Culture

Now Playing: ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ is an underdog story in more ways than one

By: Gordon Briggs
Posted on: Tuesday, September 22, 2026

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Coyote vs. Acme is not only a real surprise, but also an interesting case of life imitating art. On the surface, you could certainly enjoy this movie as a wacky comedy that blends live-action actors with the famous animated stars of Looney Tunes cartoons. Still, given the context of the film’s creation, disappearance, and subsequent release, this movie becomes a self-reflexive underdog story that pits the little guy against a giant corporation with surprisingly moving results.

The premise answers a question every Looney Tunes fan has asked themselves: “Why does Wile E. Coyote keep using Acme products that obviously don’t work?” After decades of Acme Corporation products consistently backfiring during his endless pursuit of the Road Runner, a silent Wile E. Coyote decides to fight back. He hires a down-on-his-luck billboard personal injury lawyer named Kevin Avery, played enthusiastically by Will Forte, to take the mega corporation to court. At first, Forte’s lawyer has no interest in fighting Acme, but as the story unfolds, both he and Coyote discover a cover-up endangering countless cartoon characters.

While the movie isn’t always laugh-out-loud funny, it generates a great deal of comic tension through the visual juxtaposition of live-action humans and 2D animation. Cartoons operate under what some call “Toon Force”—the rule that physics can bend for a joke, and characters are functionally immortal. Like with the famous ’80s comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, part of the fun here is seeing live-action actors trying and failing to mimic the physics of the animated world. For example, there is a dizzying scene where Forte and Coyote engage in a car chase that eventually brings animation and live action together in an amusing collision of real-life cars, cartoon rocket skates, and a gun-wielding Tweety bird in hot pursuit.

If there’s a standout aspect of this movie, it’s the relationship between Forte’s lawyer and his silent cartoon client (he only communicates by holding up signs). Boosted by Kevin’s idealistic intern and niece, the pair move past a strictly professional arrangement. As they search for evidence together, their professional bond deepens into a genuine friendship. It all culminates in a surprisingly moving courtroom scene that I won’t spoil here, but it may make you rethink those old Road Runner cartoons you saw as a kid.

That premise alone could make for an entertaining movie. However, the real-life backstory of Coyote vs. Acme adds another layer to its story. Specifically, Warner Bros. shelved the completed $70 million live-action/animation hybrid in November 2023 as a tax write-off. The studio felt it would be cheaper to shelve the movie than to pay distribution and marketing costs, but their story didn’t stop there. When news reached the public, longtime fans fought back. Much like the characters from the movie, fans and fellow filmmakers began a public campaign to fight the studio’s decision and get the film released in theaters. Soon, this movie about a little guy fighting a greedy corporate entity became an actual real-world underdog survivor story, with the movie finally being distributed this summer and turning a small but respectable profit.

In all honesty, I enjoyed last year’s Looney Tunes movie The Day the Earth Blew Up a little more because the animation was all hand-drawn. Still, in Coyote vs. Acme, some of the animation is computer-generated. Still, this effective animation-live-action hybrid gives audiences the underdog story we all need. ★★★