Wile E. Coyote has been losing with remarkable patience for decades, a career of elaborate, catastrophic near-misses that amounts to one of the most complete portraits of stubborn optimism in animation. Order after order from the Acme Corporation, product after product that misfires, explodes, or arrives at exactly the wrong moment. The whole enterprise runs on the dignity he brings to his repeated failure. Now, finally, someone has given him a lawyer, and the question of who is really responsible for all those canyon falls is headed to trial.
About the Show
Coyote vs. Acme is a live-action/animation hybrid directed by Dave Green from a screenplay by Samy Burch, with story credit going to James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, and Samy Burch, based on Ian Frazier’s 1990 New Yorker article of the same name. After years of pursuing the Roadrunner with Acme equipment that consistently betrays him, Wile E. Coyote hires an attorney and sues. Will Forte plays Kevin Avery, that attorney, handling a product liability case against a corporation with deep pockets and a long history of selling dangerous goods to animated characters. John Cena plays Buddy Crane, Acme’s defense counsel. Eric Bauza voices Wile E. and a roster of Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. The case, per press accounts, expands into uncovering a broader conspiracy involving Acme’s illicit product testing on cartoon characters.
The film arrives at The Port Theatre with a backstory that rivals its own courtroom drama. Warner Bros. completed Coyote vs. Acme in 2023 (budgeted at $30 million), then shelved the finished film as a tax writeoff. Ketchup Entertainment acquired it in March 2025 and brought it to theatrical release on August 28, 2026. The critic at Three Brothers Film called it “frequently hilarious,” a film that “captures enough of the original charm of Looney Tunes to satisfy as a pretty good comedy with plenty of gags.”
Venue & Logistics
The Port Theatre has been a Cornwall, Ontario landmark since 1941, now under the stewardship of Larry Sylvain. The venue runs a mix of live music and cinema programming in the north country, with a full-sized stage and exceptional acoustics that make it a more congenial setting for an afternoon at the movies than your standard multiplex. A licensed bar is on the premises. Saturday, October 17 brings two screenings: 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Tickets
Admission is $5.00. Buy tickets