Coyote Vs. Acme

The plaintiff, one Wile E Coyote. The respondent, the ACME corporation. In 1990 The New Yorker (which features in at least one of the multitudinous background gags) published Ian Frazier's piece that imagined that case. Roughly a decade earlier, The National Lampoon had imagined a similar case over three issues, but it was suits of a different kind that'd have the biggest influence on the film.

It's a treat. Let's get that out the way. A heartwarming and comedically satisfying blending of animated sensibilities in the vein of Who Framed Roger Rabbit but more of the 'little guy against corporate interests' than anything noirish. While Jessica Rabbit could have been visiting from Chinatown and ACME aren't quite as callous as PG&E, the set raises the prospect of a centre to the Venn diagram, a Claymation Michael Clayton.

However the corporate shenanigans for which this film may be best known aren't those of ACME and its lead counsel, John Cena whose bolo ties rival the excess of oilman parallel Tex Richman, but of Warner Bros. Coyote vs ACME was scripted: Samy Burch (who penned May December, Jeremy Slater (of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire), and James (Guardians Of The Galaxy) Gunn. Director Dave Green (Earth To Echo) rounds out a set of creative talents that seem really well suited to this sort of tale.

Which makes it all the more disappointing that after shooting, including some star turns from Will Forte as a billboard lawyer and Lana Condor as his far more aspirational niece, the studio decided it was of more use to them as a tax write-off. That fate also caught Batgirl, which had finished principal photography (including in Glasgow) but there's no shortage of studio villainy around DC titles (see, for example, Suicide Squad) and that was, at least from what's been leaked, a far more conventional origin story and superhero team-up. To have a film whose central act is about a reaction to corporate chicanery fall foul (and fowl) of that sort of nonsense is astonishingly on the nose.

There's clear love for the subject matter, and behind it are throwaway gags and nods aplenty. The law firm of Avery, Jones and Maltese takes its name(s) from three of the key creatives behind Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. The animation on Wile E never fails to convince, though some background action doesn't have the same quality. That's maybe a consequence of using 3D software for two-dimensional characters, and potentially also a product of familiarity - we know how Porky Pig is meant to p-p-p-p-peramb-u-walk and while it's far less uncanny than the animal action of Disclosure Day it's noticeable, though perhaps not on smaller screens. That could also be splitting hairs (and hares) as Coyote Vs ACME does so much right that, like ball bearings in the birdseed, what doesn't quite work makes things a little heavy.

It seems odd to say that this represents a creative risk, Roadrunner and his erstwhile pursuer are, after all, part of cartoon history. Odder still to suggest that it was a financial risk, but Warner Bros felt so and those who purchased the rights disagreed. Worse, perhaps, to talk about box office when that sets common course for Spider-Man, Odysseus and the Titanic. Ill-fated and episodic as their overlaps, perhaps, and also the status quo ante.

Coyote vs ACME instead has a hack lawyer uncle. If there's a moral to the story it's about not giving up, and the film carries that lesson in and around it. It's a delight, one that earns its place in a cultural canon. Just be quick about catching it, as in an era of streaming media you could miss your shot and find it out of reach.

Reviewed on: 11 Sep 2026