NEWS: Animator Files Lawsuit Against Disney, Claiming 'Moana' Ideas Were Stolen

Moana 2 has done pretty well for itself at the box office, and we’re still waiting for it to be available on Disney+. However, a lawsuit has now been filed against Disney due to claim of stolen IP.

Animator Buck Woodall claims that the ideas for Moana and Moana 2 were his ideas first, and the company “ripped off elements of a screenplay he wrote for an animated film called Bucky,” per The Hollywood Reporter. This isn’t the first time Woodall has filed the lawsuit.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Woodall filed a lawsuit against Disney for its original Moana film, but a court ruled in November that “Disney doesn’t have to face an identical copyright lawsuit brought by Woodall over Moana because he sued too late.” The release of Moana 2 has allowed him to pursue further legal action.

Woodall claims that Disney stole his ideas for Moana and Moana 2 from a different screenplay he wrote called Bucky. This film was also set in an ancient Polynesian village and followed “teenagers who defy their parents by embarking on dangerous voyages to save their homes while encountering spirits manifested as animals along the way.”

The judge in Woodall’s case in November ruled that it would be up to a jury to decide if the works are substantially similar, but also that “an individual at Disney Animation TV may have seen copyrighted materials for “Bucky” prior to the beginning of development for Moana.”

So, when exactly is this screenplay Bucky from? Well, Moana was released in 2016, and it was back in 2003 when Woodall provided a screenplay and trailer for Bucky to former Mandeville Films director of development Jenny Marchick, who is now DreamWorks Animation’s head of development for feature films. Allegedly, she asked Woodall for more materials, assuring him she could greenlight the film. It’s assumed that if an individual at Disney Animation TV did see the copyrighted material, it was due to the fact that “Mandeville had a first look deal with Disney and had offices on its facilities in Burbank, according to the complaint.”

According to the lawsuit:

Both “celebrate a recurring theme of the Polynesian belief in spiritual ancestors manifested as animals“
Both have their protagonist’s journey start with a turtle
Both have a symbolic and important necklace as part of the plot
Both have a main character who “encounters a demigod adorned with a giant hook and tattoos“
Both have a giant creature concealed by a mountain

Woodall is seeking damages equivalent to just 2.5% of Moana’s gross revenue, which amounts to about $10 billion. Additionally, he’s looking for “a court order that will bar any further infringements of copyright. Disney has provided documents showing the origin and development of Moana, including story ideas, pitch decks, research, and more. Disney’s Moana director wrote in a statement, “Moana was not inspired by or based in any way on [Woodall] or his ‘Bucky’ project, which I learned of for the first time after this lawsuit was filed.” However, Woodall’s Bucky script has been registered with the Writers Guild of America, and the U.S. Copyright Office does grant protection of the material.