The path that Coyote vs. Acme has taken to get to the theaters has been one that could be turned into its own movie. There’s no reason why this film should have been shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery. Well, there was a reason apparently: a tax write-off. Enter Ketchup Entertainment, stepping up to save the day. They saved the film from languishing in a vault somewhere and brought it to the big screen over the weekend of August 28th, 2026. In the lead-up, the movie picked up some pretty strong reviews from critics. Audiences seemed to respond to it positively too over the opening weekend. But now that it’s heading through the weekdays to its second weekend, does it remain something you should go see?
Yeah, it Lives up to the Hype
To cut right to the quick of it, yes, go see Coyote vs. Acme. This is the type of film that we need to see more of coming out of big production companies. I don’t mean hybrid animation/live-action. I mean singular stories told with heart and made with passion. It’s the same feeling I got when I saw the amazing and criminally underwatched The Sheep Detectives. But while that film had an underlying theme of grief and mortality, Coyote vs. Acme is a meditation on failure.
If you don’t know the premise by now, Wile E. Coyote is still pursuing his nemesis, the Road Runner. Still not having caught him despite all his efforts and use of Acme products, Coyote sees a TV ad. It’s a lawyer, played by Will Forte, offering the opportunity to sue. Coyote leaps at the opportunity and gets his Forte’s character, Kevin Avery, to take him as a client. As it turns out, Acme, being a massive corporation, is armed with lawyers and money. Their primary lawyer, Buddy Crane, is played by John Cena. And that’s basically all you need to know.
Everyone’s Hitting Their Notes
Everything else plays out in a way that you would expect from the actors but not necessarily expect from the plot. If you know Forte’s previous work, then you have a good idea of what to expect from the guy. He delivers strongly on every comedic beat and emotional moment. Cena does the same in his villainous role, and somebody really needs to talk up Cena more as an actor. This guy has all the charisma of a larger-than-life wrestler but without the ego. Cena has no problem playing a side role and knows how to ham something up in wonderful fashion.
The supporting cast is all strong too, Lana Condor and Martha Kelly particularly as Avery’s colleagues. But it’s the animated support cast that is the main focus. Coyote sticks to his silent gimmick and communicates through held-up signs and body language. Other Looney Tunes characters are there too, but revealing who pops up and in what capacity is part of the fun. I’m not going to ruin that by telling you anything more about the story than I already have.
There’s a Lesson Here
You’ve got slapstick humor, witty dialogue, an engaging premise, fun performances, and a heartfelt story that is more genuine than it needed to be. Throughout the runtime and the drive home, I kept thinking to myself, “Why aren’t there more movies like this?” Coyote vs. Acme is so intensely charming and wonderful. We can’t even say that they don’t make movies like this anymore, because they did. They DID make a movie like this, and Warner Bros. Discovery was happy to dispose of it. If you wonder why people are resisting the acquisition of WB by Paramount Skydance, this is one of those reasons. When one corporation owns too much, they get to run rampant over everything. Just like Acme over Coyote. That’s all folks.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
