I vividly remember being a kid, watching Wile E. Coyote and rooting for him to just once, ONE time, catch the Road Runner. I loved him, that sad-eyed genius who never gave up trying to achieve his goal: catch the Road Runner at all costs.
It warmed my heart to see the Looney Tunes back on the big screen. The movie deals with the inventive plot of suing a giant corporation and art imitating real life, with Warner Bros. shelving the film for a tax write-off. All the more powerful for it. Kudos to the fans pushing to get this film released, and to Ketchup Entertainment for taking the chance on it.
The animation is the heartbeat of COYOTE VS. ACME. Wile E. doesn’t say a word and out-acts every human. When the cartoons run the show, the movie speeds past like rocket skates. The film is one of the best hand-drawn and live-action hybrids since WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, and the characters’ friendships sit at the center.
And then… the humans show up. They’re stiff and underwritten. When you have fun actors like John Cena and Will Forte, it’s a shame to see them so underdeveloped, reduced to a plot device that drives the story forward.
FINAL THOUGHT: If beep-beep means yes, and beep means no, then beep-beep for the ingenious story and animation, and a beep for the humans in COYOTE VS. ACME. That’s all, folks.
It’s available in theaters now.
