Earlier this week, it was reported Eric Bauza had passed away. He had voiced many Looney Tunes characters. He was only 46.
Still, it is a little refreshing to see his work in Coyote vs. Acme reach a mass audience before his untimely death. After the horrible Space Jam: A New Legacy, Warner Bros. was taking a gamble on Coyote vs. Acme especially considering the less than stellar reception for Looney Tunes: Back in Action in the early 2000s.
So when Dazid Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery shelved the movie in hopes of a tax write-off, it seemed like deja vu all over again after Batgirl and Scoob Holiday Haunt weren’t released and destroyed for the write-off. But many people were fed up with this shameless capitalist gesture. Yes, the movie studio owned the movie. But it seemed like a middle finger to the general moving-going public.
It seems everything had to be a huge blockbuster. The rest just went to streaming. And while every Dick and Jane has a TV set about five times the size our grandparents had, it still doesn’t beat the theater experience. So the public spent two years pushing for it. Videos were made online. Film columnists wrote stories blaming the studio. And even someone later identified as Marco Vaccaro dressed in a Wile E. Coyote costume protested outside the studio lot holding a sign reading “RELEASE ME!!”
Then it was announced in the summer of 2025, Ketchup Entertainment had acquired the distribution rights and the movie was released in late August. So far, it’s reportedly grossed $120 million at the box office. By today’s standards, it’s not a huge success but it has gotten rave reviews. The economy may be a factor why some people are waiting for DVD or streaming. But when they do see it, many Looney Tunes fans will love it.
It’s a live-action/animated hybrid set mostly in and around Albuquerque, N.M. (for more than one reason if you know), after another unsuccessful but very entertaining attempt to catch the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote returns to his home and the cave to regroup. And then he sees a TV ad for Kevin Avery (Will Forte), a lowkey lawyer who specializes in quick money settlements for toons hurt by Acme products.
Coyote piles up all his products and visits the law office. Fans might notice Avery is a nod to Tex Avery and his partners, Sal Maltese (Tone Bell) and Dottie Jones (Martha Kelly) are reference Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones who created the Coyote and Road Runner. Hesitant at first, Coyote manages to get the law firm to send all his Acme items to the company. Buddy Crane (John Cena) is Acme’s chief legal counsel and a former law school friend of Kevin’s.
Crane offers them $50,000 settlement but Coyote rejects it wanting to go to trial. Encouraged by his niece Paige (Lana Condor), an intern, they prepare for trial. But Kevin soon learns Coyote has different as he wants them to call the Road Runner.
Directed by Dave Green and produced by James Gunn, who helped conceive the story idea based on a New Yorker article written by Ian Frazier, the movie cleverly incorporates just about every character of the Looney Tunes past including Cool Cat. Even Pepe le Pew, who was cut from the Space Jam sequel, has a brief cameo which seems to be in response to that movie. Yet Speedy Gonzales is mentioned but not seen.
The characters pop up on screen when they need to and they’re not underused. A scene where Tweety is knocked on the head and sees little Sylvester the Cats swirling around his head is one of the many great gaga. In 2025, The Day the Earth Blew Up was released and I think some people were upset it was just Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Petunia . Daffy and Porky do appear by this is Coyote’s movie.
Just like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, there isn’t overkill of the animated characters nor having characters announce what the reference is like in Ready Player One. There’s no insult of people’s knowledge of the cartoons and their characters as the filmmakers along with writer Samy Burch know exactly real fans know who is who.
Along with Coyote’s legal action, there’s a bigger story behind why Acme (who has Foghorn Leghorn as its CEO) has been making shoddy products. There’s a prologue where Dr. Lorre is working for Acme and goes missing in 1992. I feel part of the reason Zaslav wanted to squash the movie with an anvil is because the movie has some criticism of capitalism and corporations. Roger Rabbit has allegories to the Communist Red Scare, antisemitism and racism in general. While some younger audiences might have missed that, older audiences got it.
As for the titular characer himself, the animators do a great job at making the character sympathetic as well as likeable. For the most part, he’s always been a loveable lug despite his carnivorous intentions. Like Tom from Tom & Jerry, he cares more about the chase. Of course there’s no explanation on why Coyote is able to purchase every item in the Acme catalog but can’t purchase any food. I think it’s just his instinct as a predator.
There’s a very touching moment between the Coyote and Road Runner during a Senate hearing (where Elmer Fudd is a Senator which is one of the better jokes). It makes you wonder if Road Runner misunderstood why he was being chased or did he just enjoy the sport of it.
As for the real-life actors, Forte and Condor perform great especially since they probably had to act along a green screen or a person in a green suit who can’t respond because Coyote can’t talk. Principal photography was back in 2022. Kelly delivers the same monotone deadpan delivery she did on Euphoria which is good on the casting’s part as her character on that show became popular.
The movie’s David vs. Goliath plot seems to mirror its own long journey through all the hurdles of corporate interference. Yet I have to wonder would’ve it had a better response had it been released in 2023. Coyote faced some huge competition from Spider-Man: Brand New Day which has grossed over $2.5 billion worldwide. But the surprise hits of Backrooms and Obsession (two movies I really didn’t care for) may just show that we’ve reached the point where big-budget movies aren’t always blockbusters and people want something else.
While the movie ends with The Clash’s “I Vote the Law” playing over the credits, I feel there’s some ironic meaning considering what happens in the movie’s climax, not to give much away.
What do you think? Please comment.
