Movie Review: ‘Coyote vs ACME’

Director: Dave Green

Cast: Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, PJ Byrne, Eric Buaza

Plot: After decades of injury and humiliation, Wile E. Coyote puts his pursuit of the Road Runner on hold to seek legal damages against ACME, the company whose products have failed him time and time again.

Review: Let’s put this up top: Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of my all-time favourite movies. Top five for sure. It’s an incredible blend of live action and animation at a time when CGI wasn’t used as a crutch… or even a replacement… and features layered characters and a complex plot that never loses sight of its heart. I have never enjoyed any other hybrid animation/live-action movie on the same level. Most of them are janky-looking fluff. Space Jam, Back in Action, Cool World, the cringe Rescue Rangers requel that everyone immediately stopped talking about… it’s just not good.

On top of that, the day I was set to watch Coyote vs. ACME, I received in the post a copy of Richard Williams’ book The Animator’s Survival Kit. This seminal work breaks down his process, including his work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and it gives you a clear sense of the patience and dedication needed to make animation work.

And then I watched Coyote vs. ACME. And then, because I was lucky enough to receive a screener, I went back and rewatched all my favourite scenes again. The “why is the target looking at us, sir” moment cracks me up like you wouldn’t believe.

So we haven’t got this in Australia yet, so sorry for being late to the party. Locally speaking, I’m ahead of the game. The drama behind this movie, cleverly incorporated into the marketing, has been exhaustively covered across the internet. It would seem that Warner were set to scrap the film as a tax write-off, demonstrating a tremendous lack of misguided thinking on their behalf. It’s a fun, well-written, delightfully animated story that combines the traditional comedy and tone of the classic Looney Tunes shorts with an acknowledgement that modern audiences have more sophisticated sensibilities in their storytelling.

In a world similar to that of Roger Rabbit, cartoon characters exist alongside humans in the real world, whilst maintaining their animated physics and death-defying logic. Wile E. Coyote is doing what he always does — trying to catch Road Runner. From the outset, the filmmakers show a respect for their inspiration by adhering to Chuck Jones’ set of rules for their stories and throwing in some modern technologies. It’s immediately fun and familiar. From this set-up comes the main conflict, that being Wile hiring sadsack Kevin Avery (Forte) as his lawyer to take on ACME and their vicious head lawyer, Buddy Crane (Cena).

Avery (we see what you did there) is an ambulance chaser who specialises in rubber-stamped small claims against the company as a matter of course, but the scale of the Coyote’s case forces him into the spotlight. Soon, Avery and niece/intern Paige (Condor) are unravelling a grander conspiracy about a company’s disregard for safety in the face of its market control and profit. It doesn’t get so complex that younger viewers will get lost, and the courtroom drama is paced out with Looney Tunes hijinks to keep it engaging.

Audiences already well versed in the Coyote vs. Road Runner routine may be surprised at how much sympathy they feel for ol’ Wile in this tale. He’s very much an underdog, beaten up by the system over and over again until he takes his chance to stand up to the bullies. In a scene that has already circulated on social media, it’s ultimately the Road Runner who’s needed to testify on behalf of his eternal rival. Daffy, Bugs and the other fan favourites get their moments, playing to their character strengths without feeling like they’re taking over the story.

On top of the laughs and slick script, we have great animation. Yes, it’s computer-rendered rather than traditional, but it’s done so well that we can’t get snobby about it. There must have been plenty of people with a hand-drawn background on hand to ensure that it reflects the style and appearance we’re highly familiar with. The classic characters are treated with an understanding of how the humour worked when they were at their peak.

Now, I can’t say that Roger Rabbit is the only hybrid live-action animation movie worth watching.

Rating: EIGHT out of TEN