What in the world was Warner Bros thinking?
In 2023 the studio canceled, shelved and ditched the finished animated/live action hybrid feature Coyote vs. Acme in favor of a tax writeoff rather than releasing the movie in theaters, or even streaming. This sort of corporate move would indicate the studio thinks the movie itself just wasn’t very good, certainly not one audiences would want to see.
It followed the 2022 shelving of its $90 million Batgirl movie, which remains buried, and definitely wasn’t encouraging (and to the creators and everyone who worked so hard on Coyote vs. Acme, no matter what the ultimate quality. But along to rescue the movie (for a reported $50 million) came Ketchup Entertainment, a rising indie that also put out Warners fully animated The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie in theaters, and now Coyote vs. Acme is getting a full theatrical release after Warner Bros Discovery seems to have bigger fish to fry, even as its logo and name are still all over it.
Three years later, we finally get to see what it is all about — and I can tell you this delightful gem of a movie is, for me at least, ironically not only the best Warner Bros film released so far this year, it also is, hands down, the best animated/live action hybrid since Robert Zemeckis’ classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit hit screens four decades ago (sorry, Space Jam). I laughed out loud throughout this terrific concoction that is smart, funny, heartwarming and winning in every way.
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Directed by Dave Green from a brilliantly constructed and witty screenplay by Oscar nominee Samy Burch (May December), it has an ingenious premise that takes the always-scheming Wile E. Coyote into the courtroom to battle the heartless Acme Corporation over the quality of its products that keep blowing up in his face. The idea was inspired by the 1990 Ian Frazier article in New Yorker magazine. Since then there have been several attempts to bring this to the screen, but with Green and Burch, the perfect combo was found. We know we are in good hands right off the bat as the Warner Bros logo appears at the beginning of the film, followed immediately by a card that says, “A fully owned subsidiary of the Acme Corporation.” That was the only sly reference to what happened to this film itself until the very very end with a dedication in fine print on the credits that thanked all those who protested, wrote emails, stood with signs outside and other things to support the efforts of the filmmakers to get this movie seen.
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It all starts off with a classic sequence where eternal optimist Wile E. Coyote is, for the millionth time, trying to outrace his uncatchable nemesis Road Runner in a madcap chase that ends like it does every single day with Wile E. the beleaguered loser and Road Runner whishing out of sight to his familiar “beep beep.” But one day while plotting his next moves, Wile E. sees a TV commercial for an ambulance-chasing lawyer, Kevin Avery (Will Forte), who offers his services to cartoon characters who feel they have been wronged, cheated, blown up, had a piano dropped on them or other maladies. Realizing it could be him and looking around the room to see all the useless products he has bought from Acme including rocket sleds, pogo-powered shoes and so much more, Wile E. contacts Kevin in order to sue Acme for personal injury, mental suffering and loss of business income.
This is a case Avery (a name used in honor of famed animator Tex Avery) takes on in order to get the kind of quick settlement he always goes for. Much to his surprise, Acme and its shady head counsel Buddy Crane (John Cena) make a generous $50,000 offer, which Avery loves but his client tears up into little pieces. In no time Avery discovers Wile E. has an ulterior motive, a court trial that would require Road Runner to make an appearance as a key witness when Wile E. can then blow him up. Genius!
As the story continues though we see an empathetic human side to the ever-suffering Coyote, his bonding with Kevin who realizes settling for less isn’t something to be proud of, and a courtroom trial for the ages that brings out a host of Looney Tune favorites including Acme’s key witness, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and more. There are also some choice scenes with Bugs Bunny who turns out to be kind of a Deep Throat informant for Kevin and Wile, as well as a visit to a Looney bin where Daffy Duck is a patient who turns out to be not much help.
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Forte is perfect casting here, the ideal foil to client Wile E. Coyote, a frustrated loser himself who finds honor and justice are worth fighting for. Also fine is his ever hopeful and useful niece Paige played by Lana Condor, and stepping out of his action mode for a change is a well chosen Cena as the opposing attorney. Voice work is exceptional from veterans Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Jim Cummings. The 2D animation style here is a perfect tribute to the artists who have created Looney Tunes over the decades.
Considering box office disappointments from Warner Bros. (most notably Supergirl) it is more than ironic to end the season with another jewel in the Looney Tune legacy that they handed over to a scrappy independent company who clearly know a good thing when they see it.
Producers are Chris DeFaria and James Gunn. Gunn, who is now responsible for Warner Bros DC movies including the aforementioned Supergirl (and the excellent Superman) , also has credit for the Screen Story with Jeremy Slater along with Burch who came aboard after previous attempts to save the day.
Title: Coyote vs. Acme
Distributor: Ketchup Entertainment
Release date: August 28, 2026
Director: Dave Green
Screenwriter: Samy Burch
Cast: Will Forte, John Cena, Lana Condor, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, Dottie Jones, PJ Byrne, Luis Guzman, John Early, Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Jim Cummings
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hr 41 mins