'Coyote vs Acme' Delivers a Unanimously Victorious Verdict

Thank the heavens that this movie didn’t get the same treatment as Batgirl did. Coyote vs. Acme was canceled two years ago so Warner Bros. could claim a tax loss. Thankfully, the good guys won, and a potential kids’ classic will hit theaters on August 28. If you like Space Jam, get ready for Warner Bros to release a film that mirrors its concepts and slams dunks on its delivery. There’s no need to worry about athletes giving terrible performances or a forced plot. Coyote vs Acme is cleverly written and a testament to toons working with live actors not running out of style.

Coyote vs Acme plays a lot like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The movie starts with a mystery, then builds to a satisfying delivery by the third act. Although the plots are different, the structure is the same. There’s a flashback to a slimetest featuring Daffy Duck. The year is 1992. Something went wrong during that experiment, but it’s nothing Acme Corporation will admit to, and they've kept it secret for thirty-two years. My math might be wrong, but that’s only because this movie was finished two years ago and then got stuck in limbo. The picture then cuts to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the rest of the movie takes place. Albuquerque is a clever spot to set the picture in, since it’s the rocky woods of the desert where Wile E. Coyote continues his endless, futile attempt at catching the Roadrunner.

Here’s where the movie gets interesting. Every time Wile E. Coyote uses an Acme product to catch the bird, they backfire on him. They’re the reason he can never catch the Roadrunner, as they intentionally sabotage him, or at least, that’s what Coyote’s theory is. Tired of always losing, Coyote contacts a small law firm to take on the megacorporation. Between an animal living in a cave and a lawyer living in a motel, the movie’s core is about the weight justice bears. Coyote’s lawyer, Kevin Avery (Will Forte), has given up on trying in life. After losing endlessly, why bother anymore? Coyote feels a similar despair about catching the Roadrunner. Although different species, the two find a commonality in their failure that ultimately brings them closer together. At the heart of the movie, it isn’t about David defeating Goliath. It’s about the movement that David inspired.

In life, we lose. And we lose, and lose, and lose. But we keep trying because eventually, we win. It’s a long process to get there, but it’s well worth the arduous journey. Even if we aren’t alive to see it. The final note of the movie isn’t a rousing legal victory, but rather an inspirational moment in humility. The three writers of this movie (including James Gunn) know the material they’re handling, and they know how to manage it without regressing to cheap tactics for laughs.

Compare a movie like this to Space Jam: A New Legacy. Space Jam 2 is a movie (like it’s orginial that is part of my childhood) that doesn’t know how to stretch its story into two hours, so they throw in as many references as possible to hold the audience’s attention. Why the gang from A Clockwork Orange is in a kid’s movie is beyond words. Compare that reference to the references in this movie, like Dr. Peter Lorre. Kids don’t have to watch Casablanca to understand the reference. He’s there as an archetype of the mad scientist. The picture’s only winks to the camera are when it’s directly addressing its own canon. The jokes are funny and rely on being original. Not recycled. More importantly, the characters work.

You don’t have much of a movie without human characters you can relate to. Will Forte’s small-town, bygolly demeanor is perfect for a well-meaning lawyer who stands by his morals. On the opposite end, John Cena is a great cast for Buddy Crane, the alpha-male corporate lawyer who looks like he could kick you around Toontown after reading you the Constitution, which he disobeys. The delivery from both men is the type of magic you rarely get in which the star power is focused on the cartoon characters.

Why WB pulled this movie from the release rack will forever be a legal mystery. If this picture didn’t come out the other end, we could have missed out on something special. Coyote vs Acme isn't just a good kids movie; it’s also one of the most intelligent uses of popular brand domains in a while. You know a movie is good when the studio lets you see it almost a month in advance. This is the kind of movie Space Jam prays it could have been, and it would make Who Framed Roger Rabbit very proud. The picture is funny and heartfelt. However, it is always strange when major studios make movies about fighting corporations. That’s for a discussion for another time. Meanwhile, to sound like Foghorn Leghorn, I say, now I say, see this movie in theaters on August 28.