Coyote vs. Acme, on VOD

Poor Wile E. Coyote. During an average cartoon appearance, he takes more punishment than Tom from Tom and Jerry. Yet, he keeps on plugging along. However, he might finally get some payback of his own, against the company that sold him all those faulty rockets and the other dangerously negligent consumer items he purchased for his schemes over the years. On the other hand, there is a decent chance Coyote or his underachieving lawyer might just sabotage the case in David Green’s animated hybrid Coyote vs. Acme, which releases today on VOD.

Inspired by Ian Frazier’s satirical New Yorker piece of the same title, Coyote vs. Acme directly compares to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, both for their successful blending of animation and live action as well as the ways they conceived of the social interaction between humans and cartoons. In Coyote’s world, cartoons suffer random injuries all the time, but bottom-feeding human ambulance chasers like Kevin Avery (named in honor of Tex Avery) usually just settle them for chump change.

That was Avery’s intention with Coyote’s case. However, the sheer volume of his claims was so mammoth, it added up to much more than the lazy personal injury attorney realized. Suddenly, he finds himself arguing a blockbuster case, representing a client who doesn’t speak (but he has a limited number of signs he can hold up).

Frankly, the actual case against Acme and the rivalry between Avery and Acme chief counsel Buddy Crane are the least interesting aspects of the adapted screenplay, credited to DC studio boss James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, and Samy Burch. Instead, it is all the sly little hat-tips and Easter eggs that celebrate the Looney Tunes franchise that make Coyote vs. Acme such a charmer.

Seeing the longtime Peter Lorre caricature appear as a good guy, an Acme R&D scientist and potential whistle-blower, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, is a wonderful tribute to the actor. Likewise, bits of business involving portable holes, Coyote’s Rube Goldberg-esque traps, and inventive cameos for all the major Looney Tunes characters, keep the good vibes coming.

To give credit where it is due, Avery could very well represent the best performance of Will Forte’s career. He manages to create the illusion of genuine rapport with Coyote, who was present on-set as a puppet created and controlled by David Barclay—and then later animated in post. Their sad sack friendship is warmly endearing.

Similarly, the Road Runner also gets a nice moment in the spotlight. Frankly, partly thanks to him (the state bird), Coyote vs. Acme might just be the best cinematic representation of New Mexico outside the Western genre. Yet, even more importantly, Green and company also channel the humor of vintage Looney Tunes, which includes dryly droll wordplay and outrageous slapstick.

Much has been made of Warner/Discovery’s decision to initially shelve Coyote vs. Acme indefinitely for a tax write-off and their reluctant agreement to sell it off to another distributor. Frankly, they should have spared the world the disappointing Supergirl instead. Coyote vs. Acme is considerably smarter and exponentially more fun. Coyote’s exploits with Avery will encourage fans to rewatch many of their old Looney Tunes favorites, whereas the depressing Supergirl killed all of the goodwill generated by the Superman reboot. That is why Coyote’s film was a hit. It is just a jolly good time watching Coyote, Bugs, Daffy, Tas, and Porky unleash their manic mischief and earn their laughs. Highly recommended, Coyote vs. Acme releases today (9/29) on VOD.