Coyote vs. Acme (2026)
Directed by: Dave Green
Premise: A spinoff of the Looney Tunes cartoons. After years of failed attempts to catch the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote hires a lawyer (Will Forte) to sue the Acme Corporation for their faulty products.
What Works: If there was ever a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, it would probably be a lot like Coyote vs. Acme. Just like the 1988 film, Coyote vs. Acme imagines a world inhabited by both flesh and blood people and cartoon characters and the story revolves around a legal dispute between those two worlds. The film plays into the long history Road Runner cartoons in which Wile E. Coyote would set elaborate traps using Acme products that inevitably and literally blow up in his face. After decades of failure, the coyote takes Acme to court. The resulting film is a near perfect mashup of cartoon action and a courtroom drama. Coyote vs. Acme has the goofy physical comedy of the cartoons and every joke works. The filmmakers clearly have affection for the Looney Tunes cartoons and they incorporate the classic setups. But the legal story also follows a familiar narrative pattern with an ambulance chaser rediscovering his passion for the law. The movie is surprisingly poignant. The friendship between Wile E. Coyote and the lawyer played by Will Forte is quite effective. What’s also surprising and even fascinating about Coyote vs. Acme is its politics. Whether it’s intentional or not (and this film is thoughtful enough that it seems deliberate), Coyote vs. Acme is a political movie. Like Erin Brockovich and Dark Waters, this film is about the way corporations disregard safety for profit. The filmmakers aren’t preachy about it but the theme is there and Wile E. Coyote’s unending pursuit of the Road Runner becomes a metaphor for the pursuit of justice.
What Doesn’t: Coyote vs. Acme wobbles in the final trial sequence. Part of the problem is the arguments. The plaintiffs have discovered that Acme knowingly sold dangerous products to customers but the final showdown never really makes that case. The filmmakers may have wanted to avoid turning this Looney Tunes movie into a legal exegesis on corporate liability and civil responsibility but the scene gives the impression that the filmmakers lost their nerve. The final trial also inexplicably takes place in front of a congressional committee. This movie may star a cartoon coyote but we can still expect it to make internal sense. The final trial abandons the otherwise coherent logic that runs through the movie.
Bottom Line: Coyote vs. Acme is a terrific mix of classic cartoon comedy and a relevant legal story. The cartoon and live action elements are perfectly blended in a piece of entertainment that is funny but also has something to say.
Episode: #1117 (September 20, 2026)