Latest news with #BuckWoodall
Asharq Al-Awsat
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Disney Didn't Copy ‘Moana' from a Man's Story of a Surfer Boy, a Jury Says
A jury on Monday quickly and completely rejected a man's claim that Disney's 'Moana' was stolen from his story of a young surfer in Hawaii. The Los Angeles federal jury deliberated for only about 2 ½ hours before deciding that the creators of 'Moana' never had access to writer and animator Buck Woodall's outlines and script for 'Bucky the Surfer Boy.' With that question settled, the jury of six women and two men didn't even have to consider the similarities between 'Bucky' and Disney's 2016 hit animated film about a questing Polynesian princess. Woodall had shared his work with a distant relative, who worked for a different company on the Disney lot, but the woman testified during the two-week trial that she never showed it to anyone at Disney. 'Obviously we're disappointed,' Woodall's attorney Gustavo Lage said outside court. 'We're going to review our options and think about the best path forward.' In closing arguments earlier Monday, Woodall's attorney said that a long chain of circumstantial evidence showed the two works were inseparable. 'There was no 'Moana' without 'Bucky,'' Lage said. Defense lawyer Moez Kaba said that the evidence showed overwhelmingly that 'Moana' was clearly the creation and 'crowning achievement' of the 40-year career of John Musker and Ron Clements, the writers and directors behind 1989's 'The Little Mermaid,' 1992's 'Aladdin,' 1997's 'Hercules' and 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog.' 'They had no idea about Bucky,' Kaba said in his closing. 'They had never seen it, never heard of it.' 'Moana' earned nearly $700 million at the global box office. A judge previously ruled that Woodall's 2020 lawsuit came too late for him to claim a piece of those receipts, and that a lawsuit he filed earlier this year over 'Moana 2' — which earned more than $1 billion — must be decided separately. That suit remains active, though the jury's decision does not bode well for it. Judge Consuelo B. Marshall, who is also overseeing the sequel lawsuit, said after the verdict that she agreed with the jurors' decision about access. 'We are incredibly proud of the collective work that went into the making of Moana and are pleased that the jury found it had nothing to do with Plaintiff's works,' Disney said in a statement. Musker and Disney's attorneys declined to comment outside the courtroom. The relatively young jury of six women and two men watched 'Moana' in its entirety in the courtroom. They considered a story outline that Woodall created for 'Bucky' in 2003, along with a 2008 update and a 2011 script. In the latter versions of the story, the title character, vacationing in Hawaii with his parents, befriends a group of Native Hawaiian youth and goes on a quest that includes time travel to the ancient islands and interactions with demigods to save a sacred site from a developer. Around 2004, Woodall gave the 'Bucky' outline to the stepsister of his brother's wife. That woman, Jenny Marchick, worked for Mandeville Films, a company that had a contract with Disney and was located on the Disney lot. He sent her follow-up materials through the years. He testified that he was stunned when he saw 'Moana' in 2016 and saw so many of his ideas. Along with her testimony saying she didn't show 'Bucky' to anyone, messages shared by the defense showed she eventually ignored Woodall's queries to her and had told him there was nothing she could do for him. Disney attorney Kaba argued there was no evidence Marchick ever worked on 'Moana' or received any credit or compensation for it. Kaba pointed out that Marchick, now head of features development at DreamWorks Animation, worked for key Disney competitors Sony and Fox during much of the time she was allegedly making use of Woodall's work for Disney. Woodall also submitted the script directly to Disney and had a meeting with an assistant at the Disney Channel, which Marchick arranged for him, to talk about working as an animator. But jurors agreed that this didn't give them reason to believe that 'Bucky' made its way to Musker, Clements or their collaborators. Lage, Woodall's attorney, outlined some of the similarities of the two works in his closing. Both include teens on oceanic quests. Both have Polynesian demigods as central figures and shape-shifting characters who turn into, among other things, insects and sharks. In both, the main characters interact with animals who act as spirit helpers. Kaba said many of these elements, including Polynesian lore and basic 'staples of literature,' are not copyrightable. Shape-shifting among supernatural characters, he said, appears throughout films including 'The Little Mermaid,' 'Aladdin,' and Hercules, which made Musker and Clements essential to the Disney renaissance of the 1990s and made Disney a global powerhouse. Animal guides go back to movies as early as 1940's 'Pinocchio' and appear in all of Musker and Clements' previous films, he said. Kaba said Musker and Clements developed 'Moana' the same way they did the other films, through their own inspiration, research, travel and creativity. The lawyer said thousands of pages of development documents showed every step of Musker and Clements' creation, whose spark came from the paintings of Paul Gaugin and the writings of Herman Melville 'You can see every single fingerprint,' Kaba said. 'You can see the entire genetic makeup of 'Moana.''
