‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Review: Zany combinations of characters, genres, and mediums form an unexpectedly unique experience
The Coyote vs. Acme distribution rights saga has been going on for what feels like forever, and during this time, the movie itself was always an afterthought in my mind. I thought for sure that, with all the tribulations it has had to endure and the tax write-off controversy surrounding it, the most logical explanation for everything was that the film probably just stinks. I felt this way up until the first reviews and reactions came out, and I was slightly surprised by the response. Thus, this positive word of mouth encouraged me to go see it, and suffice it to say, I was extremely surprised and thoroughly impressed. The film is actually really, really good and so much more than I could have imagined it being. It’s no Best Picture contender, but it is still one of my top movies of the year. Even so, I can see why Warner Bros. decided to ditch it, and I can’t even fault them too harshly for it.
The story of Coyote vs. Acme is inconspicuously inventive and genius. Wile E. Coyote wanting to sue the corporation responsible for all his failed attempts to catch the Road Runner is a very clever hook. What follows is a highly entertaining, lighthearted, comedic legal drama with corporate espionage elements. From the outside looking in, this seems like an insane genre mashup, but it all clicks together wonderfully.
What really deepens all of it is the character work. Every character and cartoon gets a convincing arc. Kevin Avery (Will Forte) finds new purpose in his attorney career, Wile E. Coyote finds meaning in his feud with the Road Runner, and the list goes on. If any of this throws you off because you don’t have a Looney Tunes background, that’s totally fine. The film stands on its own even if you’ve never seen a frame of the cartoon before. Having previous experience with the show is a plus, but by no means a requirement.
If the plot of Coyote vs. Acme isn’t fresh enough already, all of its supporting elements certainly are. The most obvious triumph is how seamlessly it blends together live-action with animation. I’ve rarely seen that executed well, if ever, but this movie makes the two mediums go together like peanut butter and jelly. Humor plays a massive part in making them stick. Almost every scene contains multiple laughs, and while this kind of cartoon humor is exaggerated at times, it is never not funny. The score by Steven Price is another hidden gem, inviting an enlightening sense of grandeur to the film while beautifully opening up the runway for the story’s emotional high points.
There are only a couple of weak links to address in Coyote vs. Acme. First off, there is not as much time spent in the courtroom as I was expecting, and the pacing around that aspect felt slightly off. The movie opts to spend a considerable chunk of its time on the corporate cover-up plotline, and while that thread is still very good and enjoyable, it never felt like it completely fit with the overall tone. Luckily, each time the narrative drifts too far in that direction, the film is always able to balance itself back out. By the end, there are only small plot holes that do not matter too much in the grand scheme of things.
The thing about Coyote vs. Acme is that it was always going to be a hard sell from a marketing perspective, because the target audience isn’t crystal clear. Maybe those who grew up on Looney Tunes and invested in it will show up, but that hardly makes up a significant portion of the general audience today. The reasons why the movie works so well–its witty plot, mix of live-action and animation, and balance of humor and emotion–are what make it not so easily approachable, conventionally speaking. Therefore, it’s not that Warner Bros. didn’t want anyone to see it; rather, they knew the broader public lacked real interest, and they were more right than wrong in this regard.
However, deleting the completely finished film would have been a very bad look. The correct decision was always to sell the distribution rights if there was little belief it would turn a profit. Thankfully, we live in the best timeline where both the corporation and consumer won in the end. Warner Bros. cut their losses as best as possible by selling to Ketchup Entertainment, and moviegoers walked away with a fantastic movie to see and hold onto forever.
Ignoring all the baggage that Coyote vs. Acme had to wade through just to make it to this point, it’s simply a total blast of a movie. Similar to Project Hail Mary from earlier this year, it has just about everything I love about films packaged into one: humor, levity, heart, and great storytelling. It will definitely remain a favorite of the year and should not be overlooked. A good benchmark I will be using to differentiate this year’s releases between the “very good” and “truly great” variety is Obsession–a gripping but fundamentally flawed film. Coyote vs. Acme surpasses it and is truly great.