Movie Review: ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ September 2, 2026By Kurt Jensen OSV News Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews NEW YORK (OSV News) – As its title suggests, the comedy “Coyote vs. Acme” (Ketchup Entertainment), which blends live action with animation, concerns a legal case. Namely, a tort suit brought by Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote against the Acme Corporation alleging that the company has repeatedly sold him dangerously defective products. Adapted from Ian Frazier’s eponymous 1990 article in The New Yorker, the film’s premise raises the prospect of an entertaining satire on the excessive litigiousness of contemporary American society. Unfortunately, this one joke is not sufficient to sustain an entire feature so that the movie eventually runs out of steam, the plot loses focus and the overall effect is numbing. Committed fans of the classic Warner Bros. shorts — which were at their anarchic best in the less-than-politically-correct 1940s and 1950s — will probably find much to savor. In fact, an inside joke referencing them arrives about once a minute. And the proceedings are suitable for a wide range of age groups. As penned by Samy Burch and directed by Dave Green, however, the picture centers on extended courtroom sequences that are unlikely to hold the attention of young children. Whether kids will appreciate scenes showcasing the many slapstick mishaps — explosions, fast-falling anvils, canyon-deep tumbles and the like — that befall Coyote is more debatable. Detached from the six- to 10-minute plots in which they were originally presented, even beloved cartoon figures fail to maintain audience laughs. A case in point is the long, sober summation delivered by Southern-accented anthropomorphic rooster Foghorn Leghorn, here Acme’s CEO. It delves into the proper role of animated characters in the real world — and lands with a thud. On the other hand, it’s a genuine pleasure to see the return of the Portable Hole, one of the wonderfully surreal concepts from the original series. That, along with the caricature of Golden-Age Hollywood actor Peter Lorre in the guise of a lugubriously conflicted inventor — the reprise of a recurring trope in the franchise — constitute the film’s rare sparks of light. Coyote comically embodies the paradoxical attitude of post-World War II Americans toward the burgeoning technological innovations of their era and the rampant consumerism they helped to inspire. He’s forever fascinated by Acme’s seemingly endless variety of gadgets and perpetually gulled by the promise they hold out of gaining an advantage over his Road Runner prey. Yet, in the end, all the rocket-powered skates, winged flying suits and magnetic gloves inevitably let him down, leaving him flummoxed, frustrated and — more often than not — badly battered. Fed up with these results, Coyote enlists the aid of personal injury attorney Kevin Avery (Will Forte) whose practice, unbeknownst to his new client, is on the verge of collapse. Avery will do battle against Acme’s villainous lawyer, Buddy Crane (frantically mugging John Cena). Coyote proves an obsessive plaintiff who manages to undermine his own case at every turn. When the screenplay eventually tries to reap pathos from an unexpected development in his clash with the monolithic company things only deteriorate, with feeble comedy giving way to a failed attempt at poignancy. The film contains much cartoonish mayhem. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. Read More Movie & Television Reviews Movie Review: ‘The Dog Stars’ Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on the horizon Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on the horizon Movie Review: ‘Mutiny’ Movie Review: ‘Insidious: Out of the Further’ Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on the horizon Copyright © 2026 OSV News Print
