Disney Faces Copyright Lawsuit Over Moana 2 Amid Awards Season Controversy

Animator Buck Woodall Files $10 Billion Copyright Lawsuit Against Disney

According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, animator Buck Woodall has initiated a staggering $10 billion lawsuit against Disney. This claim represents 2.5% of the total gross revenue generated by the Moana franchise. Woodall alleges that the storyline and elements of Moana bear striking similarities to his own screenplay titled Bucky, which he submitted in 2003 to Jenny Marchick, the Director of Development for Mandeville Films, who had a first-look deal with Disney.

Key Similarities Between Moana and Bucky

Woodall’s lawsuit highlights several narrative and thematic parallels between the two works. Here are some notable elements that overlap:

Both stories are set in ancient Polynesian villages.
A teenage protagonist embarks on an oceanic adventure featuring ancestral spirits that appear as animals.
The journey is initiated by the presence of a turtle.
A significant symbolic necklace plays a crucial role in the storyline.
A key supporting character is depicted as a hook-wielding demigod adorned with tattoos.
A large creature is concealed within a mountain.
The characters experience being drawn into a whirlpool portal.

Background on Previous Legal Action

This marks Woodall’s second attempt to litigate against Disney regarding allegations of copyright infringement. His initial lawsuit targeting the original Moana was dismissed in November due to it being filed past the legal deadline. U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall noted, “there is a disputed issue of genuine fact regarding substantial similarity and striking similarity between the parties’ works.”

Testimony from Moana’s Co-director

In the earlier case, Ron Clements, co-director of Moana, testified that he was unaware of Woodall or his project until after the lawsuit was filed, emphasizing:

“Moana was not inspired by or based in any way on [Woodall] or his ‘Bucky’ project.”

New Allegations in the Complaint

In the latest complaint, Woodall asserts that Disney’s creation of Moana involved the utilization of numerous components from his original work over a span of 17 years. He detailed that the depiction of the characters being sucked into a whirlpool is a distinctive narrative element found in his submissions, arguing that such similarities could not have occurred purely by coincidence:

“Disney’s Moana was produced in the wake of Woodall’s delivery to the Defendants of virtually all constituent parts necessary for its development and production… Moana and her crew are sucked into a perilous whirlpool-like oceanic portal, another dramatic and unique device-imagery found in Plaintiff’s materials that could not possibly have been developed by chance or without malicious intentions.”

Stay tuned for further developments on this high-stakes legal battle.

For additional details, refer to the original source: THR

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