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Hollywood may want us to believe that it is still the land of making your dreams come true. But let’s be honest it can equally be a town where selling your morals or giving up is just as common. It can be easy to be manipulated by its glitz and glamour and in doing so allow artistic integrity to become corrupted. If you have been slightly familiar with the moves of big studios as of lately (or always) then it shouldn’t come to a surprise to that they are not always your friend. They do not always have the side of the consumer and the artist. However that does not mean giving up or seeing the art of moviemaking as a pointless battle. Quite the opposite. In fact in the case of COYOTE VS ACME, the latest Looney Tunes film to hit the big screen, the proof of determination lives on both in front of the camera and even more so behind the lens. You see it was just three years ago when the film thought it would never see the light of day. After completing production, that included a live action shoot in New Mexico (the film is a hybrid in the same realm of “Space Jam” or “Back in Action”), it was revealed that Warner Brothers Discovery had shelved the film in favor of a tax write off. During a time where Warner Bros. was going through major changes behind the scenes and CEO David Zaslav was gutting anything that he deemed “unprofitable” COYOTE became a victim to corporate readjustment. Filmmakers of COYOTE including Dave Green were told late in the process, a funeral screening was held for dismayed stars of the film including Will Forte and John Cena and more importantly it seemed like the film was to become as lost as an old episode of Bugs Bunny and friends. But after some internet backlash including a campaign led by voice performer Eric Bauza, as well as Green himself, there seemed to be some hope. Greedy sales of the film were discussed involving Warner Bros constant negotiations but all cartoon roads led to the smaller American Independent company Ketchup Entertainment who also released the 2023 “Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up.” For a hefty fifty million COYOTE VS. ACME would live another day and get its well deserved release. Now the bigger obstacle has arrived. Will anyone see the film?? Well if you enjoy hysterical and heartfelt court room dramas where the little guy refuses to back down from the fight in a sort of David and Goliath type battle the answer should be a loud yes! COYOTE VS. ACME is not just a a victory for its behind the scenes drama it quickly rises to one of the best films of 2026. Without question the best live action Looney Tunes film (deal with it Space Jam) and more so just another victory for the lovable whacky tunes themselves. A film that is earnestly and fully lived in so it’s madness feels both silly and honest to everyday life and above all else proves that much like the scrappy Coyote himself it’s important to never give up no matter how many anvils fall on your head. 

Wile E. Coyote can never get a win. The voiceless and lanky wild animal still lives out his days coming up with master plans to catch the super fast Road Runner. For Wile catching Road Runner simply means having dinner. As his stomach growls and he gears up his latest trap using Acme technology the Coyote really believes today is the day his luck changes. But if you’re familiar with the cartoons and that infamous “meep meep” (or beep beep depending on your hearing) then you know the coyote is in for a long and painful day. Adapted from an actual New Yorker article from Ian Frazier and turned into screenplay by Samy Burch (including screen story writing from James Gunn and Jeremy Slater) the film doesn’t rely on just comical gags of Wile getting hurt. Sure it can laughable to watch his rocket skates completely back fire but it is clear early on that Wile is experiencing real pain emotionally and physically. Is it just stupidity or insanity? Or is there something bigger. Clearly inspired by the works of John Grisham and more so “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” COYOTE VS. ACME shows us early on that the mega conglomerate that is Acme is up to no good. With an introduction that includes a somewhat deep cut fan favorite character we see that Acme is hiding something far more sinister than its shoddy devices. But with any major corporation secret there’s a boardroom full of people (and cartoons) that will stop at nothing to keep it quiet. 

But for Coyote enough is enough. He can’t be the one to blame anymore. Enter Kevin Avery (Will Forte) attorney at law. His firm Avery, Jones & Maltese (the inside fan jokes keep coming) promise to get you quick and fast cash via settlements. For Kevin he has no problem filing a quick item complaint to Acme for his local cartoon neighbors in Albuquerque New Mexico. For Avery it’s easy to think Saul Goodman or just your local annoying attorney at law selling you on the idea of pay if I win mentality. But Kevin was once a real fighter something his niece Paige (Lana Condor) keeps reminding him of. So when Wile brings his complaints against Acme to Kevin it’s met with giant hesitance. After all this is Acme we are talking about. COYOTE VS ACME may have been once shelved for tax purposes but when the film begins to truly explore its anger towards giant corporations it’s almost laughable to even have to guess why Warner Brothers themselves may be turned off by the film. After all their possible merger with Paramount continues to disrupt and disturb artists everyday. But for the film and more so Avery and Coyote they quickly find themselves in the battle of their lives. 

