Breaking free from Warner Bros.’ vault of unreleased films, Coyote vs. Acme released this past weekend to critical praise and smashing its box office expectations. After being finished to completion for the past 3 years, the elusive animated/live-action hybrid feature is now finally available to be seen by the public. This is largely thanks to Ketchup Entertainment for acquiring the distribution rights and the passionate fans who demanded that it be released after Warner Bros. originally planned on shelving the film and using it as a tax write off. But was the film worth releasing, or was WB right to keep it on ice? Let’s grab our bag of Acme cartoon products and find out!
The film is primarily live-action, featuring several animated cartoon characters serving primary roles alongside the regular cast. The plot centers around the classic Looney Tunes character, Wile E. Coyote, seeking the legal assistance of lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), to help him sue the Acme Corporation for selling him defective products that have made it impossible for him to achieve his goal of catching the Roadrunner. Acme’s lawyer, Buddy Crane (John Cena), and CEO, Foghorn Leghorn, are constantly one step ahead of the underdog duo. This creates a David vs. Goliath dynamic that is central to the film’s theme of the little guy taking on the massive corporation. The irony of its anti-corporate message in light of its controversial release is quite staggering.
For anyone who is a fan of the old school Looney Tunes animated shorts or comedy movies in general, this film is an absolute delight from start to finish. The laugh-a-minute rapid fire approach it takes to comedy allows for a constant variety of jokes to play out at an incredible pace. Between visual gags, witty humor, clever wordplay, and usage of irony, there is always something happening on screen that emits amusement and whimsy. This is a result of clever writing (Samy Burch) and directing (Dave Green), crafting well-timed humor perfectly delivered by the actors that aligns with the fluid and dynamic character animation.
While it has the makings of an all-time comedy classic, there is only one major nitpick that needs to be addressed. Because the animated characters are not actually 2D-animated, but 3D CGI models that have been styled to look like they’re 2D, there are a few moments where this technical shortcut becomes a bit obvious. This is because the rounded edges of 3D animation viewed from certain angles, makes it apparent that it isn’t 2D. This can lead to a bit of an “uncanny valley” effect that makes it hard for the human eye to comprehend what it is looking at. These moments are not constant, but happen a bit too often and would be eliminated if they had been willing to go the extra mile to create 2D-animated characters.
Despite this one issue, the film is still a delight from beginning to end, and is a must-see for animation fans. With the constant onslaught of hilarity, the best place to watch this is in a packed movie theater. This movie truly deserves all the support it can get, just to drive home its underdog message to the very corporation that tried selling it out in the first place!
