Movie review: Coyote vs Acme won its own David vs Goliath battle against its corporate overlords
Coyote vs Acme fought its way back to life after it became embroiled in its own real-life David vs Goliath battle against its corporate overlords.
The story in Coyote vs Acme and the story of Coyote vs Acme have parallels – it’s an underdog assiduously getting on with his plan, only for a giant anvil to fall out of the sky, crushing it.
The real-life anvil was David Zaslav, who in 2023 as the new boss of freshly merged entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros Discovery, took a red pen and struck a line through Coyote vs Acme, a hybrid live-action and animated Looney Tunes movie.
It was killed for a tax write-off. It was art versus accountancy. David versus David (Zaslav) the Goliath.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The film was already finished and, according to its filmmakers, well received in early testing. But when up against a spreadsheet and an executive who would go on to be one of the most divisive figures in Hollywood in no small part due to his actions here, it didn’t stand a chance.
After a couple of years in the vault, an indie distributor called Ketchup Entertainment secured a deal to buy Coyote vs Acme from Warner Bros for $US50 million, and now it’s out today, freed from the yoke of corporate BS.
That the film’s story and themes overlay so perfectly with its offscreen challenges won’t escape anyone. It’s in the title, and Acme is Warner Bros.
Coyote vs Acme is not a cinematic masterpiece but it is a goofy and funny movie with recognisable themes and plenty of physical comedy hijinks as befitting a Looney Tunes story. It’s draws on the brand’s legacy of silly antics, chaotic set-pieces and a wicked sense of humour.
It doesn’t try to overly complicate matters and has the familiar story beats of other courtroom dramas that don’t feature the Tasmanian Devil testifying as Acme’s head of PR. The meld of live-action and animation is seamless, and the film, directed by Dave Green, keeps the energy level high.
It’s exactly what you want from it, and it scratches a nostalgic itch, recalling those afternoons spent in front of the TV, parroting back, “What’s up Doc?”.
The live-action cast is led by the always likeable Will Forte as Kevin Avery, a small-time personal injury lawyer in Albuquerque, New Mexico who usually settles individual cases against Acme for its defective products for a $300 payout.
Not so this time. When Wile E. Coyote gets his whole body smashed in one too many times, the latest involving malfunctioning rocket skates, he seeks out Kevin’s help. But he wants to sue Acme for not one product, he wants to go after the company for all of them.
For every time he’s been horrifically injured while in pursuit of Roadrunner, the dinner he can never catch.
The lawsuit puts them up against what seems to be the world’s largest business, responsible not just for dynamite and anvils but also every piece of telecommunications and technology.
With his recalcitrant client in tow, Kevin, along with his niece and intern Paige (Lana Condor), find themselves across the table from the blustering Buddy Crane (John Cena), Acme’s top lawyer. Along the way, they start to unravel a wider conspiracy that also involves Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Tweety and Granny, Pepe Le Pew and more of the Looney Tunes gang.
Wile E. Coyote is, usually, no one’s idea of a hero, but he is single-minded and a forever-optimist that one day he’ll nab his prey, which makes him an oddly relatable underdog protagonist. You’ll find it, almost shockingly easy, to be on his side.
Because when the antagonist is an all-reaching corporate conglomerate, then aren’t we all Wile E. Coyote? Sometimes, the little guy has to win.
That this movie was released at all is a triumph, that it’s actually pretty good is the bonus.
Rating: 3/5
Coyote vs Acme is in cinemas