Now much like the fore mentioned “Roger Rabbit it is easy to assume COYOTE will be jam packed with familiar cartoon character roaming every aspect of the human hybrid world. And while the film boasts many fan favorites one of its strongest aspects is keeping things simple in its characters. Wile is front and center, a voiceless character that is often seen as a punchline truly gets his day in court. And the film never shies away from the idea that Wile can’t speak up for himself against more preposterous characters such as the greedy Acme CEO Foghorn Leghorn and his shady lawyer Buddy Crane (John Cena). It may be simple enough just to see it as corporation bad little guy good but COYOTE VS. ACME has plenty of tricks up its animated sleeve to remind us just how low greed will go in favor or manipulation especially when it comes to the consumer. The film knows that many watching this film will still go home and order something on Amazon prime or DoorDash dinner but that doesn’t mean it can’t truly expose the product we find ourselves obsessed with and what part we are actually contributing to its evil doings. 

This isn’t to say COYOTE VS ACME is the animated film of the summer that wants to be the political downer. In fact quite the opposite. Plenty of Looney Tune madness ensues, pianos are dropped, black spots are used to form hallways in concrete walls and Tweety Bird and John Cena have a verbal argument involving the word “Tawt.” So yea it’s still quite silly and in fact earns its laughs as respectfully as it does absurdly. This is also thanks in part to Will Forte fully committing himself to playing another hopeless schlub. Something the former SNL star has mastered Forte may give his best performance since “Nebraska” or the controversial Trick-or-Treat sketch (Look it up). For Forte as Avery there is a never ending pain in his eyes that parallels everything Wile has gone through. The two want to believe they can win but have fallen from the sky enough times to know that while they somehow land back on their feet the pain takes a toll every time. COYOTE VS. ACME is never about giving up but it is a film that emphasizes with how hard defeat truly can be for those that know it’s easier to give up. If only they could bring themselves to do so. 

But COYOTE VS. ACME fights on. Even when it hits its most dramatic (but still delightfully goofy) turn involving a court case at the highest level, it still understands where its heart lies. Just as “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” once did COYOTE VS. ACME is all about fighting for the rights on the toons. It knows that its audience loves the Looney Tunes and while acknowledging some of its shortcomings still plays as a love letter to both the characters themselves and the fans who have stood by for decades sharing them with friends and family of new generations. It doesn’t want to appease just for the sake of making everyone happy but instead uses its two adversaries of Coyote and Road Runner as a way to surprise. After all that’s said and done the film knows it’s about one person or well animal. An animal that never gives up. Is Coyote fighting truly just to eat the Road Runner? Perhaps. But what’s more important is that Wile knows giving up is not the answer. Chasing after something that may be impossible to catch can seem insane but if the odds are greatly against you isn’t that when you fight harder? COYOTE VS. ACME was once told it wouldn’t make a profit. It was once told nobody cared anymore about Looney Tunes. And you know what both things may be true (they’re not) but what is important is knowing your worth and to be it bluntly knowing when the other person is full of shit. Warner Brothers or Acme it can all the be the same. Companies stop believing in its employees instead choosing machine or A.I. over the human heart and determination. That will be their downfall because what they don’t account for is that somewhere is a coyote working on their next device to prove to the world that no matter how many times they fall or blow themselves up, or fall off a cliff, or jump with a broken parachute, or have a giant rock crush them, or just feel like the world is stacked against them that coyote will still get back up and try again. The win will come one day no matter how fast that win tries to run away. 

Meep! Meep! 

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COYOTE VS. ACME WILL BE RELEASED IN THEATERS FROM KETCHUP ENTERTAINMENT AUGUST 28