Coyote vs. Acme

Chris Sawin

It may not look the way classic animation fans want it to look. Still, *Coyote vs. ACME* is worthwhile for its ingenuity in both its homage to old cartoons and its clever storytelling, and seeing where your favorite *Looney Tunes* character fits into this wacky universe. https://bit.ly/WileEAcme

CinemaSerf

Come to think of it, I'm surprised that in the super-litigious US of A it took almost a century for anyone to cotton that "ACME" products were rubbish! Well now "Wile E. Coyote" has had his fill of things blowing up in his face and decided to employ lawyer "Avery" (Will Forte) to take on the mighty "Foghorn Leghorn" and his legal eagle "Buddy" (John Cena) in a courtroom battle. The coyote can't speak; they can't catch the "Road Runner" to act as a witness to his calamities and the thrust of their defence seems to fall on the deaf ears of an "Elmer Fudd" who doesn't seem to quite know which side his bread ought to be buttered on - or maybe he does? Can they win? I actually rather enjoyed the "Leghorn" character most of all as he rather counter-intuitively suggested that their gadgets and gizmos were being tested on the cartoon characters - rather than real people - because, well you can't actually kill "Bugs" or "Daffy" or any of the annoying pigs. Fair point, I thought! Not the point that "Avery" wants to concede though as their shenanigans proceed amidst any excuse to revisit old episodes from the frequently disastrous encounters between cat and bird on that now famous stretch of road/bridge/tunnel - or wherever it could go wrong. I suppose the issue for me here was that I was just never really a fan of the "Looney Tunes" characters growing up: the speaking ones usually just irritated me and these coyote ones repitiously trotted out similar scenarios to "Tom & Jerry" only without any sort of amiable personification. That said, this still serves quite effectively as a little time capsule of the history of Hollywood animation and with Cena and the strutting southern gentleman rooster on clucking form, this is a neatly wrapped piece of comedy nostalgia.

Chandler Danier

I read an article inspired by this movie. It said top 10 anti-capitalist films like this movie. It included They Live. This movie is about a comically evil corporation headed by my favourite John Cena. John Cena is cool. Will Forte is cool. Jubilee from X-Men Apocalypse is cool. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is cool. This movie is pretty neat. It's not anti-capitalist. It should not be inspiring a list that includes They Live. It could inspire a list that is movies that do the Who Framed Roger Rabbit effects well. #1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit #2. Space Jam #3. Cool World #4. Coyote vs. Acme It's fine. A liiiittle too long and well a way too USA punishes corporations that treat the public poorly.

Brent Marchant

You won’t often see me review animated films. That’s because I remember what cartoons were like when I was growing up as a Baby Boomer, and I loved them (especially Looney Tunes). In fact, in my view, most of today’s headache-inducing animation is overly manic and overly silly, releases that pale in comparison to those classic old school offerings. For those who agree with me, however, there’s a new release out there that serves as a fitting homage to those works of days gone by that pays a fitting tribute to them while simultaneously incorporating fresh, contemporary material that does justice to its source material, “Coyote vs. Acme.” Based on the long-running comical desert conflict between the Road Runner and the bird’s perpetually unsuccessful nemesis, Wile E. Coyote, this feature-length tale brilliantly fuses animation and live action (in the same vein as “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” (1988)) in an inventive new story. When the Coyote realizes that all of his efforts to entrap his target using an assortment of inherently faulty products from the infamous Acme Corp., he decides to try a new tactic to fulfill his goal: sue Acme in court, with the Road Runner serving as a firsthand witness to all of the product failures, thereby granting him ready access to the bird – and putting him one step closer to realizing his long-hoped-for dinner. He gets the idea after seeing a television commercial for shady Albuquerque accident attorney Kevin Avery (Will Forte), a lawyer known for bringing (and settling) many cartoon product injury cases against Acme and its chief legal counsel (and boastful law school rival), Buddy Crane (John Cena). But can Avery at last best his old foe through this lawsuit? What ensues is a smart, insightful corporate satire and lawyer parody in which the two attorneys battle one another surrounded by a host of beloved Warner Bros. cartoon characters presented in ways viewers have never seen them before, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety, Granny, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn and the Tasmanian Devil., among others. The result is a delightfully humorous tale strategically peppered with memorable “Easter Eggs” from the franchise source material in a present-day narrative that’s unquestionably unusual but that never feels forced or implausible (comparatively speaking, that is). Admittedly, the picture isn’t rip-roaringly funny, but it’s definitely modestly amusing and successfully avoids the aforementioned pitfalls that weigh down most contemporary animated features. Director Dave Green’s third big screen effort will nostalgically warm the hearts of audiences who grew up with these flawed but familiar characters, evoking moderate chuckles as they’re showcased in a largely new light, quite a nifty trick to pull off as successfully as the filmmaker has done here. Yet, if nothing further comes out of this release (though, given its box office success, I doubt that will happen), one likely won’t be sorry when it ends, having deservedly earned the celebrated “That’s all, folks” sign-off that viewers have come to associate with this cherished body of work.