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney didn't copy 'Moana' from man's story about surfer boy, jury rules
The Brief A jury rejected Buck Woodall's claim that Disney's "Moana" copied his story, "Bucky the Surfer Boy," ruling that Disney creators never had access to his work. Woodall's lawyer argued that numerous similarities, such as demigods and shape-shifting characters, showed "Moana" was based on his script, but Disney's defense disagreed. LOS ANGELES - A jury has rejected a man's claim that Disney's "Moana" was stolen from his story of a young surfer in Hawaii. On Monday, the Los Angeles federal jury deliberated for only about 2 ½ hours before deciding that the creators of "Moana" never had access to writer and animator Buck Woodall's outlines and script for "Bucky the Surfer Boy." What they're saying Defense lawyer Moez Kaba said that the evidence showed overwhelmingly that "Moana" was clearly the creation and "crowning achievement" of the 40-year career of John Musker and Ron Clements, the writers and directors behind 1989's "The Little Mermaid," 1992's "Aladdin," 1997's "Hercules" and 2009's "The Princess and the Frog." "They had no idea about Bucky," Kaba said in his closing early Monday. "They had never seen it, never heard of it." The other side In closing arguments, Woodall's attorney said that a long chain of circumstantial evidence and similarities, so numerous they couldn't be coincidences, made it clear that his story "Bucky the Surfer Boy" was the basis for the hit 2016 animated film. "There was no 'Moana' without 'Bucky,'" Gustavo Lage, lawyer for plaintiff Buck Woodall, said during closing arguments in the courtroom. The backstory Woodall said he had shared his work with the stepsister of his brother's wife, who worked for a different company on the Disney lot, but the woman testified during the two-week trial that she never showed it to anyone at Disney. This is not the first time Woodall has taken legal action against Disney. A similar case was dismissed in November due to the statute of limitations. According to The Associated Press, both projects include Polynesian demigods as major characters, with the figures of Maui, Te Fiti and a fiery volcano goddess in "Moana" clearly counterparts of the divine characters in "Bucky." Both also include shape-shifting characters who turn into, among other things, insects and sharks. In addition, both include the main characters interacting with animals who act as spirit helpers. "How many coincidences are too many?" the lawyer asked. "When does a coincidence stop being a coincidence?" The relatively young jury of six women and two men watched "Moana" in its entirety in the courtroom. Many others, including shape-shifting characters, appear throughout other films, including "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and "Hercules," which made Musker and Clements essential to the Disney renaissance of the 1990s and made Disney a global powerhouse. Many others, including animal guides, go back to Disney movies as early as 1940's "Pinocchio" and appear in all of Musker and Clements' previous films. "Moana" earned nearly $700 million in the global box office. RELATED: Disney sued for allegedly copying the idea for Moana and its sequel A judge previously ruled that Woodall's 2020 lawsuit came too late for him to claim a piece of those receipts, and that a lawsuit he filed earlier this year over "Moana 2" — which earned more than $1 billion — must be decided separately. Why you should care The lawsuit highlights ongoing debates in Hollywood over intellectual property and creative rights. Going forward, the case could have implications for how studios handle submissions and develop culturally inspired films.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney Wins ‘Moana' Copyright Trial, But $10B Sequel Suit Still Riding The Legal Waves, For Now
Buck Woodall's five-year battle with Disney over who really created Moana looks to have come to an end, with a Los Angeles jury on Monday finding for the House of Mouse in the animated franchise dispute, at least for now. While the panel of six women and two men determined in just under three hours that Disney and primary Moana creators John Musker and Ron Clements never saw or even knew about Woodall's Bucky the Surfer Boy work while working on the 2016 animated hit, Woodall now has a separate copyright infringement action in the courts over blockbuster sequel Moana 2. More from Deadline Disney's Alan Bergman, Josh D'Amaro On World Building Across Film & Parks In High-Wattage Event With Surprise Appearance By Robert Downey Jr. - SXSW Disney Layoffs To Impact Almost 200 Employees Across News Division And Entertainment Networks; Data Site 538 To Be Discontinued Hulu's Bumpy Oscar Night: Streaming Experts Unpack The Glitches And Assess The Impact On Disney's Service Right now, after a slew of internal communications and more sausage-making was revealed in documents for this trial, Disney is taking the win and leaving it at that. 