The ACME Corporation is a name for the
fictional corporation appearing in various
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
cartoon shorts, where it was used as a
running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
due to their wide array of products that are dangerous, unreliable or preposterous.
Origin
The name Acme comes from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
(ἀκμή, English transliteration: ''akmē''), meaning summit, highest point, extremity or peak. It has been falsely claimed to be an acronym, either for "A Company Making Everything", "American Companies Make Everything", or "American Company that Manufactures Everything." During the 1920s, the word was commonly used in the names of businesses in order to be listed toward the beginning of
alphabetized
Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is ...
telephone directories like the
Yellow Pages
The yellow pages are telephone directories of businesses, organized by category rather than alphabetically by business name, in which advertising is sold. The directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for ...
, and implied being the best. It is used in an
ironic
Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique.
Irony can be categorized into ...
sense in cartoons, because the products are often failure-prone or explosive.
The name Acme began being depicted in film starting in the silent era, such as the 1920 ''
Neighbors'' with
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
and the 1922 ''
Grandma's Boy'' with
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influential film co ...
, continuing with
TV series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
, such as in early episodes of ''
I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' and ''
The Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
The ...
'',
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
s and
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
s, especially those made by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, and
commercials. It briefly appeared in the
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
Donald Duck episodes ''
Cured Duck
''Cured Duck'' is a 1945 American animated cartoon produced by Walt Disney and directed by Jack King. It stars Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald and Gloria Blondell as the voice of Daisy, respectively. The cartoon features Donald going to vi ...
'' released in 1945 and ''
Three for Breakfast
''Three for Breakfast'' is a 1948 American animated short film directed by Jack Hannah. Part of the ''Donald Duck'' film series, the film was produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on No ...
'' released in 1948. It also appears as the ACME Mining company owned by the villain Rod Lacy in the 1952
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
''
The Duel at Silver Creek
''The Duel at Silver Creek'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Don Siegel; his first film in the Western genre. It starred Stephen McNally, Audie Murphy and Faith Domergue. It was the first time Murphy had appeared in a film where he ...
'' and in a 1938 short ''
Violent Is the Word for Curly
''Violent is the Word for Curly'' is a 1938 short subject directed by Charley Chase starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 32nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pict ...
'' where
The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
appear as gas station attendants at an ''Acme'' Service Station. It was also used in the Pink Panther Show, where the name Acme was used on several episodes of the show's first installment in 1969, one of them being "Pink Pest Control".
Warner Brothers animator
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...
described the reason 'Acme' was used in cartoons at the time:
Whistles and traffic lights
![Acme anvil](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Acme_anvil.gif)
A whistle named 'Acme City', made from mid-1870s onwards by
J Hudson & Co
J Hudson & Co was founded in the 1870s in Birmingham by Joseph Hudson (1848–1930) and his brother James Hudson (1850–1889). The company became a manufacturer of whistles and continues as Acme Whistles. Acme is the world's largest and most ...
, followed by the "Acme Thunderer", and "
Acme siren
The Acme siren is a musical instrument used in concert bands for comic effect. Often used in cartoons, it produces the stylized sound of a police siren. It is one of the few aerophones in the percussion section of an orchestra.
The instrument is ...
" in 1895, were the early brand names bearing the names with the word 'Acme'. At the time the Acme Traffic Signal Company produced the
traffic light
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traf ...
s in Los Angeles, the city where
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
was making its cartoons. Instead of today's amber/yellow traffic light, bells rang as the small red and green lights with "Stop" and "Go" semaphore arms changed — a process that took five seconds.
Fictional depiction
The company is never clearly defined in ''Road Runner'' cartoons but appears to be a
conglomerate which produces every product type imaginable, no matter how elaborate or extravagant—most of which never work as desired or expected (some products do work very well, but backfire against the coyote). In the ''Road Runner'' cartoon ''
Beep, Beep'', it was referred to as "Acme Rocket-Powered Products, Inc." based in
Fairfield, New Jersey. Many of its products appear to be produced specifically for Wile E. Coyote; for example, the Acme Giant
Rubber Band
A rubber band (also known as an elastic band, gum band or lacky band) is a loop of rubber, usually ring or oval shaped, and commonly used to hold multiple objects together. The rubber band was patented in England on March 17, 1845 by Stephen P ...
, subtitled "(For Tripping Road Runners)".
While their products leave much to be desired, Acme delivery service is second to none; Wile E. can merely drop an order into a mailbox (or enter an order on a website, as in the ''
Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' movie), and have the product in his hands within seconds.
In film and TV
![Wile E](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Wile_E._Coyote%27s_ACME_Instant_Tunnel_at_MIT.jpg)
Examples which specifically reference the Wile E. Coyote cartoon character include:
* Films, shows and cartoons based on Looney Tunes characters often deal with Acme Corporation.
** The 1988 film ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 1 ...
'' attempted to explain Acme's inner workings in detail. The movie's plot is centered on the murder of the corporation's founder, Marvin Acme (
Stubby Kaye
Bernard Solomon Kotzin (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997), known as Stubby Kaye, was an American actor, comedian, vaudevillian, and singer, known for his appearances on Broadway and in film musicals.
Kaye originated the roles of Nicely-Ni ...
). Many of the film's scenes involve Acme products and the film's climax is set in an Acme warehouse.
** The ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...
'' 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 that are unsafe.
** The corporation appears as the antagonistic force of ''
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 film's main antagonist, Mr. Chairman, portrayed by
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...
