Animation workers and fans celebrate the upcoming release of a film that had been considered shelved media lost to time. Ketchup Entertainment has arranged a deal with Warner Bros. to distribute and finally show the shelved Coyote vs. ACME movie that has been the subject of controversy within the creative community.
Finished and originally planned to be released in the summer of 2023, Coyote vs. ACME is a live-action/animated hybrid film telling the story of Wile E. Coyote, frequent customer and often victim of ACME-branded gadgets, finally taking ACME to court for the multiple injuries he has sustained due to their faulty products. It has an all-star cast including Will Forte, John Cena, and Tone Bell among others. During private screenings and focus groups, it received rave reviews.
Then it was canceled.
Even though an estimated $70 million was already invested into it and the movie was finished, Warner Bros. had a change of direction at the time and thought it was a better financial move for the company to scrap the movie’s distribution and file it as a tax write-off. This typically happens when a studio doesn’t believe a movie will make a good return on their investment, however, the focus group data and early reviews indicated otherwise for Coyote vs. ACME.
When news broke that the movie was going to be shelved, various members of the cast and crew went online to express their disappointment and anger at Warner Bros. online. On top of that, fans also went online to show their disappointment and use their platform to tell Warner Bros. that they would commit to seeing Coyote vs. ACME in theaters if they committed to release it.
When asked about the movie’s burial, its star Will Forte didn’t hold back. “My thoughts were that it’s fucking bullshit,” he told Movieweb. “It is such a delightful movie. It deserves so much better … I can’t tell you possibly why the decision was made to not release it, but it makes my blood boil and thank you for asking me about it because I like talking about the movie.”
With several people working on the movie sharing their experience online and showing some drawings, stills, and music from the film, this turned into a movement that caused Warner Bros. to allow the film to be bought for distribution. After over a year of different negotiations and threats of it being shelved again permanently, Ketchup Entertainment swooped in and made a deal with Warner Bros. to finally release it for the public to see.
“We’re thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide,” said Gareth West, the CEO of Ketchup Entertainment, in a public statement. “Coyote vs. Acme is a perfect blend of nostalgia and modern storytelling, capturing the essence of the beloved Looney Tunes characters while introducing them to a new generation. We believe it will resonate with both longtime fans and newcomers alike.”
Coyote vs. ACME would have been another lost media project had it not been for the advocacy and loud reaction from those who worked on it and for fans pledging to watch it. This wouldn’t be the first time a piece of popular culture was successfully resurrected from cancellation. The primetime animated show Futurama is currently releasing new episodes through 2026 on Hulu after being cancelled on Fox and Comedy Central, being resurrected each time by vocal fan support. Mystery Science Theater 3000 spent years in syndicated cable, going from local television to Comedy Central to the SyFy Channel, but was brought back on a Netflix deal after a resoundingly successful Kickstarter was done by the original creators and collaborators that wanted to make new episodes.
This type of collective fan protest goes all the way back to when author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off his popular Sherlock Holmes character and had to bring him back upon fan demand. There are several factors why a media property is brought back—usually monetary—but in terms of fans it has to do with the sense of community that forms around a show, movie, band, book, and the like. Media can unite people and cultivate new relationships, allowing people to see themselves in various characters. Fans don't want to lose that.
In terms of Coyote vs. ACME, a story about a little guy getting cheated by a big corporation and fighting back, the protest was a group of artists and fans feeling like they were being cheated by a big corporation and fighting back. In this case, it appears that the artists and fans won, and this real life story will get a happy ending when this fictional tale is finally released.
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