‘Coyote vs. ACME’ (2026) Trailer Review: Ketchup Saves Movie from Warner Write-Off

In this explosive courtroom drama, Wile E. Coyote files a case against the ACME corporation for their faulty products.

I never thought this movie would see the light of day. The day this trailer was announced I sent it to my family in excitement explaining to them why this was such a big deal. Because let’s be real here: if it weren’t for Ketchup Entertainment and the animation community, this movie would have been yet another unfortunate tax write-off.

Coyote vs. ACME (2026) was announced as complete back in 2023. However, Warner Bros. had other plans as they announced Warner Bros. Discovery (which manages streaming and studios) would instead shelf the project to claim a tax loss of $30 million.

Naturally, this caused outrage amongst the public, not only because this project featured the iconic Looney Tunes characters, but also due to the fact that the project was confirmed to be complete. It also didn’t help that the year prior, HBO Max (WDB’s streaming service) pulled a vast amount of their animated shows from streaming without even notifying the creators of said shows (as many of these creators only found out on Twitter like everyone else).

Warner’s shady practices (and trend of disrespecting animated projects in particular) angered a lot of people. People in the movie industry such as Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Brian Duffield, and Eric Bauza (the voice of Daffy Duck) spoke up about the injustice towards the movie.

Eventually, WBD were in talks about selling another Looney Tunes movie (The Day the Earth Blew Up (2024)) to Ketchup Entertainment. In spite of the lack of marketing, Ketchup was able to make the movie a success in Warner’s eyes. And with that, Warner agreed to hand the distribution rights of Coyote vs. ACME to Ketchup and scheduled the theatrical release for 2026.

I bring up this movie’s history as the content of the movie and the circumstances surrounding it are rather ironic. The movie is essentially about a greedy corporation screwing people over as the main character (that being Wile E. Coyote) has to fight back against them in what appears to be an underdog story.

It also gets better when you take a look at the trailer for the movie as the text cards calls it, “The movie ACME doesn’t want you to see.” It’s clear the marketing is playing into the controversy and subtly comparing Warner to ACME. The movie itself looks pretty fun, but I’m not sure if it’ll be as exciting as the lead up to its release was.

The premise is humorous and seems like it could be enjoyable: after yet another attempt to catch the Road Runner terribly backfires, Wile E. Coyote sees an ad where he learns you can sue ACME if you’ve been “horribly injured” by an ACME product. Seeing an opportunity, Wile E. Coyote goes to lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte) to take the corporation to court and fight against ACME’s lawyer, Buddy Crane (John Cena).

The animated characters are expressive and are well incorporated into the environment around them, matching well in lighting. Unfortunately, the animation itself doesn’t seem to be 2D (a la Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)) but instead cell shaded 3D models, giving it a certain uncanniness rather than whimsy. With that being said, I feel like the mingling of this animation with real life aspects are done as well as they can be.

The Looney Tunes characters get their time to shine in this movie, as it features not just Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, but also Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, and Bugs Bunny. Alongside this cast of iconic characters is none other than the former professional wrestler (and living internet meme) John Cena.

As with many movies these days, I feel like the movie could be a bit brighter. I feel like if it were color graded a bit more and the shots were given more exposure in post it could look even better. With that being said, it isn’t as dark and muddy as many other films that have come out recently. It’s also worth noting that the darker atmosphere of the film helps give it a more sober vibe, which can play into the humor as this absurd scenario is taken so seriously.

As I said earlier, the story looks like it could be fun. My biggest concern is if they balance the right amount of Looney Tunes and courtroom drama correctly, as this could easily become a Looney Tunes film in a courtroom setting or a courtroom drama featuring the Looney Tunes instead of being both. Luckily from the looks of trailer it appears that such a balance may be struck.

In the end, this story would have never seen the light of day if it weren’t for the passion and devotion of not just creators and people at Ketchup Entertainment who fought for it, but also the voices of the everyday people who protested against Warner’s actions. Whether or not the story and visuals will live up to the hype is the biggest question on my mind. One thing’s for certain, and that’s the fact I’ll definitely be watching this in theaters.

Coyote vs. ACME releases in the US on August 28th, 2026