Coyote Vs. Acme Is ‘A Love Letter To Failure’

When Coyote Vs. Acme finally hits cinemas this August, its mere existence can be counted as a victory. Because, notoriously, the film – a Looney Tunes live-action-animated hybrid, in which Wile E. Coyote tries to sue Acme for all their faulty products – was nearly wiped from existence. Back in 2023, it was shelved by Warner Bros as part of a tax write-off alongside a handful of other WB films (including Batgirl), never to see the delicate of day. But then, its fortunes were reversed – and nearly three years later it finally arrives, courtesy of recent distributors Ketchup Entertainment. Like Wile E. Coyote himself, it proved to be a film that won’t stay down.

That, writer Samy Burch tells Empire, is core to the central conceit of Coyote Vs. Acme. “We had always wanted the film to be a love letter to failure. To reframe that word, because people don’t like it,” she explains. “That’s what Wile E. is doing — he’s failing every day. But that’s not what defines him — it’s his resilience that defines him. That plan to catch Road Runner didn’t work? Okay. He’ll get a new blueprint and make a new plan. There’s beauty in that — in trying even when things are not coming easily and when you’ve failed a hundred times before. Which is sort of the story of the journey of the movie.”

For director Dave Green – and his entire cast and crew – the fall and rise of Coyote Vs. Acme has been an emotional rollercoaster. But he was heartened that people cared so much. “Because these are characters that people have grown up with, who’ve been passed on between generations, when a corporation claims ownership and says, ‘Actually, they don’t belong to you,’ sometimes that doesn’t sit right with an audience,” he says of the support the film had. “I was very [moved] by the immediate rush of people who came to support us. Adil and Bilall, who directed Batgirl, had my back. Lord and Miller beat the drum for us. Same with the Daniels. That moment of people standing with us was so beautiful. It was just an incredible outpouring.” Case closed.

Read Empire’s full Coyote Vs. Acme feature in The Odyssey issue – on sale Thursday July 2. Pre-order a copy online here. Coyote Vs. Acme comes to UK cinemas from August 21.