By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by Dave Green
• Starring Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, Eric Bauza
• PG

The fact Coyote vs. Acme even got released is something that is a miracle in itself. It’s very likely that the shelving, rescuing, and eventual release of the final film will remain as one of them most shared and famous movie stories of the past decade going forward, to the point where I suspect that it has already overshadowed the actual film itself. Which is not surprising; even if Coyote vs. Acme will likely herald a resurgence in popularity for the Looney Tunes, the Looney Tunes themselves have always struggled at the box office outside of the original Space Jam. The shelving may have been the best thing to happen to it, if one takes the cynical view.

But it’s hard to be cynical about Coyote vs. Acme, a film so upbeat and heartfelt and genuinely filled with joy that it becomes infectious. Most of that is thanks to a keen understand of it’s titular subjects – Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner themselves – and why they have remained some of Chuck Jones’ most memorable creations in a history of memorable creations. Despite his inability to catch the Road Runner, he just keeps trying. And he will keep trying. Again, and again, and again, and again.

In fact, he might have actually been able to do it if it wasn’t for that blasted Acme, the generic brand that has appeared in more cartoons then one can count. The idea of the legendary Coyote suing Acme has been a topic of satirists for a long time just as a concept but Coyote vs. Acme is the first real thing to do something fascinating with the idea on a thematic level. When Coyote sues Acme, it’s not even about the money at first – in reality it’s part of a long scheme that most viewers will figure out pretty quickly and pays off excellently – and instead leads into a grander story about the underdog facing off against the Goliath, and how that Goliath has deep pockets and shady secrets that makes them more dangerous then you could realize.

That anti-corporate bent gives Coyote vs. Acme a real edge, especially in the wake of it’s untimely cancellation that gives it a sense of topicality despite it’s zaniness. Samy Burch, whose script is based on story ideas from the great James Gunn and the ever reliable Jeremy Slater, taps back into that need for cartoon violence and slapstick to both comedic and surprisingly dramatic results; injuries turn from a goofy nod to the cartoons to strangely poignant and heartbreaking representations of abuse at the hands of powerful people. It’s a difficult balance to maintain as well, but Dave Green wisely plays the more legal side of the premise completely straight alongside the idea of cartoon characters existing in the real world on the regular.

All of the copious amounts of humor, which almost always hits bullseye, comes instead from the character interactions and the general visual gags on screen, which is a smart move. It’s impossible to really truly state just how consistently funny Coyote vs. Acme actually is, but almost all of it’s major bits are gut bustingly hilarious and help endear you to a cast of characters that will certainly will make you tear up by the end thanks to some strong pathos laden throughout. It’s clearly vying for Roger Rabbit in it’s stylings, but it’s not an imitation, but instead it’s own deeply wonderful original thing.

And just like Roger Rabbit, it’s exploration of cartoons and humans living together, beyond just being a showcase for some strong integration of animated characters in real environments (even if the 3D cel shaded style isn’t perfect, a likely downside of the film’s troubled development), is also there to highlight some scathing social commentary about our current status of society. In the case of Coyote vs. Acme, it’s really about how corporations will exploit the most vulnerable in our society and people will mostly just turn a blind eye until it’s too late; the plight of the toons reminiscent of modern day slave labor in a way that’s too obvious to dismiss as coincidence. While I doubt executives were smart enough to use this as the reason to shelve it, it certainly makes the act of doing so more nefarious and gives Coyote vs. Acme a genuine sense of topicality.

There is a high likelihood that Coyote vs. Acme becomes something of a golden goose in Hollywood going forward; a rare treat of a film that was saved from damnation through sheer creative willpower and ends up actually being worth the wait. If any film is worth becoming that untouchable golden goose, you could do a lot worse then this one, especially one as clearly anti-capitalist and on the right side of history as this one. Fantastic!