.
** The 2015
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
animated film ''
Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run'' portrays Acme as a
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
.
** In August 2018, Warner Bros. announced they were developing a ''
Coyote vs. Acme
''Coyote vs. Acme'' is an upcoming American legal drama comedy film directed by Dave Green, from a screenplay written by James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, Jon Silberman, Josh Silberman, and Samy Burch. Combining live-action and animation, the film ...
'' animated movie with
Chris McKay
Christopher McKay, also known as Chris Taylor (born November 11, 1973), is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing and editing three seasons of '' Robot Chicken'' and two seasons of '' Moral Orel''. He made his feature directoria ...
producing and Jon and Josh Silberman completing the script. However, by December 2019, the project was reportedly looking for a writer. A year later,
James Gunn
James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a directo ...
was announced as both producer and writer on the project and a release date in 2023.
** The cartoon series ''
Loonatics Unleashed
''Loonatics Unleashed'' is an American superhero animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that ran on Kids' WB for two seasons from 2005 to 2007 in the United States.
The series was based/inspired on the '' Looney Tunes'' ...
'' is set in Acmetropolis.
* The corporation is mentioned in ''
Animaniacs
''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, unti ...
'', such as the Acme song from Cookies for Einstein, and ''
Pinky and the Brain
''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...
''s home in Acme Labs. In ''
Wakko's Wish
''Wakko's Wish'' (originally titled as ''Wakko's Wakko Wish'') is a 1999 American animated musical comedy-adventure fantasy film based on the 1993–98 animated series ''Animaniacs'', serving as the series finale until the announcement of the ...
'', the ''Animaniacs'' feature film, characters live in the village of Acme Falls.
* ''External World'', a short film by
David OReilly, features Acme Retirement Castle, a dystopian retirement facility for disabled cartoon characters.
* In the 1978 animated special ''
Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper'' (written, directed, and co-produced by Chuck Jones), Acme is credited as making Gloopstick, touted as a clear indestructible compound to perfectly preserve toys. Gloopstick is brought to
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
' workshop by "inefficiency expert" Alexander Graham Wolf, who strongly resembles Wile E. Coyote in appearance & voice.
Music
*
Bell X1
The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Be ...
'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
Brazilian thrash metal is a musical movement that originated in the 1980s. Though not as large or well known as the North American or European thrash metal movements, it bridged the gap of the mid-1980s and the death metal scene later in the dec ...
band
Chakal
Chakal (altered spelling of the Portuguese word for ''jackal''; ''chacal'') is a blackened thrash metal band from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The band formed in 1985 and has to date released five albums through Cogumelo Records. Its debut record, ...
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".
Legal humor
*Joey Green wrote "Cliff-hanger Justice", a fictional account of a
product liability
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has b ...
lawsuit by Wile E. Coyote against Acme, which appeared in three parts in the August, September, and October 1982 issues of ''
National Lampoon'' magazine.
*
Ian Frazier
Ian Frazier (born 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer and humorist. He wrote the 1989 non-fiction history ''Great Plains'', 2010's non-fiction travelogue ''Travels in Siberia'', and works as a writer and humorist for ''The New Yorke ...
wrote a fictional legal complaint "''Coyote v. Acme''", which was published in ''The New Yorker'' and later became the title piece of a short fiction collection. It also serves as inspiration for the upcoming film ''
Coyote vs. Acme
''Coyote vs. Acme'' is an upcoming American legal drama comedy film directed by Dave Green, from a screenplay written by James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, Jon Silberman, Josh Silberman, and Samy Burch. Combining live-action and animation, the film ...
'' due to be released in 2023.
*Acme Corp. frequently appears in
LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal rea ...
questions.
Other
* The
Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) is a repository of over 250,000 software modules and accompanying documentation for 39,000 distributions, written in the Perl programming language by over 12,000 contributors. ''CPAN'' can denote eit ...
provides an "Acme::" namespace which contains many humorous, useless and abstract modules for the
Perl
Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offici ...
programming language. It was named "in homage to that greatest of all absurd system creators: Wile E. Coyote."
*
Acme Communications
ACME Communications was a U.S.-based broadcasting company that was involved in operations of television stations and programming from the late 1990s to the year of 2013.
Company profile
ACME Communications was co-founded by Chairman and origina ...
was a former U.S. broadcasting company established by former
Fox Broadcasting Company
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
executive
Jamie Kellner
Jamie Kellner is an American former television executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a division of Time Warner which includes TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. Kellner took over the post in 2001 ...
. The stations were affiliated with Warner Bros's broadcast television network
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
, for which he was also a founding executive, and the Acme name was a reference to the cartoon.
*
ACME Night
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable channel, cable television Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and prod ...
is a
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
block.
See also
*
Ajax name brand of the Mickey Mouse universe
*
List of filmmakers' signatures
This is a list of filmmakers' signatures or Easter eggs that are found in many of their works which become signatures or trademarks. These are usually inconsequential small elements like signs which are inside jokes, cameos or references to other ...
*
Placeholder name
Placeholder names are words that can refer to things or people whose names do not exist, are temporarily forgotten, are not relevant to the salient point at hand, are to avoid stigmatization, are unknowable/unpredictable in the context in wh ...
References
External links
* From - Mock legal opening statement.
*
{{Warner Bros. animation and comics
Fictional brands
Fictional companies
In-jokes
Looney Tunes
Running gags
Who Framed Roger Rabbit