The name "Acme" is used as a generic corporate name in a huge number of cartoons, comics, television shows (as early as an I Love Lucy episode), and film (as early as Buster Keaton's 1920 silent film Neighbors and Harold Lloyd's 1922 film Grandma's Boy).
Examples which specifically reference the Wile E. Coyote cartoon character include:
Animated films, TV series
- The 1988 Disney/Touchstone and Amblin Entertainment film Who Framed Roger Rabbit attempted to explain Acme's inner workings in detail. The movie's plot is centered on the murder of the founder of Acme Incorporated, Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye). Many of the film's scenes involve Acme products, and the climactic scene of the film is set in the Acme warehouse.
- The Tiny Toon Adventures series expanded on Acme's influence, with the entire setting of the show taking place in a city called "Acme Acres". The show's young protagonists attended "Acme Looniversity." In one episode, the coyote sues Acme, accusing it of making products which are unsafe.[6] At the legal hearing, however, an Acme representative argues the products are not dangerous if used properly. For example, the coyote would attempt to launch himself using an Acme catapult by cutting the rope used to wind it, but the Acme representative pointed out that he was supposed to simply pull a lever.
- The corporation's influence also happened on Animaniacs, such as the Acme song from Cookies for Einstein, and Pinky and the Brain's home in Acme Labs.
- Acme Corporation is the main antagonist of the 2003 movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action. The head offices of Acme are depicted, revealing it to be a multinational corporation whose executive officers are led by the villainous Mr. Chairman, portrayed by Steve Martin.
- The cartoon series Loonatics Unleashed is set in Acmetropolis.
- In Wakko's Wish, the Animaniacs feature film, the Warner siblings and other characters live in the village of Acme Falls.
- External World, David O'Reilly's short film, features Acme Retirement Castle, a dystopian retirement facility for disabled cartoon characters.
Music
- Bell X1's song "One Stringed Harp" includes the lyric "Like Wile E. Coyote/As if the fall wasn't enough/Those bastards from Acme/They got more nasty stuff".
- The Brazilian thrash metal band Chakal has a song titled "Acme Dead End Road" from its 1990 album, The Man Is His Own Jackal. The song begins with the Road Runner signature sound "beep, beep".[7]
Legal humor
- Joey Green wrote "Cliff-Hanger Justice," a fictional account of a product liability lawsuit by Wile E. Coyote against Acme, which appeared in three parts in the August, September, and October 1982 issues of National Lampoon magazine.[8]
- Ian Frazier also wrote a fictional legal complaint "Coyote vs. Acme", which was published in the New Yorker[9] and eventually became the title piece of a short fiction collection.
Other