‘Coyote vs. ACME’ is the Looney Tunes movie nobody was supposed to see

9/30/2026

The cleverly named law firm of Avery, Jones and Maltese (after legends Tex Avery, Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese) tells you right away how much affection is baked into this merrie melody. 

It’s a small miracle “Coyote vs. ACME” exists. Warner Bros. shelved the finished film as a tax write-off, and, well, that was all, folks … for about three years. 

Then came a wave of public and industry backlash, and Ketchup Entertainment stepped in to distribute and got it into theaters. That history makes the movie’s message hit harder, because this is a story about never giving up when the game looks rigged.

Loosely inspired by Ian Frazier’s New Yorker piece from 1990, the film drops cartoons and humans into the same world, a la “Who Framed Roger Rabit?” After decades of undying loyalty to ACME’s busted gadgets and paying for them in pain, Wile E. Coyote decides to sue. 

Enter Kevin Avery (Will Forte), a small-time personal injury attorney whose whole strategy is to sue and settle. But the Coyote wants his day in court.

The canine forces his lawyer, kicking and screaming, to demand satisfaction for years of pain, humiliation and hunger. Kevin will even come face to face with ACME’s high-priced legal team, including college nemesis Buddy Crane (John Cena) and the reigning rooster in the ACME hen house, Foghorn Leghorn. But the more Wile and Kevin dig into the company’s books, the more apparent a conspiracy exists that includes informants, missing celebrities and corruption that goes all the way to D.C. (DC?)

What I loved most is how aware these characters are that they’re cartoons. The fourth-wall breaks, and sign gags are some of the best jokes in the movie. The film keeps revisiting Wile E.’s old failures, because it clearly understands why he’s been funny for so long. 

The human cast is a real strength, too. Kevin is also way more relatable than I expected. He’s the kind of guy who keeps taking on jobs and somehow ends up where everything seems destined to fail. Will Forte is the ideal lead; the same way Wile E. is the ideal driving force for the story. He commits completely, even when Kevin is totally tapped out, and he has real rapport with his animated co-star. 

As for Wile E., he’s a terrible client. He’s stubborn. He doesn’t listen. He shreds paperwork and acts like nothing happened. And he keeps lying to Kevin, because he has his own desired endgame for the lawsuit.

Then there’s the supporting cast of toons. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Tweety Bird are minor characters that support the story instead of driving it. The film opts for deeper (deeper in the sense that kids probably wouldn’t recognize them) cuts like Dr. Lorre or Foghorn Leghorn. Foghorn Leghorn is the powerful head of ACME, and it’s a perfect joke for a character whose whole blowhard personality is being the loudest person in the room and saying whatever comes to mind. Elmer Fudd chairs a Senate investigating committee, acting as the inside man for Leghorn in the government. 

The plot around the toons, a shady product-testing program called Project Sisyphus, gives the David-and-Goliath story some bite. Swap in a Big Tech oligarchy for ACME, and you get the idea. 

The courtroom stuff is OK, but the movie can’t quite decide whether it’s aiming at adults, who are supposed to catch the sendups of Looney Tunes creators, or kids, who get to wallow in the antics. My 8-year-old son was laughing throughout the slapstick but asking more questions during the legal antics. It probably should have picked one, but it still works. 

Occasionally, “Coyote vs. ACME” gets so enmeshed in its legal thriller setup, it forgets the gonzo glee that should be in the punchline. A bit like an actual New Yorker joke, it impresses the mind, but the humor never quite spreads to the gut (or heart).

Like the much-aggrieved coyote, it deserves to be championed for his determination and resilience rather than henpecked for not being the perfect witness. Not since the days of Roger Rabbit on the big screen has anyone so clearly understood the appeal of these Looney Tunes treasures.

“Coyote vs. ACME” is an affectionate throwback that works as a legal comedy, a slapstick showcase and a surprisingly moving story about friendship, all at once. Not every joke lands, but the heart of it does. If you grew up on these cartoons, give it a chance. ♦