Wile E. Coyote's voice actor explains what's happening with Coyote vs. Acme

The most talked-about movie in Hollywood is a film that no one is allowed to see — yet.

Set for release this year, Coyote vs. Acme was supposed to help reboot the Looney Tunes franchise for a new generation. But last week, Warner Bros. revealed they were going to shelve the film for tax write-off purposes — a move the company has been criticized for in the past.

Emmy-winning voice actor Eric Bauza played Wile E. Coyote in the film. He tells host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the emotional rollercoaster of working on a movie only to have it shelved, and how social media outrage over Warner's decision just might help save the film.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.

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"It wasn't a film based off of nostalgia. It was just an original story with the Looney Tunes characters," Bauza says.

Coyote vs. Acme was inspired by a short story published in The New Yorker of the same name. The film follows the perennially plucky yet unsuccessful Wile E. Coyote as he sues the Acme Corporation for the role their arguably faulty products have played in his endless, fraught pursuit of his nemesis, the Road Runner.

"We literally have an underdog going against the big corporation, for failed use of products that have always backfired in Coyote's face," Bauza says.

The feature-length film was first announced in 2018, and starred John Cena, Will Forte and Lana Condor. Bauza got involved with the film early in its production, recording scratch dialogue for a variety of characters.

"We work on this film for a couple of years. We're testing the film. I went to most of the test screenings which, if you're reading the headlines, all of it's true. It was testing extremely well — above average scores among family audiences that went to go see it," Bauza says.

The film was originally set to be released this year, but was bumped down on the studio's release schedule in favour of Greta Gerwig's summer blockbuster, Barbie.

"That decision to switch us out for Barbie obviously worked well for Warner Brothers," Bauza says.

As the end of the year drew near, Bauza says he began to wonder when exactly the film would be released.

"I was literally talking with Dave Green, the director, about any ideas. This movie has to be coming out soon. It's been done. It's in the can. It's complete. How do you want to market it?

"We were coming up with these fun ideas, and literally within the same week that the actors' strike ended, it was kind of that last, "Hey, before you go…."

Bauza says he was surprised to learn the film was being shelved as a write-off for tax purposes, especially considering how similar announcements made in recent years about Batgirl and the Scoob! sequel were received.

"This could have been literally the straw that broke the coyote's back. It was strike number three, and it really caused a wave among the fans," Bauza says.

"A lot of these characters are the Warner Brothers flagship characters, that are attached to that Warner Brothers shield we see at the beginning of every movie," he says. "They hold a lot of ground and a lot of core memories for a lot of our fans. People are proud Looney Tunes fans."

"You kind of grow up on either the Warner Brothers side of the fence or the Disney side of the fence, Doc, and I happen to be on the Warner Brothers side," he tells Abdelmahmoud (in Bugs Bunny's voice, no less).

Unlike what happened with Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, however, it appears there may still be hope for Coyote vs. Acme to reach audiences. Days after the film's cancellation was announced, Warner Bros. said it would let the filmmakers shop Coyote vs. Acme to other distributors.

Bauza attended a recent screening for the film. He says that while the project's momentum may have temporarily reached an impasse, the love for the film was as palpable as ever in the theatre.

"The air was thick in that room…. It was supposed to be the farewell funeral screening, but it turned out to be one of the most enlightening and celebratory experiences of this film. Everything that was going on in the last four days up until that screening only helped make the movie that much better, because art had now been imitating life imitating art," he says.

"In my time with these characters and in my career, almost 20 years now in animation, I'd never been in a situation like this or experienced something as amazing as this.

"And on that note I will say: that's not all, folks," Bauza says (in a perfect Porky Pig voice, naturally).

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Eric Bauza produced by Stuart Berman.