Coyote vs. Acme Review: A Looney Tunes Love Letter That Actually Works
While not without flaws, Coyote vs. Acme is a fundamentally good movie. It is consistently entertaining, uplifting, and looney, and it reminds us to keep chasing our own roadrunners (though we might want to look elsewhere for our rocket skates).
Coyote vs. Acme (2026) brings to the table the childlike wonder that made the original cartoons so integral to so many childhoods. There are times when it feels lost in a sort of audience no-man’s-land, caught as so many of us are between a children’s movie and a more serious legal thriller, but, unlike the antics of Wile E. Coyote, the film largely succeeds. While it can drag a bit at times, there are several jokes that have kept me laughing for the last few days since seeing it, and the entire film felt like a love letter to the cartoons. It felt distinctly Looney Tunes; in fact, this is easily the best the Looney Tunes have been in live-action (sorry Space Jam fans), and I honestly hope it will kick off more projects with the characters.
The standout performance (at least of the live-action cast) is John Cena. Cena has long been developing his comedic acting chops, and here they are out in full force. He steals every scene he is in, which is saying something considering he shares the screen with some of the most iconic characters of American culture (I’m looking at you Tweety Bird). Speaking of characters, making the silent Wile E. Coyote the protagonist was an incredibly bold decision. However, it works ridiculously well and showcases the incredible versatility of the character nearly 80 years after his debut. His sign gags are routinely hilarious, and the slapstick is nearly as funny as it was in the cartoons of old. That said, there’s something about the animation or the timing that is just a little off. The flashbacks to clips from the old shorts are usually funnier than the new gags, and I’m not sure whether I’ve just aged out of that sort of humor, or if there is a technical reason it feels so different. This isn’t unique to this film, however; it’s a problem that has plagued the franchise in recent years, which makes it feel less like a failure of this movie and more like a broader problem with modern Looney Tunes.
To talk about this film without mentioning the technical aspect would be doing it a disservice. It uses the same stylized 3D animation that we saw in 2022’s Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, though to varying effects. Some characters, like Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Bugs Bunny, look very faithful to their original design. Others, like Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, look good, but are held back slightly by the animation. And a couple, namely Foghorn Leghorn and Dr. Lorre, look downright bad, though at least in Dr. Lorre’s case that seems to be sort of the point, with his character’s first appearance being a parody of the real-life Peter Lorre. I can’t quite place what makes Foghorn look wrong, but something in his design, rendering, or movement just makes him uncanny and almost visually off-putting. However, this doesn’t greatly detract from the movie in any real way, and I don’t think kids will have a hard time recognizing their favorite characters, but as someone who grew up watching these cartoons, I was at times disappointed with their representation.
Overall, while not without flaws, Coyote vs. Acme is a fundamentally good movie. It is consistently entertaining, uplifting, and loony, and it reminds us to keep chasing our own roadrunners (though we might want to look elsewhere for our rocket skates).
