Dina Reviews: Coyote VS Acme

Some time ago, I wrote a few words about Wile E Coyote and why I thought that catching the Roadrunner wouldn’t be a happy ending for him because his entire identity was so tied in with the chase that the goal could never be fulfilling. And it seems to me that the people behind Coyote VS Acme agrees with my statement, because really the entire movie is a giant testiment to the Coyote’s obsession and the happiness he finds in the futility of the chase.

Spoiler: He doesn’t catch the Roadrunner in the end, and his happy ending is to return to the chase-

And now that I’ve ruined an ending that anyone would have been able to see coming (seriously, did anyone think this movie was going to end with the death of the Roadrunner?), let’s talk about the movie itself. Because Coyote VS Acme, along with the earlier Daffy Duck and Porky Pig movie The Day the Earth Blew Up, has become like a symbol of the Looney Tunes and their status at Warner. Because both these movies were written, animated and produced, and then just shelved indefinitely as tax write-offs. And both movies were saved and released to the public when Ketchup Entertainment bought the distribution rights, and both movies have been critically acclaimed and are generally agreed to be the best Looney Tunes movies ever made; far better than either Space Jam movies or Back in Action.

Okay, they don’t beat Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but that wasn’t a Looney Tunes movie, it was a Disney movie with Looney Tunes cameos. 

Coyote VS Acme in particular, who’s been a bit of a commercial success as we as a critical one, has gained a bit of a reputation as a symbol of the triumph of the Looney Tunes and the medium of animation in general over corporations like Warner, who just kind of seem to be ashamed of being involved with both animation in general and Looney Tunes in particular. But of course, everyone else has already written tons of articles about this, and of course about how the plot of the movie with the Coyote going up against an evil corporation who’s indifferent to him at best and despises him at worst oddly mirrors the real-life situiation… so I won’t be focusing on that here. Instead I’m going to ask the obvious question: Is Coyote VS Acme a good movie?

Yes! Yes, it is! It’s EASILY the best live-action/cartoon hybrid movie to come out since the turn of the millennium. No, of course it’s not as good as Roger Rabbit. The animation isn’t anywhere near as good (though I will say that the cel-shaded rigs look about ten times better here than they did in the Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers movie; the Coyote especially looks incredible) and you simply CAN’T beat Bob Hoskins when it comes to belivable interaction with cartoon characters (though both Will Forte and John Cena do an admirable job here!)… but it does so many of the same things RIGHT. It has an interesting story, with interesting characters, and humour that works on several levels. The Coyote is used incredibly well as the protagonist of the movie; the fact that he doesn’t speak isn’t a hinder at all, and his interplay with his lawyer Kevin Avery (and Kevin’s intern niece Paige) is brilliant as their quest to sue Acme for selling dangerous product spirals into a dangerous hunt for clues in a sinister mystery and conspiracy.

The movie has tons of other Looney Tunes characters in bigger or smaller roles, but they’re used really well (especially Foghorn Leghorn, in a rare out-and-out bad guy role) and don’t take too much attention away from the Coyote. And here’s what I really like: The movie acknowledges from the get-go that, while he often invokes our sympathy and it’s often easy to cheer for him and admire his sheer dedication, Wile E Coyote is NOT A GOOD GUY. His motivation is, and remains, to kill and eat another sentient being. But he remains sympathetic because… well, first of all, he spends most of the movie as the put-down-upon underdog who is up against a powerful and evil corporation. And second of all, when it comes down to it he does have redeeming qualities and can be moved to acts of kindness.

And even if he doesn’t catch the Roadrunner, and in many ways doesn’t actually reach any of the goals he sets himself in the movie, he does manage to score a few victories in other ways. And as such, the movie becomes a bit of an upliting tale about how, even if the ultimate victory may elude you, other victories may come… and they may be even more important victories.

I can think of worse messages.