OK, there’s a lot of ways I can go with this one. I can start off by talking about the improbable way this movie somehow got to theaters after being shelved for tax purposes, but anyone reading this probably already knows that story. I can, and not for the first time, wonder if Warner Brothers Discovery even knows how to use the Looney Tunes these days, as seen with the last time Ketchup Entertainment released a completed LooneyTunes movie that was not only funny and entertaining, but also, you know as-stated, an actual completed movie featuring what is probably the most recognizable IP in the company’s possession, but again, I have wondered that before. I can point out the movie is playing with themes that seem very relevant, not only with the movie’s actual themes but also timely given Paramount/Skydance’s desire to get their hands on Warner Brothers Discovery, but lots of people much better with words than I am have already said quite a bit on the subject.
I’ll just say here that I saw the movie with my girlfriend and her brother, we all had a good time, and my girlfriend said it was the fourth best movie she’s seen this year after Spider-Man, Project: Hail Mary, and The Odyssey. But I have some additional thoughts.
Wile E. Coyote is still trying to catch the Roadrunner to get a good meal. After another series of disastrous accidents involving Acme products, he heads back to his cave and overhears a commercial from lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte) promising compensation if a company’s products failed to work, Avery’s examples things that have actually happened to the Coyote. Picking up a new plan, the Coyote heads into nearby Albuquerque to hire Kevin, a lawyer used to getting small settlements out of court for his cartoon character clients Though Kevin tries his usual antics to get Wile E a settlement over some defective rocket skates, Wile E is a bit of a genius, he has a whole lot more defective products, and he refuses the settlement, forcing Kevin to actually go to court against his old law school nemesis, and Acme’s chief lawyer, Buddy Crane (John Cena).
The things is, the Coyote is clearly planning something as he spends his days trying to get more and more done. It turns out there is some sort of secret project going on at Acme, one that would bring huge problems to the company and its CEO, Foghorn Leghorn. What is Acme up to? How can a coyote who lives in a cave can only communicate with signs hope to prevail? And what is the Roadrunner up to in all this?
OK, bottom line: it’s a funny movie, especially if you love the Looney Tunes as much as I do. Besides the aforementioned Coyote, Roadrunner, and Foghorn Leghorn, a number of prominent Looney Tunes characters (and many less prominent) appear throughout the movie, ranging from corporate spy Tweety to a truly daffy Daffy Duck, the movie also captures the look and feel of old Roadrunner cartoons. It helps that the Coyote is probably the most sympathetic villain in the old cartoons. Yeah, we don’t necessarily want him to eat the Roadrunner, but there’s a lot of us who wouldn’t mind seeing him succeed on some level. He’s not so much evil as hungry, but still, the movie is true to Wile E’s personality.
It’s also a movie with a lot going on, and in a good way. The more Looney Tunes lore (if “lore” is the right word) you know, the more you might pick up on, starting with the fact Kevin’s law firm is “Avery, Maltese, and Jones,” a clear reference to animators Tex Avery and Chuck Jones along with writer Michael Maltese, the latter two being the ones who created the Roadrunner cartoons with their simple, but often hilarious, formula. It’s a movie that will hit the sweet spot for fans of these old cartoons, and for the life of me, I have no idea why Warners shelved this legitimately good movie. But hey, we get to see it in the end anyway.
Grade: A
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