THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

It’s here! It’s finally here! I understand I’ve said this about a couple movies in the past, but it applies most truly here: I have been waiting for Coyote vs. Acme for years. Since it began filming back in 2022, I’ve followed this film’s tough journey from being shelved by Warner Brothers to being freed by a mob of Looney Tunes lovers (like myself) and Ketchup Entertainment. While I didn’t earnestly believe that Coyote vs. Acme would be one of the best movies of 2026 or anything, I had pretty high expectations for it, and I’m beyond happy to say that this movie was exactly what I wanted it to be, and I’m so glad to give Ketchup my hard-earned dollars to stick it to David Zaslav.

There were so many things that I loved about Coyote vs. Acme, but its best quality—especially when compared to the other Looney Tunes movies I’ve watched this week—was the animation. Aesthetically, I may have preferred true 2D animation, but I thought the direction they went in still looked great. What was most impressive was how well-integrated the animation was in the live-action world, and how well every person interacted with the animation. The way Will Forte, Lana Condor, and John Cena shared scenes with them, you would’ve thought Wile E. Coyote and Foghorn Leghorn were actually in the room. I’m not quite sure how this was animated, but every time a human interacted with something animated, it looked excellent (there was a motorcycle chase that looked so good).

I was also really impressed with the story—one that’s been circling around the Looney Tunes since the 90s—and how it balanced the silly nature of the Tunes with the serious nature of a courtroom drama. The James Gunn-cowritten script made the legal proceedings entertaining, grounded the cartoony situations the characters found themselves in, and even had some very timely, funny things to say on corporate manipulation and overreach. There couldn’t have been a more unfortunate movie for Warner Brothers to shelve and have resurrected by a scrappy independent studio than Coyote vs. Acme, and I loved how all of the marketing poked fun at that irony. I really enjoyed how the story felt logical within the world of the Looney Tunes (of  course Wile E. would be furious with ACME after decades of malfunctioning products!) and didn’t feel like it had to up the stakes to up the enjoyment. I was also surprised by the super sweet ending between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner; when he asked, “Are you coming back?”, I sobbed. I challenge you to find a family movie this year whose script is at tight, funny, and emotionally effective as Coyote vs. Acme.

There were plenty of little things that I enjoyed in Coyote vs. Acme that didn’t warrant entire paragraphs, like the “Beep Beep” choir in the score, Brandon Trost’s seriously beautiful cinematography, or John Cena’s truly hilarious performance (“Did you taw, or did you tink you taw?”). The praises for this movie may very well be unending, but at the end of the day, I have to be judicious in my reviews and not bore you to tears with the minutiae of a single excellent August release. If you take anything away from my very glowing review of Coyote vs. Acme, let it be that you need to see this movie in theaters. Not at home, not on streaming—in theaters. Yes, Coyote vs. Acme was saved from tax write-off hell, but if we don’t show Warner Brothers that their spreadsheet line films deserve to be seen, too many deserving movies will get the axe like this one almost did. Hell, I may even see this twice to really show these corporations not to mess with the little guy. Go see Coyote vs. Acme; you’re fighting the good fight!