Coyote vs. Acme Review: A Fun, Shaky Movie Under Way Too Much Pressure

As great as it is that Coyote vs. Acme survived its cancellation attempt by WB, this movie wasn't built for the weight of expectation that created.

Coyote Vs. Acme has taken on a far greater importance than it was ever meant to have. The film from director Dave Green was shot in 2022 and originally dated for July 2023, until Warner Bros. eventually announced their intention to shelve the already-completed project and claim a tax write-off instead of releasing it. That kicked off a years-long saga of industry backlash, petitions, and failed bids, which, thanks to a surprise sale to Ketchup Entertainment in 2025, is finally coming to an end. Coyote vs. Acme has fully escaped limbo. The opportunity to see it at all, let alone in a proper theatrical release, is its own victory.

But this movie wasn't really built to sustain the weight of all those expectations. It is, ultimately, good – certainly undeserving of being deleted forever for the sake of a studio's bottom line. But it is shaky. For all the comedic moments that land, there are a few scenes that feel awkward or clumsy. What works emotionally is mostly the result of its savvy handling of its legacy characters, rather than anything accomplished by the narrative itself. Though it integrates live-action and animation well, both of those elements separately have moments where they disappoint.

In other words, Coyote vs. Acme is no Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Honestly, it's no Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers either. But it is an entertaining, often funny movie, powered by a clear-eyed understanding of what makes Wile E. Coyote's endless pursuit of the Road Runner so compelling. It also undeniably has an extra something to offer those who have followed its dramatic road to release, as a fictional David and Goliath story that actually managed to survive a real one of its own.

Coyote vs. Acme Is A Mixed Bag, But Wile E. Delivers More Than Just Laughs

The film begins with a brief flashback to the 1990s, when the cartoon Dr. Lorre (whose appearance is a sign to Looney Tunes fans that we're in good hands) has a crisis of conscience. He attempts to break out of the Acme research facility where he works, hoping to expose some secret, but is ultimately captured and disappeared by his employer. Thirty years later, Acme continues to thrive as one of the world's biggest corporations, with its logo slapped on just about everything throughout the film. One of their most frequent customers, Wile E. Coyote, is licking his wounds after suffering his latest in a decades-long string of product failures – when an ad for a personal injury law firm sparks a new idea.

Coyote walks into the Albuquerque offices of Avery, Jones & Maltese intending to sue Acme. Not just for the defective rocket skates that ruined his latest plan – for everything. The defeated and fearful Kevin Avery (Will Forte), who has spent years settling small personal injury claims for toons, has no desire to make waves, but Coyote sets things in motion anyway. Suddenly, this small firm has the unwanted attention of Buddy Crane (John Cena), Acme's chief counsel and Kevin's ex-classmate at Harvard, who has no intention of letting this suit dig up secrets that the company has kept buried for decades.

Forte and Cena are both strong fits for this material, and they do a good job of selling their exchanges with their respective toons. Their characters (and indeed all characters in Coyote vs. Acme) are a bit thin, but these two stars have the ability to play them as broad comedic types, and the film works best when the tone is in their hands. Outside of them, the performances are uneven; Lana Condor especially struggles with her role as Paige, Kevin's fast-talking, enthusiastic niece and recent law grad. The lack of cohesion hurts this movie more than most.

Coyote vs. Acme is tasked with building out a world in which real people believably coexist with cartoons. The effects are only part of that: What this collision would be like needs to be thought out on a script level, reflected in design, and contextualized by the performances. Who Framed Roger Rabbit remains the high-water mark because of how well it achieved this, cleverly filtering the human world through the rules and styles of Hollywood noir – but the worldbuilding is where Coyote vs. Acme is weakest. Though it establishes Acme's dominance, the film could've gone further with it, and the relationship that real people have with cartoons is never quite figured out. The narrative and its third-act revelations end up with far less bite than they should have as a result.

The toons themselves, though, are a strength. The filmmakers clearly understand the appeal of Looney Tunes, and while the various characters are deployed in fun ways, Wile E. Coyote is the true star. Any set piece that ends with him flattened or blown up is pretty much guaranteed to be funny, and as ridiculous as it sounds, Samy Burch's script manages to wring genuine pathos out of his plight. If anything, I wish the movie had leaned more into his relationship with the Road Runner. The impossibly fast bird is a delight whenever he appears, but is used too sparingly, in favor of the Acme investigation storyline that doesn't hold nearly the same appeal.

When Coyote vs. Acme finished, my overwhelming feeling was that I was glad to have seen it. Given the context of its release, I think many who give it a chance in theaters will feel the same way. Once the glow of that narrative fades, however, I don't know what power this viewing experience will still hold. It's unfair that this movie must live up to years of anticipation that it wasn't made to satisfy – but it's entirely possible that this unexpected spot in the history books was its only chance at leaving a truly lasting impression.

Coyote vs. Acme releases in theaters nationwide on Friday, August 28.