Plaintiff Buck Woodall’s filing indicates that he had previously produced an animated film entitled “Bucky the Wave Warrior.” The film was inspired by Woodall’s “unique exposure” to Polynesian culture and shares some plot similarities with “Moana,” including a story that features a teenage trying to save a Polynesian island, depictions of Polynesian ancestors in the form of spirit animals, and a “symbolic necklace” that plays a role in the story.
A filmmaker has filed a lawsuit against Disney, claiming that it violated copyright law when creating the “Moana” franchise.
According to USA Today, the lawsuit was filed late last week on behalf of plaintiff Buck Woodall. In his complaint, Woodall claims that Disney and its co-defendants—including the independent Mandeville Films and former DreamWorks Animation feature development lead Jenny Marchick—stole his ideas to create the original “Moana” movie.
Now, Woodall claims that Disney should pay him “at least $10 billion” in damages, as well as 2.5% of all revenue earned from “Moana 2” ticket sales.
USA Today notes that the original “Moana,” set in ancient Polynesia, tells the story of a teenage girl who is guided by a demigod in a mission to save her people.
Attorneys for Woodall say that the plot of “Moana” was anything but novel.
Woodall’s filings indicate that he had previously produced an animated film entitled “Bucky the Wave Warrior.” The film was inspired by Woodall’s “unique exposure” to Polynesian culture and shares some plot similarities with “Moana,” including a story that features a teenage trying to save a Polynesian island, depictions of Polynesian ancestors in the form of spirit animals, and a “symbolic necklace” that plays a role in the story.
In his lawsuit, Woodall claims that, sometime in 2003, he began sharing ideas for “Bucky” with Marchick, who was, at the time, the director of development at Mandeville Films.
Marchick allegedly told Woodall that the production studio had held a “first look” meeting with Disney, which could have led to the company purchasing rights to the film. Over the course of the next several years, Marchick “prodded” Woodall for more content, with Woodall saying that he shared an animated trailer, storyboards, and a draft script.
However, Woodall never received an offer from Disney.
Shortly before “Moana” released, Marchick allegedly told Woodall that she wasn’t sure if any of the “Bucky” content he’d shared had ever “made it beyond her desk.”
Woodall, though, says that Disney had already received all the content it needed by the time that he submitted a final script for “Bucky” in 2011.
“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 after more than 17 years of inspiration and work on his animated film project,” the lawsuit alleges.
Disney has since contested the allegations, claiming that nobody involved in the production of “Moana” had any prior exposure to Woodall’s “Bucky the Water Warrior.”
“‘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,” wrote “Moana” director Ron Clements in a court filing.
Sources
‘Moana 2’ Sparks Copyright Lawsuit as Animator Revives Idea Theft Claims
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