‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Review: A Live-Action/Animated Looney Tunes Delight

Wile E. Coyote has been through a lot, but he’s never been more egregiously treated than by the folks at Warner Bros., who nearly let his big-screen starring vehicle be thrown away and turned into a tax loss.

Unlike in his skirmishes with the Road Runner, however, Wile comes out a winner now that Coyote vs. Acme has been rescued by Ketchup Entertainment (which performed a similar invaluable rescue with The Day the Earth Blew Up) and is being given a proper theatrical release. It’s a pleasure to report that the film is a hilarious delight, one of the best live-action/animation films ever, and will be treasured by Looney Tunes fans (and who isn’t one?) who will be thrilled seeing their favorite cartoon characters return to the big screen.

The sophistication of the film’s imaginative premise is indicated by its origin, namely a satirical New Yorker article by humorist Ian Frazier. The idea — “based on a true story,” according to the opening credits — is that Wile has gotten thoroughly fed up with his constant physical abuse at the hands of the Acme Corporation, whose products repeatedly blow up in his face or worse. So when he spots a billboard asking “Been in a Cartoon Accident?” and advertising the services of Albuquerque law firm “Avery, Jones & Maltese” (if you don’t get the joke, you’re clearly not a Looney Tunes fanatic), he enlists the services of hapless lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), who specializes in settling out-of-court for token amounts for his cartoon clients.

Unfortunately for Kevin, Wile turns out to be an uncooperative client, even when Acme’s smarmy lawyer Buddy Crane (John Cena), with whom Kevin has history, offers an eye-popping $50,000. Kevin is reluctantly forced to go to trial, facing such logistical obstacles as the difficulty of serving Road Runner a subpoena. He soon uncovers a corporate conspiracy involving Acme scientist Dr. Lorre (looking and sounding exactly like his Maltese Falcon actor namesake) and a plethora of Looney Tunes characters including whistleblower Bugs Bunny, P.R. rep Tasmanian Devil, Acme CEO Foghorn Leghorn, and Senate investigative head Elmer Fudd.

Filled with so many in-jokes and Looney Tunes references that even hardcore fans will be hard-pressed to keep up, Coyote vs. Acme proves consistently funny in its intermingling of human and classic cartoon characters. Cena leans into his over-the-top character with his trademark gusto, especially in the scene in which he threateningly interrogates a terrified Tweety Bird. Seemingly dozens of other Looney Tunes characters make brief appearances, most of them hilariously voiced by the company’s veteran performer Eric Bauza.

Forte, largely playing straight man to the silent but very expressive Wile, does great deadpan comic work, as do a variety of supporting players including Luis Guzman as a judge who uses a cartoon gavel when it’s appropriate. The screenplay by Samy Burch (Oscar-nominated for May December) features one clever gag after another, such as Road Runner, making a surprise appearance in the courtroom, delivering his testimony via beeps.

More surprisingly, the film directed by Dave Green (Earth to Echo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) proves emotionally resonant as well, with Wile and Kevin eventually forming a surprising emotional bond, albeit not a particularly verbal one. And for those of you who’ve spent many happy hours laughing at the Road Runner getting the better of his fanatical pursuer, you’ll be touched to discover that the two have a mutual respect and are even, gasp, friends. It’s the cartoon bromance we’ve been hungering for.