After years of faulty gadgets, failed plans and injuries that would have most of us reconsidering our life choices, Wile E. Coyote is at his wits’ end and has decided that enough is enough. He’s taking ACME to court on 18 September and it’s about bloody time.
If you are one of those who grew up watching him chase the Road Runner, you’ll remember his extraordinary confidence. Every new contraption was going to be the one that worked. Every elaborate plan looked perfectly reasonable to him. The rest of us could see disaster coming, usually from somewhere directly above his head. But he kept trying and that deserves admiration.
Now in Coyote vs. Acme, that determination takes him somewhere rather different. A courtroom. Yes, that’s right, he’s embarking on a legal battle against the company responsible for supplying all that spectacularly unreliable equipment. Yeah, I know, a coyote suing a corporation might sound like an unusual choice for a family movie. But that’s the point. Children can enjoy the ridiculous inventions and expressive characters, while adults can appreciate the idea of a customer finally holding a company accountable for products that have made his life considerably worse. Very relatable, I think.
Because some of us have wanted to do that over something as simple as a washing machine or a toaster for that matter. What caught my attention in the preview footage is how much personality the coyote brings to a scene without saying a word. During an increasingly frustrated exchange with his lawyer, he holds up handwritten signs demanding answers. His face moves from confusion to suspicion, before a sign makes his feelings perfectly clear: “YOU LIED.”
You have to admit, it’s quite hilarious. One character has all the words, while the other can make his point with a piece of cardboard and a deeply unimpressed expression. I suspect parents will recognise that expression. They may even have used it earlier that morning. Then there’s the room around them, which gradually reveals an assortment of contraptions, a birdcage, a mallet and an elaborate blueprint. Clearly, getting legal representation hasn’t stopped the coyote from having ideas. Elsewhere, Tweety sits wearing a headset beside monitoring equipment, looking as though this is a perfectly normal working day.
The idea of seeing these characters carry on in a world of ordinary furniture, human problems and very questionable plans is rather appealing. The familiar cartoon appearance is still there, right down to the coyote’s wonderfully expressive ears. I’ll bet if you placed him beside a frustrated human being, you would witness a rather entertaining conversation. And with this the younger viewers have something to follow in his movements and reactions, while everyone else can enjoy the absurdity of trying to have a serious discussion with someone who keeps producing props. But I think the coyote himself could be the reason people become attached to this movie.
His relationship with his lawyer gives the story an interesting starting point. The lawyer has allowed a major professional failure to knock his confidence and limit his ambitions. But the coyote, has resilience of steel. Although he experiences failure with almost impressive regularity, he gets up ready to try again. It’s clear that these two might have something to learn from each other. And perhaps that’s where adults will find a little more of themselves than they expected.
I guess it is much easier to motivate kids to keep trying. Parents say it all the time when kids struggle with schoolwork, lose a match or decide they’re terrible at something after doing it once. But applying that advice to our own lives can be considerably harder. One disappointment can stay with us for a very long time. And I am sure that if the coyote operated like that, he would barely have made it through breakfast. Of course, his judgement could use some work. Persistence is admirable, but at some point somebody needs to question the rocket-powered equipment. Still, there’s something rather lovely about giving a character known for getting everything wrong a chance to stand up for himself.
We’ve spent years laughing at what happens to him. So maybe it’s time we have his back. And along with that there’s also the nostalgia, which I’m certainly not going to pretend doesn’t help. For many adults, these characters belong to afternoons in front of the television, school holidays and a time when watching a cartoon didn’t require choosing between six streaming services. Sharing that with your children is something beautiful. You get the recognition, they get the discovery, and hopefully everyone laughs at the same ridiculous moment. A raised eyebrow or a disastrous invention doesn’t need much explanation.
That’s why Coyote vs. Acme looks so promising as a family outing. Directed by Dave Green, with a screenplay by Samy Burch inspired by Ian Frazier’s satirical article, the film brings together familiar Looney Tunes characters and a cast that includes Will Forte, John Cena, Lana Condor, Tone Bell and Martha Kelly. But the biggest draw could be the coyote himself. There’s a funny premise and an underdog whose determination becomes surprisingly relatable once you think about it. It gives audiences plenty of reasons to laugh, with the possibility of caring rather more about this permanently frustrated coyote than they expected.
And I, for one, would quite like to see him get a win.
Preferably before he places another order.
Watch The Trailer Here
