Much like it’s star, “Coyote Vs Acme” persists despite the odds

I go to see a movie for many reasons. Sometimes it is because I like an actor or director. Sometimes it is because I am a fan of the series or genre. One reason has never been spite…until last weekend. Yes, I wanted to see “Coyote vs Acme” for the usual reasons, but I also wanted to see it to spite Warner Bros. Why? Sit back and let me tell you the story of a studio run by a man who would rather get a tax write-off than give a movie a chance to succeed. “Coyote vs Acme” was complete; the studio just had to release it. Instead, they shelved it. This movie was initially supposed to come out the same weekend as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in 2023. Then, about a year later, the studio decided to scrap the movie and use it as a tax write-off. This is something David Zaslav, the company's president, had been doing for a while. The two biggest examples were a “Batgirl” movie that was done filming and just needed some visual effects work, and a completed “Scoob: Holiday Haunt” animated movie. But something happened with this movie. Word got out that people loved it, and the stars were vocal about how good it was and that they wished people could see it. Zaslav eventually let the filmmakers see whether anyone wanted to buy the rights to the movie. In came the hero of this story, Ketchup Entertainment. They bought it, and finally the movie that THEY didn’t want you to see was released in theaters.

Wilie E. Coyote has been using Acme products for years, and they keep failing him. One day he sees an ad for a lawyer named Kevin Avery (Will Forte) who is willing to sue Acme on behalf of cartoons. Coyote enlists his services in a massive lawsuit that brings to light some of the shady things the company has been doing for decades.

In college, I had a class where we were asked to talk about a character we identified with. I chose Wilie E. Coyote. I reasoned that he is persistent even in the face of never-ending failure. Did I ignore that he is trying to kill and eat the Road Runner? Yes, but the fact remains that he keeps going. The thing is, Coyote is a genius. All his plans would work if it were not for the Acme products failing over and over again. It makes sense that after all these years, he would want to get some restitution for all the times he was injured. That is part of why I was so angry when this movie was initially shelved. The idea behind it was genius, and the movie pays it off in such a great way.

What is crazy to me is that Warner Brothers has this huge stable of IP in the Looney Tunes and does nothing with them. They could easily be as ubiquitous as Mickey Mouse, but they don’t use them in TV shows, movies, or merchandise. I loved Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and all the rest when I was a kid, but these aren't characters kids talk about these days: trust me, I’m a teacher. I love that this movie made a B-List character the star, featured a lot of mostly unknown Tunes, and had characters like Bugs, Daffy, Porky Pig, and Tweety Bird in supporting roles. Speaking of Tweety, one of my favorite scenes in this movie features Tweety talking to Acme lawyer Buddy Crane (John Cena) about what she “twat” she “taw.” It is a great introduction to the world of Looney Tunes for a generation who, through no fault of their own, don’t know these characters.

The movie is very funny and, at one particular point, very emotional (if you had told me I would tear up at a scene with Road Runner, I would think you were…looney). The Looney Tunes cartoons were full of great slapstick and “Coyote vs Acme” delivers more of that. It’s a movie that features the one Looney Tune who has fallen from a great height, been blown up, and flattened more times than any other, and you get to see a lot of great moments. There is even a scene where Avery is about to give up because everything feels lost, and Coyote does what he does best: fail repeatedly and get hurt, to show that they need to keep going.

The bar for part-animated/part-live-action Looney Tunes movies is very low. As much as I loved “Space Jam” when I was younger, the movie does not hold up, and don’t even get me started on “Space Jam: A New Legacy.” I’ve never seen “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” but by all accounts, it’s not very good. This movie surpasses both and manages to be an indictment of corporations and a very funny Looney Tunes movie. I really hope this is the start of more Looney Tunes movies or shorts, but since WB wanted this movie hidden away in a vault, I very much doubt we'll see the Tunes in anything.

9/10

Rated PG for cartoon violence and some language.

1h 43m