After decades of failed rockets, faulty contraptions and ACME products spectacularly backfiring in his pursuit of the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius, hatches what might just be his greatest plan yet: sue ACME.
It is such a wonderfully ridiculous premise for a Looney Tunes movie, but also one that makes perfect sense. Anyone who grew up watching Wile E. Coyote knows just how frequently his ACME purchases failed spectacularly, often leaving the poor coyote crushed, flattened, blown up or falling from a cliff. So, after all these years, why wouldn’t he seek legal advice?
Coyote vs. ACME had been one of my most anticipated films ever since I first heard about it, particularly because there was a time when it seemed we might never actually get to see it. The film had already been completed when the controversial decision to shelve it was made in 2023. Thankfully, Ketchup Entertainment later acquired the film, giving Wile E. Coyote his day in court and audiences the opportunity to see the movie for themselves.
For me, though, the excitement surrounding Coyote vs. ACME was deeply personal.
Looney Tunes was a huge part of my childhood. When I was a toddler, my parents quickly discovered that one of the easiest ways to keep me entertained and out of mischief was to sit me in front of the television and put on Looney Tunes. From that point on, I was hooked. My siblings and I grew up watching Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and countless other characters, while our love for the franchise extended into spin-offs like Tiny Toon Adventures and video games such as Looney Tunes Racing.
There is even old home-video footage of two-year-old me recreating Bugs Bunny’s barbering antics from Rabbit of Seville on my aunts. These cartoons were never simply something I watched growing up. They became part of the memories I shared with my family, many of which still make me smile today.
So, when I had the opportunity to watch Coyote vs. ACME, I hoped it could capture even a little of that childhood magic.
Thankfully, it did.
The Ultimate Looney Tunes Underdog Story
At its heart, Coyote vs. ACME is a classic David versus Goliath story told in perhaps the most Looney Tunes way imaginable.
After years of buying ACME products, using them for their intended purpose and experiencing increasingly catastrophic results, Wile E. Coyote decides enough is enough. He turns to struggling lawyer Kevin Avery, played by Will Forte, to take on the corporate giant and its formidable legal team.
As absurd as that premise sounds, there is something surprisingly relatable underneath it. Most of us know what it feels like to buy a product that doesn’t work as advertised or to deal with a large company while feeling like one insignificant customer against an enormous corporate machine. Coyote vs. ACME takes that familiar frustration and filters it through cartoon logic, giving a character we have watched lose for decades an opportunity to fight back.
As someone who was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in another life, the legal premise added an extra layer of entertainment for me. There is something inherently funny about looking back at decades of ACME-related disasters and realising that perhaps Wile E. Coyote should have stopped chasing the Road Runner for five minutes and spoken to a lawyer instead.
The courtroom story is never intended to be a serious legal drama, nor should it be. However, the conflict gives the film enough emotional grounding to make its story compelling beyond the novelty of simply watching Looney Tunes characters interact with humans.
A Live-Action Looney Tunes World That Feels Completely Natural
One of the strongest aspects of Coyote vs. ACME is how effortlessly its animated characters exist alongside its live-action cast.
Films that combine animation and live action can sometimes struggle to make both elements feel genuinely connected, but here, the idea that cartoons simply coexist with human beings is immediately believable. Nobody needs to stop and explain why Wile E. Coyote is walking into a lawyer’s office because, within this universe, that is completely normal.
It reminded me of what I have always loved about films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam and Looney Tunes Back In Action. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, in particular, remains one of my favourite films of all time because it created such a convincing shared reality for its animated and human characters, despite how inherently strange the concept should have been.
Coyote vs. ACME captures some of that same magic.
Visually, the Looney Tunes characters retain the expressive 2D style, exaggerated movements and impossible cartoon physics that make them so distinctive, while still appearing to belong within the physical environments around them. The result is colourful, energetic and wonderfully imaginative without sacrificing the visual identity of the cartoons themselves.
It is a familiar world made just looney enough to make you wish you could step inside it.
A Celebration Of Looney Tunes Nostalgia
Where Coyote vs. ACME really connected with me was in how much affection it clearly has for Looney Tunes.
The film is filled with familiar characters, musical cues, visual comedy and references that longtime fans will recognise, but these moments rarely feel included simply so audiences can point at the screen and identify something from the past. Instead, they tap into the humour and personality that made these cartoons so memorable in the first place.
Even smaller appearances from characters I hadn’t thought about in years, such as Witch Hazel, were enough to make me grin, while familiar voices, expressions and running gags feel lovingly pulled from the cartoons themselves.
The soundtrack also taps beautifully into Looney Tunes’ long relationship with classical music. For many of us, these cartoons were our first introduction to pieces we wouldn’t properly discover until years later. Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville, for example, is forever associated in my mind with Bugs Bunny. Hearing those familiar melodies again was a lovely reminder of just how deeply Looney Tunes has embedded itself into my childhood memories, often in ways I hadn’t even realised.
Importantly, that affection for the franchise never makes the film feel inaccessible to those without decades of Looney Tunes knowledge. The characters, comedy and story are easy enough to enjoy on their own, while longtime fans get the added pleasure of recognising the details woven throughout.
John Cena Embraces The Cartoon Chaos
The live-action cast understands exactly what kind of movie they are in, and John Cena is particularly entertaining.
Of all the wrestlers who have transitioned into acting, Cena continues to impress me with his ability to commit wholeheartedly to comedy. He has a natural willingness to embrace ridiculous situations without making it feel as though he is trying too hard to be funny, which makes him perfectly suited to a world as heightened as Looney Tunes.
His deliberately larger-than-life performance works particularly well against the animated chaos surrounding him. Will Forte, meanwhile, brings an endearing quality to Kevin Avery that gives the human side of the story some much-needed warmth.
The comedy itself captures much of the physical humour and absurdity associated with Looney Tunes. Not every joke resulted in a huge laugh for me, but there was such an infectious sense of fun throughout the movie that I found myself smiling far more often than not.
The pacing can occasionally feel uneven as the film balances its human characters, courtroom story and extended Looney Tunes gags, while the overall narrative is fairly predictable. There isn’t a major shock or unexpected twist waiting around every corner, but I also don’t think there needs to be.
The strength of Coyote vs. ACME isn’t in surprising audiences with an overly complicated story. It is in allowing these characters to remain unmistakably themselves while giving Wile E. Coyote a surprisingly heartfelt story of his own.
Coyote vs. ACME Review: Final Verdict
Coyote vs. ACME may not be a perfect film, and its particular style of humour and storytelling may not appeal to everyone, but I am incredibly glad this movie made its way to audiences.
More than anything, it feels like the perfect multigenerational family movie. There are people who grew up with Looney Tunes decades ago, their children who discovered the same cartoons in the years that followed, and now a new generation who can experience these wonderfully chaotic characters for themselves.
There is plenty of fun and silliness, but there is also genuine heart beneath it all, with themes of friendship, perseverance, embracing who you are and standing up for yourself when the odds feel overwhelmingly stacked against you. There is also a surprisingly touching reminder that even when you feel alone or overlooked, there may be someone out there who cares about you more than you realise.
What I appreciated most is that Coyote vs. ACME understands what has made Looney Tunes endure for generations. It celebrates the absurdity and humour of these characters without trying to reinvent them for a modern audience, while still creating something welcoming enough for those discovering them for the first time.
For someone who has carried such a deep affection for Looney Tunes since childhood, seeing that spirit preserved so lovingly on the big screen felt genuinely special. After everything it took for this film to reach audiences, I’m simply glad Wile E. Coyote got his day in court, and that we finally got the chance to see it.