My Prophetic Poem On Behalf Of Our Client.

Bard For Life CD (Includes a 2001 recording of me performing On Behalf Of Our Client)

On a recent cinema visit, I saw a trailer for a pending new movie, Coyote VS ACME, with the premise that Wile E Coyote of the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes ‘Road-Runner’ cartoons sues the ACME Trading Corporation for damages for the number of times their devises injured and almost killed him. The film is due for release in 2026.

Astonishingly, it has virtually the same plot as a poem I wrote, which was published in 1990, and also exists in audio form on a limited circulation CD that was produced (only 55 copies exist, 2 in my own possession) in April 2001.

This is the poem.

ON BEHALF OF OUR CLIENT

Dear Mister Klunk, of the ACME Patent

Trading Corporation, We wish to claim

Compensation for our injured client,

Wile E. Coyote (Genius), who’s aim

In buying your Mark Five Supa Nova

Rocket boots was catching himself dinner.

(Wringing the Beep-Beep neck of that bovva-

Bird, Speedicus Maximus, or Road-Runner,

Was incidental). Wile E. was starving.

Your ‘Tell ‘im to open a tin of beans’

Remark was insensitive. Inspecting

Your firm’s part in his past injuries seems

To call for more money than when you blokes

Sold him that chain saw kite-bike. That’s all folks!

Copyright. Arthur Chappell   

Publication history

Positive Thoughts - Arrival Press 1990 Isbn 1-85930-681-0

Bard For Life Audio CD 2001.

Positive Thoughts 1990 - Includes the First Print copy of my poem On Behalf Of Our Client.

From the trailer, I have to say the film looks poor. It takes a one joke idea that I can get away with in a 14 line sonnet (yes, it has ten syllables in every line), but which they are stretching to a full length movie treatment. The animated Looney Tunes characters are still two dimensional while interacting with live action performers, as they did in The Space Jam movies, and this was similarly tried in The Rocky Bulwinkle film. I do hope the film does OK, but I fear the worse for it.

It would be rather ironic if I was to sue the film company for a film about someone suing a company.

The film trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWp5efMDmio

Photos taken by myself. Bard For Life CD cover art designed by Smuzz.

Arthur Chappell