Adventure
Comedy
Review: ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ is a Nostalgic Crowd-Pleaser that Also Happens to Be One of the Most Laugh-Out-Loud Movies of the Year
August 21, 2026Ben MK
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Long before The Simpsons came up with Itchy and Scratchy, there was shows like Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes. And if the multi-generational appeal of over-the-top cartoon violence has taught us anything, it's that audiences love a good animated rivalry. Whether it's a rabbit versus a hunter, a bird versus a cat, or a coyote versus a roadrunner, there's just something about the never-ending battle of wits between a predator and his prey that proves irresistible, especially when both sides are willing to use every tool in their arsenal to best their opponent. But what if all those tools were made by the same company? What if there was a common enemy that was ultimately responsible for all the cartoon chaos? Wile E. Coyote has spent decades chasing his arch nemesis, the Road Runner, through the long and winding roads of the New Mexico desert. However, despite setting hundreds of elaborate traps and trying everything from ACME catapults to ACME TNT, it seems that his meticulously plotted plan always backfires. His latest attempt at catching his fast-moving foe involves a pair of ACME's rocket-powered skates, a plate full of bird seed and metal ball bearings, and a magnetic ACME glove. But when his scheme goes horribly awry once again and he's left to stumble back to his cave all charred, bloodied and bruised, Wile E. can do nothing but go back to the drawing board. It's then that a commercial for Albuquerque cartoon accident attorneys Avery, Jones, Maltese and Avery pops up on his television, promising moderate financial compensation for injuries such as his. So, with nothing left to lose, Wile E. packs up his belongings at makes the long trek into the city, to meet with the firm's lead attorney, Kevin Avery (Will Forte), face to face. A man who's been in the cartoon accident game for years, Kevin is no stranger to filing minor claims against the ACME Corporation. What Wile E. has in mind, though, is more than just your run-of-the-mill lawsuit, but rather one of the biggest Albuquerque has ever seen. After being tricked by Wile E. to sue ACME for a whopping $38 million in damages, Kevin finds himself at the center of a media firestorm, inadvertently accusing the mega corporation — which has, in the last three decades, grown from a modest cartoon-anvil-making factory to a human-focused company that produces everything from cell phones to cars — of deliberately manufacturing faulty cartoon products. What Kevin never expected, however, was for the case to land on the desk of one of his most intimidating classmates from law school, Buddy Crane (John Cena), who now happens to be ACME's chief legal counsel. Answering to the company's chest-puffing CEO himself, Foghorn Leghorn, Buddy has a multitude of reasons to try and prevent Kevin's lawsuit from ever seeing the light of a courtroom — not the least of which is to keep the details of ACME's long-running, top-secret program, Project Sisyphus, from ever being revealed. But can Buddy and his goons stop Kevin and his go-getter niece, Oxford Law School graduate Paige Avery (Lana Condor), from digging into the company's sordid product development history? And even with the help of a certain carrot-munching rabbit, will Kevin and Paige be able to follow the clues that could lead them to one of the biggest bombshells in corporate history? Infamously written off for tax purposes by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2023 before finally being rescued for distribution by Ketchup Entertainment in 2025, the result is a film that has spent the better part of the last three years stuck in limbo. Thankfully, Coyote vs. Acme was well worth the wait, as what director Dave Green and screenwriter Samy Burch have delivered here is hands down one of the best live-action/animation hybrids to ever grace the big screen. From its ingenious premise, inspired by Ian Frazier's 1990 piece in The New Yorker, to the cast's brilliant comedic chemistry, not to mention the wall-to-wall sight gags and cartoon cameos, this is an adventure that has plenty to offer fans of such genre classics as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam. Most importantly, this is a comedy that stays true to the Looney Tunes brand, paying perfect homage to the work of Chuck Jones and Tex Avery, while also bringing their characters into the 21st century. It all adds up to one of the most laugh-out-loud movies of the year. For while it may be but the latest in a long line of big-budget Hollywood productions to attempt to merge fan-favorite cartoon characters with a live-action setting, Coyote vs. Acme certainly has its heart in the right place, serving up a crowd-pleasing balance of nostalgic fan service, side-splitting humor, and genuinely engaging storytelling. Make no mistake, the cinema-going jury won't have to deliberate too long on this one. After all, it's not very often that a film of this caliber comes along — one that's forced to challenge the studio system, actually coming out on top. Coyote vs. Acme releases August 28th, 2026 from VVS Films. The film has an MPAA rating of PG for cartoon violence and some language. Its runtime is 1 hr. 41 min. |
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