Movie Review: Coyote vs. Acme

4 stars out of 5

This is a whole lot of fun! I haven’t seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit since it came out but this gave me the same “cartoon characters interacting with humans” satisfaction; instead of the creepy 3D Mickey animation you might see on a Disney Channel commercial at the Holiday Inn Express, it’s much more natural.

Leading the human cast is Will Forte, storefront attorney with the nodding-to-history firm of Avery, Maltese & Jones. Wile E. Coyote, super genius, has had it up to here with faulty Acme products. He sees Forte on a TV ad promising payment for cartoon accidents, and leaves the desert for Albuquerque (yes, they eventually make a left-turn joke). But Forte’s forte is small-potatoes settlements that don’t cause a ripple in Acme’s accounting department. Coyote wants a huge payday (or maybe just wants to lure Roadrunner into the courthouse), supported by the firm’s idealistic young intern. And so Forte is dragged into a much larger case than he’s accustomed to.

Forte is great in the role: lazy, somewhat inept, but with a good heart. Other good humans include the always funny, always deadpan Martha Kelly hardly working in the law office, John Cena as Acme’s bully lead attorney (his shakedown of Tweety Bird, seen in the trailer, holds up hilariously in the film), comic John Early as a slimy newscaster, and let’s give a shoutout to Luis Guzmán as the judge because I just saw him in the 1986 art flick No Picnic and he’s been working steadily ever since. And kudos to Eric Bauza who provides many of the classic Warner Brothers character voices.

We get consistent laughs, cartoon fun and nostalgia, and also positive messages for the kids without dropping a giant anvil on their heads: the importance of friendship, loyalty, and standing up for the little guy against the big bad corporation.

That last bit made me feel real uncomfortable when I learned an odd fact about this movie. I’m a credit reader, and couldn’t help noticing that the copyright was 2023. What?? Well, just like with Batgirl, Warner Bros. had decided to shelve the completed Coyote vs. Acme as a tax writeoff. Thankfully, after public uproar, a company called Ketchup Entertainment obtained and released the film. But uggh that just makes me angry and creeped out. Warner Bros. is the Ginormous Evil Corporation? But these are their beloved characters! Why wouldn’t they want to share them with today’s kids? I hate everything. Except this movie. I really truly liked it.