer played by none other than John Cena, who built his brand and wrestling career off of the mantra “never give up”. It’s a line delivered to Wile E. Coyote with subtle force, enough to draw attention to the meta-hypocrisy without overdoing it. That’s the genius casting director Dave Green and screenwriter Samy Burch are working with on the live-action/animated legal comedy Coyote vs. Acme, which boasts a brilliant premise that is enough to get anyone into the auditorium upon simply hearing it.
The hook is that Wile wasn’t doing anything wrong, and that the products were and always are defective, something that should be held against Acme even though none of these cartoon characters die or come away too harmed. As such, we are treated to back-to-back sequences depicting the timeless chase routine with arch-nemesis the Road Runner (meep-meeps provided by Eric Bauza, who voices the majority of the animated characters here), culminating in a brief montage of gadgetry gone wrong across three decades of cartoons to underscore Wile’s resilience, how long he has been getting swindled, and his deserving of a hefty payout.
After 30 years of purchasing faulty devices from the Acme Corporation, Wile overhears a TV advertisement in the background while working on his latest trap, pointing him in the direction of lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), comfortable taking up small cases against them resulting in chump change for his defendants (Porky Pig among his most active and frequent clients), but too much of an unambitious slacker to take those battles higher up, battling off against their top attorney Buddy Crane (John Cena). Bluntly put, the take of “Wile did nothing wrong!” in his carnivorous quest carries a magnetic pull, and not the defective kind one might find in an Acme product.
The filmmakers (James Gunn and Jeremy Slater assisted with the screen story, which should be noted is also based on a magazine article by Ian Frazier) follow through on the execution, firstly establishing a vibrant seamlessness of humans interacting with cartoon characters in a live-action world (highly reminiscent of the classic hybrid mystery Who Framed Roger Rabbit?), then demonstrating how they and animated hijinks coexist in the same world. Whether it’s a pursuit through a factory, Acme products/explosives causing property damage to attorney offices, or throwaway jokes that are quickly revealed to be literally connected to a background cartoon character, this is a world where even the live-action aspects come across as animated as their cartoon counterparts. It’s that lively, spirited, and humorous, tunneling forward with sugary energy.
Similarly, whether it is the traditional backfiring slapstick antics between coyote and bird or watching the former coerce Kevin (another clever element considering the animal can only communicate by writing on and holding up a limited number of signs) into accepting a case (there are hundreds of defective objects to bring out in court) and make a push for actual change – something has assistant niece Paige (Lena Condor) also stresses he should do rather than skate by and doing the bare minimum in a manner that doesn’t necessarily hold the corporation to accountable task – to investigate for further evidence while also attempting to catch the bird this time to deliver a testimony, it’s a funny movie that might sound a bit too high concept or serious for its own good, yet is assuredly filling up every scene with sight gags and jokes, never losing sense of its animated spine. This is a smart, deep, genuinely emotional film that isn’t afraid to toss a stick of dynamite into corporate greed while also touchingly recontextualizing the Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner dynamic, resembling Batman and the Joker; they are two bitter rivals who wouldn’t know what to do without each other.
In what could be one of several astoundingly inept, irresponsible, and incompetent reasons Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav shelved the film for a tax write-off before selling distribution rights to Ketchup Entertainment, Coyote vs. Acme also has the guts to take some of these beloved cartoon characters and turn them into outright detestable villains as much as the human antagonists. Foghorn Leghorn’s southern drawl is weaponized into that of a slick snake oil salesman business magnate, happy to be in bed with live-action characters who don’t give a damn about him and would sell him out in an instant if they needed to. There is also an early scene that draws parallels to these cartoon characters experiencing day-to-day segregationist discrimination. However, the hardest-hitting commentary comes in the form of the predatory nature of companies themselves, woven into a mystery that also leaves room for a number of beloved cartoon cameos (with that come a couple of details about this world that are unconvincing, but nevertheless an interesting swing in how it’s set up).
It’s essential that Will Forte has exceptional screen presence, capable of selling that he is interacting with a world of cartoon characters. The same applies to John Cena, whose hulking frame adds another layer of animation to the proceedings (he, or most professional wrestlers-turned-actors, could be considered the perfect blending of live-action cartoon characters), namely when he threatens cartoon pencils or instructs his henchmen to catch the Road Runner for themselves, thereby eliminating the possibility of testimony. This means that even when the film can’t rely on the cartoon characters to push the story forward, it remains largely engaging.
A case could also be made that as the third act shifts into sharper commentary on the unethical nature of big businesses, Coyote vs. Acme swings on the pendulum geared more toward adults, but there is so much it is juggling narratively that moviegoers should find themselves emotional for a variety of reasons and a call to action. “Never give up” – presumably Wile E. Coyote’s new mantra and a worthwhile lesson for us all. Even though the film ends with a dash of optimism, it’s truthfully cynical for a family-friendly film.
Ingenious, heartwarming, and hilarious, with a daringness to take bold creative liberties with these beloved cartoon characters, we are the winners of Coyote vs. Acme, which is surely the best live-action/animation hybrid Looney Tunes film to date.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
