The Looney Tunes have been a staple of pop culture for decades, with the likes of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig being among the most recognisable characters in entertainment.

However, despite being animated icons of the 20th century, the wacky band of misfit cartoon animals have struggled to stay in the limelight in recent years, with several movies bombing at the box office and even bankable TV shows failing to stay on air.

Despite the poor run of form in the last two decades, the Looney Tunes are back in 2026 with Coyote vs. ACME, the movie that almost never came out, despite finishing production in 2023.

Original producers Warner Bros. set out to dispose of the movie as a tax write-off, believing it wouldn’t recoup the $70 million it spent to make.

Thankfully, despite all the corporate drama behind the film, production company Ketchup Entertainment brought the movie back from the dead, striking a deal to buy the rights for $50 million.

Now amassing $100 million at the global box office, Coyote vs. ACME has proven to be well worth the bailout by being one of the funniest movies of the year.

The story here is simple enough. Wile E. Coyote is fed up with being blown up, squashed, crashed and bashed by all the items he’s used to try to catch the Road Runner.

To make up for all his pain, Coyote decides to take the manufacturer, ACME, to court for damages with the help of reluctant injury lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte).

Coyote vs. ACME is a joke-a-second, 100-minute gem that deserves to be seen on the big screen. This film has so much heart, and it’s clear the writers, including James Gunn, care deeply about these characters.

They take a bit that spawned countless three-minute cartoons and bring it all together into a film that might be the best live-action/animated hybrid since Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The animation is also a selling point (as you’d expect). It’s not the super glossy computer-generated look seen in other hybrid films, but it’s also not all hand-drawn. It makes for characters that feel like cartoons in the real world, without diving into the uncanny valley.

Nailing this look mattered, since the Coyote and Road Runner famously don’t talk. Instead, we are shown their perspective through the way they are animated, and it’s done to perfection.

The other side of the coin is the performances from the live-action actors, acting opposite the animations. The best example here is Will Forte as Kevin and John Cena as ACME’s lawyer, Buddy Crane.

Both these guys understood exactly what movie they were in. They’re not trying to win awards or create content for sizzle reels. They deliver the comedy and pacing you’d expect from a movie featuring the Looney Tunes.

That said, when the movie dives into more mature themes, Forte delivers.

The courtroom drama here is also very enjoyable. Don’t expect the likes of A Few Good Men or even Suits, but the setting drives much of what happens here, and it delivers some of the best lines in the film.

While all the new stuff is great, an understated part of the film is how it honours the near 100-year history of its source material.

Scattered throughout, clips from the famous cartoons dating back to the 1930s appear, mainly to reinforce, in Coyote’s case, the years of harm he’s endured.

Whether intentional or not, it creates a real sense of familiarity with these characters, driving home that, at least subconsciously, everyone has spent time watching the Looney Tunes at some point or another.

Coyote vs. ACME is a blast (excuse the pun). It’s a perfect film for families who want a laugh with a hint of maturity behind it. The story of the movie’s development is worth telling alone, but with its box-office success, you’ve got to ask why this movie was almost buried forever – and what other gems are studios sitting on?

Coyote vs. ACME is now showing in cinemas across the country (that’s all, folks).