'We are incredibly proud of the collective work that went into the making of Moana and are pleased that the jury found it had nothing to do with Plaintiff's works,' a spokesperson for the Bob Iger-run media giant told Deadline after the verdict was read out this afternoon in Judge Alka Sagar's courtroom at the Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Los Angeles. Lawyers for Woodall were not so upbeat, obviously. 'We are obviously disappointed in the verdict,' attorney Gustavo D. Lage said Monday. 'At the present time, we are weighing our options to determine the best path forward regarding the legal remedies available to our client.' With the question of whether Musker or Clements or any other principal had ever come in contact with Woodall's Bucky materials the primary question before the jury, any issue of similarity between the Hawaii setting and Polynesian demigods in Bucky and Moana was moot. 'They had no idea about Bucky,' Disney outside counsel Moez Kaba said of the Little Mermaid and Aladdin filmmakers in his closing argument Monday in the downtown L.A. courthouse. 'They had never seen it, never heard of it.' Like in the first case, which was filed in 2020 and still may be appealed, I'm told, Woodall claims in the newer case that a distant relative helped him out. To that, beginning in 2004 Woodall says he handed Jenny Marchick his copyright-protected Bucky the Surfer Boy trailer storyboards, 'intellectual property and trade secrets' (including a 2011 finished script). Marchich was then Mandeville Films' director of development and working out of the Mandeville offices on the Disney lot. As was made clear in Disney documents unearthed in discovery and in the trial, work began on the Herman Melville-inspired Moana in 2011, a point Woodall's lawyers jumped on. Unburdened now of the time limitations placed on his initial Moana suit of 2020, the January-filed Moana 2 suit is seeking $10 billion from Disney, or around 2.5% of the gross from the 2024 sensation, which grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office. In the end, because of statutes, Woodall wouldn't have been able to see any cash from the first Moana, but he may have a Hail Mary at some dough from the second toon, which returned Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson to their starring roles. 'This case arises from a two-decade-long scheme masterminded by Marchick but ultimately joined in with malice and for profit by all Defendants pursuant to the aforementioned conspiracy described in this Complaint,' reads the complaint filed January 10, 2025 and seeking injunction relief and big bucks. 'The scheme started out as a plan by Marchick to support her thirst to gain success in her desired career in the movie industry, at all costs, by working with the Defendants to steal all the components of Plaintiffs Copyrighted Materials, as that term is defined in this Complaint.' 'This theft resulted in what would eventually become one of the most unique and profitable animated film franchises in motion picture history revolving around Plaintiffs Copyrighted Materials and directly resulting in the Disney franchise known as Moana,' the lawsuit adds. For the record, Marchick was the sister-in-law of Woodall's brother. Professionally, after time at Fox and Sony, Marchick now holds the position of head of development for features at NBCUniversal-owned DreamWorks Animation. In Marchick's long-ish stint testifying in the nearly two-long case, the exec stated that she had no memory of ever showing any of Woodall's Bucky the Surfer Boy material to anyone at Disney over the years even as her relative by marriage sent her material and updates. Correspondence brought up at trial also showed Marchick telling Woodall via email that she didn't think she could help him. Marchick did eventually secure Woodall a job interview with a Disney Channel staffer for an animating gig, but that didn't seem to result in much. No trial date has been set for the Moana 2 copyright infringement case, However, watch that docket, because you can be sure Disney will be asking Judge Consuelo B. Marshall to toss out the whole thing sooner rather than later based on today's outcome. Best of Deadline The 25 Highest-Grossing Animated Films Of All Time At The Box Office 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Los Angeles Times
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Disney didn't copy ‘Moana' from a man's story of a surfer boy, a jury says
