Coyote vs Acme - A Modest Review

Wile E. Coyote.  Super-genius.  Or so he thinks.

Boom.

And then boom.

And then a catapult with a boulder that smashes.  That TNT that didn’t work before?  Boom.

When things go wrong so frequently and predictably, there must be a flaw.  Someone must have done something wrong.  The only correct response?

Boom.

No.  Get a lawyer!

This is the central conceit of Coyote vs. Acme.  Our hero…????…goes off to the big city of Albuquerque…again…????…to hire a lawyer to sue Acme for the serial harm he has endured.  His sooper sekrit and blueprinted plan suggests an ulterior motive.

Hijinks ensue as we learn that corporate greed fostered an illicit program of using cartoon characters as unwilling product development subjects subject to all the classics; fold, spindle, perforate, and the ever classic “boom”.  John Cena threatens Tweety by saying “I don’t pay you to tawt you taw.  I pay you to taw!”(1)  A sue-and-settle law firm learns the lesson of not giving up.  A corporate bigwig is prepared for a fricassee.  And the Coyote finds a friend…that he continues to chase.

Coyote vs. Acme does an outstanding job of playing all of the hits.  Pun intended.  The first ten minutes took me back 50 years to Saturday mornings in the basement with my little brother, our dog, and a box of Milk Bones.  We shared the Milk Bones.  I grew out of it.  My brother never did. 

Back when the cartoons had gratuitous violence that left little kids in stitches with laughter.  When you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Coyote until it did…again, and again, and again.

Coyote vs. Acme is the best animated-and-live-action movie since Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  The writing is tight.  The actors are great (mostly).  The cartoon characters are back in their 1940s-1960s form.

This is a movie made for kids of a certain age.  Old kids.  Very, very old kids.

The dozen or so patrons at my matinee showing were rolling with laughter.  But that highlights the problem.  Most modern little kids won’t have the cartoon vocabulary to appreciate the jokes because modern cartoons not only grind off the serial numbers, they grind off the sharp edges.  This is a great movie for those that remember the originals.  Their children (and perhaps grandchildren) who have been suitably educated about the history of animation in America will have a good time as well.

Only time will tell if Coyote vs. Acme will make a net profit in the bank.  In terms of laughter it is a solid gold success.

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Thanks to Mike Glyer over at File770 for running this piece.  As always, I appreciate his consideration.

(1)  The quote above isn't quite accurate.  You can see the full preview here.  The accurate quotation follows.

"I tawt I taw..."

"You tawt you taw? I don't pay you to tink you taw, I pay you to taw!"

"I did!  I did taw!"

"What did you tee?  What did you taw?"

Classic.  Go see the movie.