After his latest scheme fails, Will E. Coyote turns his attention from eternal prey the Road Runner (Eric Bauza) to the manufacturer of his defective gadgets, the ACME Corporation.
Enlisting lawyer Kevin Avery (WIll Forte) to make his case, Coyote finds himself at the heart of a conspiracy to preserve the company’s monopoly - at all costs.
Aside from catching the occasional short or compilation of clips on Youtube, I have not watched Looney Tunes since I was a kid.
Still, there is an elemental quality to Will E. Coyote and Road Runner’s eternal battle of wits that is easy to grasp.
If this film falls down, it is in this respect.
This is a legal drama, the familiar story of a broken down lawyer regaining his ideals in a case against a massive conglomerate.
On first glance, Will Forte is perfect casting as the Coyote’s human foil - Forte’s comic persona is a heightened form of buffoonery that makes sense for the surreal anarchy of Looney Tunes.
Surprisingly - aside from an excruciating attempt at an opening statement at the final trial - he is relatively lowkey. He keys into Avery’s sense of disillusionment and fear of failure.
John Cena is also effectively cast as Forte’s arrogant legal rival - and for similar reasons.
What is ironic about this film is that it is the Toons who feel miscast.
There is an inherent pathos to Coyote - a pure and primal desire that is easy to grasp.
Making him the co-lead of a legal drama is a funny idea - for a short.
Fundamentally, the movie is not that funny. As the film progressed, I found the laughs growing more sporadic - and it dawned on me that the concept did not have the endurance for a feature.
This film is so plot-dependant, Coyote feels slightly off as Forte’s comic or dramatic foil.
There is an anarchy to the shorts, foundational to their DNA, that gets neutered.
Bugs Bunny shows up as the film’s version of Deep Throat but he is basically exposition, while other heavyweights Daffy and Porky are basically walk-ons.
Some of the toon casting works - Foghorn Leghorn as the pompous head of the corporation.
And vocal performer Eric Bauza, who handles the lion share of the familiar casts’ voices, does a good job.
But a lot of it feels undercooked - Elmer Fudd as a senator is a fascinating idea but the joke is never milked.
I am glad it was released, and it is good that it has turned out to be a modest success for its distributor.
As a finger to the powers that be at its former studio, I salute it. As a movie, it is just fine.
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