LOS ANGELES — A jury on Monday quickly rejected a man's claim that Disney's 'Moana' was stolen from his story of a young surfer in Hawaii. The Los Angeles federal jury deliberated for only about 2 ½ hours before deciding that the creators of 'Moana' never had access to writer and animator Buck Woodall's outlines and script for 'Bucky the Surfer Boy.' With that question settled, the jury of six women and two men didn't even have to consider the similarities between 'Bucky' and Disney's 2016 hit animated film about a questing Polynesian princess. Woodall had shared his work with the stepsister of his brother's wife, who worked for a different company on the Disney lot, but the woman testified during the two-week trial that she never showed it to anyone at Disney. 'Obviously we're disappointed,' Woodall's attorney Gustavo Lage said outside court. 'We're going to review our options and think about the best path forward.' In closing arguments earlier Monday, Woodall's attorney said that a long chain of circumstantial evidence and similarities so numerous they can't be coincidences make it clear that his story 'Bucky the Surfer Boy' was the basis for the hit 2016 animated film. 'There was no 'Moana' without 'Bucky,'' Lage said during closing arguments in a Los Angeles courtroom. Defense lawyer Moez Kaba said that the evidence shows overwhelmingly that 'Moana' was clearly the creation and 'crowning achievement' of the 40-year career of John Musker and Ron Clements, the writers and directors behind 1989's 'The Little Mermaid,' 1992's 'Aladdin,' 1997's 'Hercules' and 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog.' 'They had no idea about Bucky,' Kaba said in his closing. 'They had never seen it, never heard of it.' Musker and Disney attorneys declined comment outside the courtroom. 'Moana' earned nearly $700 million in global box office. A judge previously ruled that Woodall's 2020 lawsuit came too late for him to claim a piece of those receipts, and that a lawsuit he filed earlier this year over 'Moana 2' — which earned more than $1 billion — must be decided separately. That suit remains active, though the jury's decision does not bode well for it. The relatively young jury of six women and two men watched 'Moana' in its entirety in the courtroom. They considered a 2004 story outline that Woodall, a New Mexico writer and animator, created for 'Bucky' in 2003, along with a 2008 update and a 2011 script. In the latter versions of the story, the title character, vacationing in Hawaii with his parents, befriends a group of Native Hawaiian youth and goes on a quest that includes time travel to the ancient islands and interactions with demigods to save a sacred site from a developer. Jurors would have had to decide whether the two works had 'substantial similarity,' a question that much of the trial addressed, but their instructions told them to stop if they answered 'no' to the access question. Around 2004, Woodall gave the 'Bucky' outline to the stepsister of his brother's wife. That woman, Jenny Marchick, worked for Mandeville Films, a company that had a contract with Disney to create live-action films and was located on the Disney lot. He sent her follow-up materials through the years. He testified that he was stunned when he saw 'Moana' in 2016 and saw so many of his ideas. Marchick was cast as the mastermind of the theft in his original lawsuit before she was dropped as a defendant. She testified that she had not shown 'Bucky' to anyone at Disney. And messages shared by the defense showed she eventually ignored Woodall's queries to her and told her stepsister that she'd told Woodall there was nothing she could do for him. Disney attorney Kaba argued there was no evidence Marchick ever worked on 'Moana' or received any credit or compensation for it. He emphasized to jurors that Woodall had to prove the 'Bucky' materials got to the creators of 'Moana' and not merely someone with connections to the corporation. Lage outlined the similarities of the two works in his closing. Both include Polynesian demigods as major characters, with the figures of Maui, Te Fiti and a fiery volcano goddess in 'Moana' clearly counterparts of the divine characters in 'Bucky.' Both include shape-shifting characters who turn into, among other things, insects and sharks. Both include the main characters interacting with animals who act as spirit helpers. And Lage said Moana struggling to learn to sail in her quest echoes Bucky's struggle to learn to surf for his. 'How many coincidences are too many?' the lawyer asked. 'When does a coincidence stop being a coincidence?' Kaba said many of these elements, including Polynesian lore and basic 'staples of literature,' are not copyrightable. Many others, including shapeshifting characters, appear throughout films including 'The Little Mermaid,' 'Aladdin' and 'Hercules,' which made Musker and Clements essential to the Disney renaissance of the 1990s and made Disney a global powerhouse. Many others, including animal guides, go back to Disney movies as early as 1940's 'Pinocchio' and appear in Musker and Clements' previous films. Kaba said Musker and Clements developed 'Moana' the same way they did the other films, through their own inspiration, research, travel and creativity. The lawyer said thousands of pages of development documents show every step of Musker and Clements' creation, whose spark came from the paintings of Paul Gauguin and the writings of Herman Melville 'You can see every single fingerprint,' Kaba said. 'You can see the entire genetic makeup of 'Moana.'' And none of the extensive Disney documentation makes any mention of Bucky, the lawyer argued. 'This is Ron and John's story,' Kaba said. 'No matter what they tell you, this is not Buck Woodall's story.' Dalton writes for the Associated Press.
