When Michael Jordan first met Bugs Bunny in Space Jam, his reaction of bewildered confusion is a familiar trope – how else would any human react to encountering an iconic cartoon rabbit in real life? But in Dave Green’s Coyote vs. ACME, Will Forte’s character, Kevin Avery, reacts with surprising nonchalance. This seemingly small detail reveals the film’s core concept: in this world, Looney Tunes aren’t global icons; they are simply regular (cartoon) people living alongside us.
A Fresh Take on Looney Tunes
“We really wanted to challenge ourselves to not acknowledge the Looney Tunes as an ensemble of characters,” director Dave Green tells Polygon. Coyote vs. ACME is now in theaters and, after a tumultuous journey that saw it shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery before being rescued by public outcry and independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment, is receiving rave reviews. The film follows Wile E. Coyote’s quest for justice against the ACME Corporation, aided by an unambitious Albuquerque lawyer, Kevin Avery (Forte). They face off against ACME lead counsel, Buddy Crane (John Cena). While Forte, Cena, and the human cast deliver strong performances, the classic Looney Tunes characters are the true stars of Coyote vs. ACME, largely due to the film’s unique approach.
Unlike Space Jam, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, or even Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Looney Tunes characters are not celebrities in Coyote vs. ACME. In those earlier films, the Looney Tunes characters played exaggerated versions of themselves, drawing on their iconic animated shorts. However, in Coyote vs. ACME, they’re simply regular people living in a world populated by both humans and cartoon characters. This approach transforms the film into something akin to a full-length Looney Tunes animated short rather than a live-action movie featuring Looney Tunes characters.
This seemingly minor detail is crucial to what makes Coyote vs. ACME so effective.
Crafting the Coyote: A Silent Hero
At its core, Coyote vs. ACME is a legal drama about an underdog taking on a powerful corporation. The film’s world-building was essential to serving Wile E. Coyote’s story, as he is the most important character. For Green, this meant returning to the original shorts directed by Chuck Jones, who created the Coyote and his eternal nemesis, the Road Runner.
“I rewatched all of them,” Green says, “I made a big log of what happens in each short.”
He also consulted Pete Browngardt, creator of the 2020 revival series Looney Tunes Cartoons, who recommended story artists Ryan Kramer and David Gemmill. “They were incredible resources,” Green says. The team also included Carlos Lutterbach, a formally-trained and “absolutely brilliant” story artist.
“Together, we shaped a version of Wile E. who resembled the Wile E. from our imaginations,” Green says. “To me, that was closer to the original Chuck Jones Coyote, who was a little conniving, and as much of a genius as he is a fool. He was really a haggard, lonely desert creature who was simply hungry and had this one very clear, singular want: to wake up every single morning and catch the Road Runner, no matter what got in his way.”
Importantly, this meant the movie’s main character couldn’t talk.
While Wile E. Coyote is mostly remembered for his non-speaking shorts with Road Runner, he also appeared in four shorts with Bugs Bunny, and in three of them, he spoke with a smooth, sophisticated Mid-Atlantic accent. Green didn’t want to use that version of the character.
“It just didn’s feel like the right version of canon to have Wile E. speak,” Green says. “I was always personally pretty disturbed when he spoke. His voice is pretty haunting. And we liked the challenge of tying one hand behind our back and figuring out, ‘Okay, can we do this fencing match with a nonverbal character?’”
The filmmakers drew inspiration from silent film icons like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
Casting the Looney Tunes: A Theatrical Production
In keeping with the Coyote’s underdog status, he is not famous. He’s not “Wile E. Coyote, star of Looney Tunes shorts.” The same goes for the other characters, too. This approach allows Coyote vs. ACME to function as a straightforward legal comedy, where the Looney Tunes characters are cast into roles best suited for the story and their individual personalities. For example, Foghorn Leghorn embodies the arrogant CEO, while Porky Pig represents the helpless everyman.
“We wanted to see these characters playing roles, but keeping their personas,” Green says. “So Daffy is a bit crazy, and Foghorn is a blowhard who has a lot of swagger and arrogance and likes to talk down to people. Porky is the helpless everyman.”
Much credit for this “casting” goes to screenwriter Samy Burch, whose mother, Jackie Burch, was a legendary casting director behind classic films like The Breakfast Club and Die Hard.
“Samy grew up in a casting household and it’s part of her DNA,” Green says.
Burch describes the “casting” process as assigning roles to a well-oiled theater troupe or classic Hollywood production.
“I remember Dave and I having this conversation about thinking of the Looney Tunes as the performers on contract at the studio,” she says. “This is the theater company that we have to pull from. We don’t want to go against their spirits, so they can play these roles.”
Beyond their established personalities, one other factor influenced Burch and Green’s character placement: the ongoing “anti-bird” sentiment stemming from the Coyote’s rivalry with the Road Runner.
“Because the Coyote’s nemesis is the Road Runner, there’s an anti-bird thing going on,” she says. “So Tweety and Foghorn are villains, and a lot of the last names on that side of the table are birds.”
(The human cast includes John Cena and P.J. Byrne as ACME corporate lawyers Buddy Crane and Bill Pelicanos, respectively.)
This careful consideration allowed for some surprisingly deep cuts.
“In an earlier draft, the scientist at the beginning was a human,” Burch says. “Then at a certain point we were like, ‘Oh, this would be a great role for Dr. Lorre,’” referring to the caricature version of actor Peter Lorre from classic Looney Tunes shorts.
Not all deep cuts made it into the final film.
“There were a few drafts where Michigan J. Frog had kind of a supporting role,” Burch says. “He was running a bar near the law firm. But it’s that kind of thing where you go, ‘Okay we don’t need this location,’ so it fell by the wayside.”
Even Bugs Bunny, who plays a small but integral role as a mysterious informant, was carefully managed.
“There was a feeling that you don’t want to cast someone so big they pull focus from the lead,” Burch says. “If Bugs Bunny is Tom Cruise, we want to be very sparing with how he’s used in the film, so that it doesn’t feel like a big ensemble. This is Wile E.’s movie.”
The film’s funniest casting choice is Elmer Fudd, who shows up late as a senator in a congressional hearing.
“It’s low-hanging fruit because Elmer Fudd feels like a senator to me,” Burch says. “Once we knew we were headed towards a congressional hearing, it was like, ‘Oh, well, we’ll have Elmer Fudd and like, six humans.’ That just always felt funny.”
The Voice of the Looney Tunes: A One-Man Show
The seamless integration of so many beloved characters is remarkable, especially considering that most are voiced by a single person: Eric Bauza.
“We were lucky because we had Eric Bauza, who’s a really great actor,” Burch says.
Bauza voices 10 of the original characters with Mel Blanc’s iconic delivery, making it easy to accept Foghorn Leghorn as a CEO and Elmer Fudd as an elected official.
Coyote vs. ACME is now in theaters.
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