Coyote vs. Acme Review [MIFF 2026]

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There have been a few live-action and animation hybrids. However, none have ever really come as close to being as good as Who Framed Rodger Rabbit as Coyte vs Acme. 

Narrative-wise, this is simple. Almost too simple in terms of stakes and character work. But in terms of characterisation, laughs per minute, and the ability to make the animated and real worlds collide in believable ways, Coyote vs Acme ticks the boxes. 

Wile E. Coyote has been trying to capture The Road Runner for however many years now, to no avail. If you don’t know the character’s history — maybe a lot of kids watching this won’t — you’re treated to an equally sad and chuckle-worthy moment of Coyote retreating to his cave to file away another failed Acme Corporation contraption and reminisce about previous failed ones—highlights of key past cartoons. In part to a very specific callout in a lawyer ad from Kevin Avery (Will Forte) with lines like “have you ever attempted to blow up TNT just for the switch to blow up in your face.“ 

Coyote decides to head to the big city and drop in on lawyers’ offices, as Acme has been the cause of all his trouble with The Road Runner. Here, Avery only wants to take on simple, easy-to-file-and-win cases, but Coyote manages to sneak in some more evidence, and the next second the office and Coyote are now embroiled in a class action case against this massive corporation. The lawyer they’ll be going against is Buddy Crane (John Cena), not too happy to go to court and trying to throw some money at the trouble, but Coyote, through some quick scribbled signs and rabid ability to chew up and rip through paperwork, says no to all of that. 

Someone can do the maths when this is available on VOD for laughs or jokes-per-minute, but it feels like the highest I’ve seen a comedy attempt since The Naked Gun (2025). This film is very aware of its slapstick origins, what works with the Looney Tunes, and in particular, the Road Runner and Coyote cartoons and does a fantastic job of bringing that same energy to a feature-length film. 

The MIFF 2026 cinema audience I watched this with, a mixture of adults and some kids, were uproarious and the loudest I’ve heard a cinema in a comedy film in some time. And I loved when sometimes the dumbest jokes, like Coyote constantly banging on a bell in a hotel, would get a solid chuckle out of the audience, only to hear the kids unable to keep laughing. 

There are an assortment of characters from the wider Looney Tunes world here, but I never felt like any were glorified cameos. Bugs Bunny is reared in the trailer. And he’s here, but his role is succinct and works without feeling like a necessary squeeze to make sure the Bunny appears in the film. While some other characters were deep cuts I had to Google to understand their 1930s origin, and even if any feel like a short two-second cameo, take a certain skunk, for example, they’re here for a deserving joke in their direction. 

The animation is serviceable, but it sits at an odd level against some of the human characters; we can do better. Especially when, at times, I’d argue Rodger Rabbit still looks better. This is probably one of two major stinging points for the film for me.

The second stinger for this is out of the film’s control. That being the ridiculous nature of what it took to get on the screen. There’s no need to deep-dive on it here, but Warner Bros wrote this off for a tax exemption, and we’re only seeing it now because another studio stepped in for distribution. 

In a world where comedies and more are being thrown onto streaming services. I implore you to watch this in a cinema with an audience as large as you can.

[Dylan attended a screening thanks to the Melbourne International Film Festival]