Coyote vs. Acme is a Merry Melody of Topical Animated Mayhem
If we divorce Coyote vs. Acme from the drama surrounding its release (originating studio Warner Bros. Pictures tried to write off the production for tax reasons, much like they did with Batgirl in 2022, only to face a fierce backlash which led to the studio selling off the title to Ketchup Entertainment), this live-action-animation hybrid featuring the Looney Tunes gaggle of classic characters is pretty dang wonderful. However, when coupled with that controversy (which is frankly inescapable), it becomes close to perfect. This is the best film of its type since 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Inspired by a 1990 New Yorker feature written by humorist Ian Frazier and working from a scenario crafted by James Gunn (Superman), Jeremy Slater (The Umbrella Academy), and Samy Burch (May December), director Dave Green (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) stays true to the spirit of classic Looney Tunes while still telling a timely tale that’s as insightful as it is uproarious. Utilizing the myth of Sisyphus as a starting point and the resilience of continually outsmarted predator Wile E. Coyote as its protagonist, Green takes Burch’s marvelous screenplay and crafts cinematic magic. Failure has never been so empowering.
The idea is simple: Tired of always coming up short in his eternal pursuit of the Road Runner, self-proclaimed “Super Genius” Wile E. Coyote hires low-rent, ambulance-chasing lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte) to sue the ACME Corporation for purposely selling toons faulty products, all so they can make their human-centered products more effective. The company is using toons like Wile E. as guinea pigs, and the put-upon cartoon coyote feels it is long past time ACME is held accountable.
It’s clear all involved on the creative side adore these Looney Tunes characters. Better, they understand them. Green, Burch, and company do not try to change Wile E., Porky, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy, Tweety, or any of the other timeless animated stalwarts to fit their narrative. Instead, what they’ve constructed shifts to serve them instead. Music, sound design, setting, situation, visuals; all of this — whether it be the animated world or the real one — fits seamlessly inside the aesthetic and designs legendary animators Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and Friz Freleng initially created back in the 1930s and ‘40s.
But that does not mean the story being told isn’t current. Just the opposite. Much like Joe Dante’s severely underappreciated 2003 gem Looney Tunes: Back in Action, it’s hardly shocking why Warner Bros. (especially after the company’s merger with Discovery) wasn’t comfortable with the finished feature Green turned in for the studio to release and market. The primary thread is all about how giant corporations run by billionaire wannabe oligarchs are in direct cahoots with bought and sold politicians, none of whom care a lick about looking out for the public’s best interests. Instead, it’s all about market share, raising stock prices, and convincing the less educated and more easily swayed by propaganda in the general populace to continually vote against their own better interests. Any of this sound familiar?
Yet, while the filmmakers hold a microscope up to current events, they need precious little magnification to get any of their points across. More, what they’re saying is immediately obvious to viewers from every age group. A six-year-old can easily assemble all of the pieces, and they will cackle wildly in continual amusement as they do so. Wile E. may want to invite the Road Runner (to be) supper, but his struggles against ACME aren’t an illusion. He’s a determined animated David resolutely facing down an unstoppable corporate Goliath, and it’s not so much whether or not he’s successful in his endeavors as it is that he convinces all those around him to stand up with him, and thus for themselves, against this craven and pitiless injustice.
The gags don’t stop, and they are frequently inspired (and almost always hilarious). The human cast, namely Forte, Lana Condor (as Kevin’s legal intern and niece Paige), and John Cena (as cynical ace ACME attorney Buddy Crane), are all wonderful, each understanding the assignment and delivering with poker-faced aplomb. The pace is electric, all 101 minutes screeching by almost (but not quite) before Road Runner can shout an emphatic, “Beep! Beep!” Best of all, there is genuine heart to be found amidst all of this madness, a final courtroom confrontation between eternal adversaries who are suddenly on the same side of the conversation even bringing an unexpected tear to my eyes.
Look, I get that Coyote vs. Acme is unfortunately going to be judged in a way that has to do more with the drama surrounding its theatrical release than anything else, and that’s too bad. This is a superior piece of pop entertainment, one that celebrates a cherished and iconic animation property yet also remains a potent slice of topical, of-the-moment storytelling that couldn’t be more pertinent if it didactically tried to be. Most of all, though, this merry melody of chaos, carnage, friendship, camaraderie, and inner fortitude is flat-out funny, and that’s exactly as it should be.
That’s all, folks!
Film Rating: 3½ (out of 4)
