Coyote vs. Acme
Rating: 4/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
It's honestly a miracle we even got to see the hilarious comedy film known as Coyote vs. Acme, and for that, this movie hopefully should prove to film studios that fans will go see a project if you release it. This movie was almost shelved and never saw the light of day, but thank to countless petitions, rallies, and a ton of fan support, this movie was allowed to be released in theaters, thanks to Ketchup Entertainment. Not only is this movie incredibly fun and will make you chuckle your whole way through it, but it is also incredibly heartfelt and is such an important piece of cinema that we, as a collective community, need to go support.
The film follows the iconic Wile E. Coyote as he makes the decision to sue the Acme Corporation for all of the failed products he has used to try and catch the Roadrunner for all of these years. When he learns about attorney Kevin Avery (Will Forte), who is known for settling his Acme cases with toons to get his clients a little bit of money, Wile E. thinks this is the perfect way to make a profit out of his suffering. But, when Acme starts to pull out all of the stops with their defense lawyer Buddy Crane to try and cover up their dark secrets, it may be the end of Avery's career and Wile E.'s chances at ever catching the Roadrunner once and for all.
Growing up, I was never too big about Looney Tunes. I would watch it, but it never caught my eye like Disney did. However, with this movie, not only did the history behind this film stand out to me, but there was something here that just seemed right up my alley, and the movie delivered on the aspects I wanted it to. This movie easily has made me a bigger fan of Looney Tunes, especially of Wile E. and Roadrunner. Therefore, whether you're a huge fan of this classic cartoon or not as well-versed in their films and cartoons like I am, this movie simply has something for everyone.
The film is genuinely hilarious. This movie relies a lot on physical comedy, a la Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Sure, it's funny to watch this poor cartoon coyote hurt himself over and over again, but the filmmakers are able to craft these very expressive facial expressions and character-based humor that makes this film so much funnier. At the same time, I think the blend between live-action and animation is wonderful here, and works very well as well in terms of comedy and comedic timing. This movie is practically a modern, Looney Tunes-version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which is another brilliant film. I also want to applaud Forte's impeccable comedic timing, and his character of Avery and Wile. E easily steal the show in every scene they are in together.
At the same time, I feel like many comedy movies do good at bringing in comedic elements but feel incredibly shallow and lack the heart that went into this picture. With this film, you can easily tell how much this movie meant to everyone involved. Every single actor, filmmaker, and behind-the-scenes crew member give it their all to bring this movie to life. This is translated in the wonderfully-written story which I think does an amazing job of giving these characters this beautiful breath of life and allow us to see a more emotional side to the Looney Tunes.
The supporting cast here is also great. John Cena is simply hilarious in these roles, and while the characters he play may be very similar to one another, I always enjoy what Cena is able to bring to the screen. I also want to applaud Lana Condor and P.J. Byrne in this movie as I truly enjoyed their characters so much from beginning to end. I think the entire cast here all does a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life, and I especially want to commend Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Jim Cummings for bringing these iconic cartoon characters to life, and they all do a brilliant job.
There is only one major problem I truly have with this movie and that is the pacing at times. There are moments throughout this movie where the pacing just sort of feels all over the place and moments that drag and take a while to set up. While I do think the plot elements work incredibly well here, it does take the movie a little while to set them up or figure out how to transition from one idea to the next. This film could use more work in tightening the story and allowing to it flow a lot better than it does here at times. In addition to that, I think there are moments that are glossed over too quickly and could have used more time to build upon the moment in terms of the plot.
Even though I did have that slight problem with the movie, I had so much fun with everything this film did. I was constantly laughing from the hijinks and misadventures our characters find themselves in, and this movie easily made me a bigger fan of Looney Tunes. Not only does this movie deserve to be supported in theaters and show major studios that we want these type of movies, but I think this film will be a big hit with fans of Looney Tunes, and even for those that don't know too much about these iconic characters. Please, go see this one. You will not be disappointed.
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