Few films arrive with a production history quite as chaotic as <i>Coyote vs. Acme</i>. Originally planned for release years earlier, the completed film was shelved by Warner Bros. before eventually being acquired by Ketchup Entertainment. It is now heading to US cinemas on 28 August 2026.

Against that turbulent background, the biggest surprise is how light the finished movie feels. Rather than carrying the weight of its troubled journey, it embraces the ridiculous energy of classic Looney Tunes and turns it into a lively live-action and animation hybrid.

A Lawsuit Only Wile E. Could File

For decades, Wile E. Coyote has relied on ACME products in his endless attempts to catch the Road Runner. Rockets, magnets and other improbable devices have one thing in common: they almost always turn against him. This time, Coyote decides he has had enough and takes ACME to court over its defective products.

His lawyer is Kevin Avery, played by Will Forte, a struggling attorney whose instinct is usually to avoid unnecessary effort. Coyote, meanwhile, is incapable of giving up. That contrast creates the central comic partnership. John Cena plays Buddy Crane, the polished lawyer representing ACME, while Lana Condor appears as Kevin’s niece Paige.

Cartoon Logic Meets the Real World

Director Dave Green treats the presence of animated characters among humans as completely normal.

That decision is crucial. Nobody spends time explaining why a cartoon coyote can hire a lawyer or appear in court. The human world simply operates according to almost the same ridiculous logic as the cartoons.

The obvious comparison is <i>Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</i>, another film built around a world where animated and human characters coexist. Here, however, the tone stays much closer to the rapid slapstick rhythms of a traditional Looney Tunes short.

Explosions, disastrous inventions and exaggerated physical comedy arrive constantly, but the film rarely feels like it is simply copying old cartoons.

Will Forte Finds the Right Balance

Forte wisely keeps Kevin relatively restrained. That allows Wile E. Coyote to remain the silent, obsessive source of chaos while Kevin reacts to the increasingly absurd situations around him.

Their relationship gradually develops into a mismatched-buddy comedy. One character refuses to surrender under any circumstances; the other would rather stop the moment something becomes inconvenient. It is a simple dynamic, but it gives the story enough emotional structure to carry the courtroom jokes and elaborate visual gags.

A Film Made for Looney Tunes Fans

The movie is packed with references to the wider Looney Tunes universe.

Familiar characters appear throughout, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn and others, alongside much more obscure callbacks aimed at longtime fans.

Some references may pass completely unnoticed by viewers who do not know the older cartoons, but they rarely interrupt the story. More importantly, the film understands the rhythm of Looney Tunes humour: jokes arrive quickly, disasters escalate without warning and no situation stays sensible for very long.

Not Every Joke Lands

The final stretch becomes slightly more conventional than the opening suggests. As the plot expands beyond the original lawsuit, the storytelling occasionally becomes busier than necessary, and some of the corporate satire follows familiar territory.

Still, the film moves quickly enough that these weaknesses rarely become serious problems. Its greatest strength is enthusiasm. The filmmakers clearly enjoy this world rather than treating the characters as nostalgic brands that simply need to be placed back on screen.

Worth the Long Wait

<i>Coyote vs. Acme</i> works because it never tries to make Wile E. Coyote respectable or realistic.

He remains obsessive, indestructible and spectacularly unlucky — except that this time his determination finally gives him something worth fighting for.