Some Hollywood decisions defy logic. Like, who looked at the world of Looney Tunes, those unhinged cartoons of our youth, and thought: Let’s add a bunch of personal injury lawyers.Such is the premise of the clunky, too-earnest, live-action-toon-hybrid “Coyote vs. Acme,” a film initially mothballed by the studio only to later be featured in theaters.It began as a 1990 New Yorker parody that imagined Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation over their defective gadgets. The film then spent almost three decades in development hell, finally getting made in 2022 for about $70 million but getting shelved by Warner Bros., which decided it was better as a tax write-off.
The setting is Albuquerque, New Mexico, where humans and cartoons live side-by-side, like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” The likes of Tweety, the Tasmanian Devil and Porky Pig all populate real sidewalks, cars and courtrooms. Why Albuquerque? It’s never explained, but Bugs Bunny once famously said: “I knew I should’ve taken that left turn at Albuquerque.”
Wile E. Coyote, voiced by Eric Bauza. (Ketchup Entertainment via AP)
Lana Condor, Will Forte and the Coyote. (Ketchup Entertainment via AP)
The plot joins Will Forte, a small-time personal injury attorney reachable at 1-800-0-LAWYER, and his new client, the mute coyote, who is bleary-eyed and fuming that he has cabinets full of failed Acme products used in his never-ending hunt for his white whale, the Road Runner.“Have you ever pulled the ripcord of your parachute and only a bunch of silverware comes out? It’s not your fault,” Forte’s character says in a TV commercial.
