Coyote vs. ACME: Once Doomed to Warner Bros.' Forgotten Backrooms, the Movie Now Lives...So Please, Go See It!
Looney Tunes fans unite! Cancelled and buried by Warner's David Zaslav, this zany marvel of a film has been resurrected by Ketchup Entertainment. As the purveyors of great comedy and cinema, the least we can do is go see it, right? And bring the kids, the nephews, the co-workers, the guy on the bus...this movie needs to succeed! Let the Bunnies and Roadrunners run free again!
D
8/30/20263 min read
Coyote vs. ACME almost never was.
Sure, the movie was made. Completed. Slated for release. But at the last moment, David Zaslav, the current CEO and president at Warner Bros., chose to have the film permanently shelved. Canned. Tossed into the black archive of oblivion.
For him, it made sense—why release a film based on a dying franchise of cartoon characters most don’t even know anymore? He’d make more money—$30 million reportedly—using the movie as a tax write-off. The tradeoff was that it could never be released. But, since no one but the most ardent fans would bother seeing it anyway, why not just cut the company's losses and move on?
And, as much as I hate to say it, he might have been right. Though I love Looney Tunes...despite having grown up with Bugs and Daffy and the Roadrunner...despite the characters once being universally loved just a couple of decades ago…
...the new millennium has not been kind to the house that Jones, Avery, Clampett, McKimson, and Freleng built. The big why behind the toons' seeming demise is a matter best left for another time. But not every fading star is fated to vanish. Some make their comeback. Some return with a greater burn than ever before.
And this particular film—Coyote vs. ACME—deserves to been seen. Especially while it still shines in theaters.
…
Indeed, as of 8/30/2026, the movie has been officially released!
Ketchup Entertainment, seeing the film’s merits, rescued it from Zaslav for a hefty $50 million price tag, saving it from certain oblivion. The question is whether little Ketchup now faces oblivious itself; can it hope to break even with a property of such diminished cultural credibility?
Let's hope so. Because it’s good. Mixing live action and animation in a way little seen since the Roger Rabbit days, it’s a tour-de-force of cartoon antics with some real-world heart. Wile E. Coyote still seeks the Roadrunner. And still can’t quite capture him. So what does he do? He sues the gigantic ACME corporation, the maker of all the gadgets and traps the coyote depends on to (someday?) catch that dang bird.
I intend to do a more thorough review of the film in time. But, for now...support this movie before it disappears! Although centered on the Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner dynamic, all the faves from the classic cast also show up, from Bugs to Porky Pig. More than just a gag-fest, more than just a slapstick-fused romp, this film is a tribute to eighty years of Looney Tune antics and history.
And better still, it's a re-introduction to the classics--a testament that good comedy never dies, that great characters and clever jokes never go stale. Never lose their spice.
And moreover, it's a proof of concept to the next generation: the Looney Tunes are (forever) new again.--D
The movie begins with Wile E. Coyote still failing to nab that darn Roadrunner.
Once doomed to the Warner Bros.' vault of blotted existence, Ketchup Entertainment paid the big money for the film to break free. Now pay your thanks with a movie ticket...or ten!
Don't let this be the final Looney Tunes movie! Go see it, folks...and relish that looney sensibility, what wacky creativity!
Wile E. hires a lawyer to take down ACME. And then a piano drops on them...
The film is rife with famous toons, outrageous fan service, and expertly hidden Easter eggs. It begs for a rewatching or ten! Keep buying those movie tickets!
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