Two years after Warner Bros. planned to consign it to oblivion for a tax write-off, Coyote vs Acme is finally coming to the big screen. And it's already proving to be a hit with critics.
At the time of writing, the live action-animation hybrid, which Ketchup Entertainment bought from Warner Bros to bring to the screen, has a 96% positive rating from 46 reviews on the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter calls it a "hilarious delight, one of the best live-action/animation films ever" and says it will be "treasured by Looney Tunes fans".
But the movie's critical success is about more than just nostalgia for classic characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. It's about the film's underdog status and accidental meta-commentary on corporate greed.
The germ of Coyote vs ACME was an article written by Ian Frazier for The New Yorker magazine in 1990. It was written in the style of a legal brief making the case for Wile E. Coyote in a lawsuit against the fictional Acme Corporation for repeatedly selling faulty products.
Directed by Dave Green, the movie was written by Samy Burch from a story by Burch, James Gunn and Jeremy Slater. It sees the long-suffering Wile E team up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (played by Will Forte) to take the profit-obsessed Acme conglomerate to court.
The Hollywood Reporter, has published a deep dive into the troubled history of Coyote vs Acme's journey to the cinema. It reports that Warner Bros spent $70 million on the movie, which it originally intended to release an HBO Max Original.
However, the studio decided to drop the movie in November 2023 so it could claim a tax write off to the tune of $30 million. It eventually sold the movie to Ketchup for $50 million, and now a film meant for streaming is coming to the big screen with more hype than it might have originally enjoyed.
Producer Chris DeFaria speaks of how the film's team acted quickly to "take control of the narrative" and prevent Warner's decision from being seen as a sign that Coyote vs Acme was a bad movie. That included a lengthy fan campaign and interventions at industry events.
Director Dave Green also reveals that the team had to fight to defend certain creative decisions against execs at Warner, including the inclusion of an animated Peter Lorre.
The effusive praise for Coyote vs. Acme in the reviews this week isn't just an endorsement of its slapstick comedy or the nostalgic charm of Looney Tunes characters. It’s also a lesson in how audiences value underdog stories, especially when they turn out to mirror real-world corporate power plays.
The movie’s resilience now amplifies its message about corporate greed. It's become a reflection of how we, as viewers, will still root for the little guy standing up against massive corporations, and a cheeky reminder that sometimes the best stories are the ones that the big studios try to bury.
Coyote Vs Acme will be released on 28 August.
