In the halcyon days of early semester, one of the most joyous activities to partake in is to view a humble movie. Getting away from the heat and the toil to destress with friends and strangers alike is such a beautiful experience that so many of us share.
Like many of us, we had the amazing fortune to go and see the highly anticipated Coyote vs. Acme, and like many of us, we were wowed at its plot, cast and animation. To see the works of legendary animator Chuck Jones integrated seamlessly into the monotony of modern day is truly a sight to behold. Unfortunately for you, dear reader, we don’t feel like retreading the same ground as other reviews; Instead, we’d like to examine the film and see what it says about corporations, capitalism and community.
In many ways, the production of Coyote vs. Acme is defined by its paradoxical nature: a movie with such a strong anti-capitalist ethos subjected to the financial whims of Warner Bros. and Ketchup Entertainment.
WB shelved the completed movie in order to receive a tax credit, which only led to outcry from fans. While Ketchup Entertainment was able to buy the rights to the film for $50 million, this only makes the critiques of capitalism starker. It speaks to the idea that in the modern day, money is the only way to ensure stories are told, with no regard given to the worth of its ideals.
A large portion of the movie centers around the business practices of Acme Corporation.
The Acme Corporation creates and controls every product in this universe, from phones to water bottles and even the internet. Similar to a couple of real-life companies. Their business model involves selling faulty products to cartoons in order to design functional ones for humans.
Acme gets away with this by taking advantage of cartoon physics, as the toons are never meaningfully affected by their faulty products. Wile E. Coyote is noted as a “high-usage customer,” someone who generates a large amount of profit for the company through the quantity of products purchased.
Throughout the film, Acme products are nigh inescapable, with even towing companies and home goods bearing their logo. Living in the age of Amazon and Meta, it feels very topical to consider how much corporations propagate our daily lives, and how many other businesses they displace to maintain that hold.
The film also critiques the power of megacorporations to alter laws and bury rivals with their own wealth: a large struggle of the heroes to bring justice is that regardless of winning the deposition or senate hearing, Acme has the funds to continue while the protagonists’ firm will go bankrupt regardless of the outcome.
However, this inevitable fate isn't portrayed as the end. Far from it. The many wronged cartoon characters are able to get their win over the Acme Corporation with the help of the protagonists’ firm, showing that an individual's win can spur greater action by inspiring others to take a stand with you.
With the current landscape of big companies constantly controlling everything and shutting down the little guys, it’s nice to see a story where the little wins add up in the long run. And the movie started off with a big win by being shown in theaters across the world.
Like most movies, this is an underdog story. Showing us that we too can fight and win against big companies and bring good back to our communities. After all, what’s more insane than giving up?