From an ingenious humor piece by Ian Frazier that ran in the New Yorker magazine twenty-six years ago, a dedicated team of filmmakers and animators have rendered an ingenious and impressive feature, blending live-action and animation à la Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It poses the question: what if Wile E. Coyote, having suffered the disastrous effects of inventions that invariably backfire, decided to sue the Acme corporation?
Director Dave Green, working from a script by Samy Burch and a story by producer James Gunn and Jeremy Slater, has crafted a movie that no Looney Tunes fan should miss. Funny at times, then unexpectedly sincere toward the end, it never ceases to be clever. “Clever” doesn’t always generate laughs, but I cut this film a lot of slack, because It’s one-of-a-kind. In addition to finding appropriate roles for Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and (yes) Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, it also offers supporting roles (sometimes fleeting) to Gossamer, Foghorn Leghorn, Granny, Sylvester and Tweety, Beaky Buzzard, and Hubie and Bertie, among many others.
The combination of live-action gags and set-ups are endlessly inventive but the film wouldn’t work at all without the earnest and empathetic performance by Will Forte in the leading role. He plays a lazy lawyer at the Albuquerque firm of Avery, Jones and Maltese—and if I have to explain that name, the inside-jokey nature of the film will leave you out in the cold. He is goaded into representing Wile E. Coyote even though his earlier experiences with the all-powerful Acme Corporation (represented by John Cena) have drained his incentive to succeed in court.
The major and minor characters are extremely well animated—especially Wile E. Coyote, who remains a silent participant with access to only a limited number of placards to express himself. (good choice).
Will kids who are unfamiliar with vintage Warner Bros. cartoons respond to all of this? I have no idea and as an outside observer with no skin in the game, I don’t much care. I‘m just happy to see my favorite cartoon characters back on the big screen.
