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See - Sada Elbalad
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Disney Wins "Moana" Copyright Trial
Yara Sameh On Monday, a jury sided with Disney in a copyright trial involving 'Moana,' clearing the company of an infringement suit brought by a screenwriter. The plaintiff, Buck Woodall, filed suit in 2020, alleging that 'Moana' was based on his work, 'Bucky the Wave Warrior.' After a two-week trial in federal court in Los Angeles, the eight-member jury found unanimously that Disney did not have access to the 2011 screenplay or earlier treatments. The jury deliberated for less than three hours. A Disney spokesperson said, '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.' Because the jurors ruled that the filmmakers did not have access to the script, they did not have to address the question of whether the two works are similar. Woodall, who is based in New Mexico, alleged a series of similarities between his work and the original 2016 'Moana.' He argued that both projects involve teenagers who defy their parental orders to set off on a dangerous voyage and save a Polynesian island. Woodall alleged other similarities as well, such as the inclusion of navigation by stars, a demigod with tattoos and survival of a storm at sea. The screenwriter alleged that, in 2004, he pitched the project to his sister-in-law's stepsister, who was an assistant at a live-action production company on the Disney lot. The relative later asked Walt Disney Animation Studios if it would take a submission, and learned that it would not, according to court filings. Disney argued that 'Moana' was independently created years later, and that there was no evidence that any of the filmmakers had access to Woodall's work. The company's lawyers also noted numerous differences between the two works. 'Bucky is white; Moana is Oceanian. Bucky is from the mainland U.S.; Moana is indigenous to the fictional island of Motunui,' the lawyers argued in a motion. 'Bucky lives in the modern day; Moana lives millennia in the past. Bucky is an ordinary teen; Moana is the future chief of her people. Bucky wants to learn to surf, while Moana wants to continue her people's proud history as the greatest ocean voyagers the world has ever known.' In November, a judge found that most of Woodall's claims were barred by the statute of limitations, since the movie was released in 2016. However, a claim survived against Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney's home video subsidiary, because the DVD release was in 2017. Woodall's lawyer said he was 'disappointed' and would consider his client's options going forward. Woodall filed a separate suit in January, alleging that 'Moana 2' also infringed on his screenplay. That case is still pending.
Reuters
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Disney wins US copyright trial over animated hit 'Moana'
March 10 (Reuters) - A California federal jury said on Monday that Disney's (DIS.N), opens new tab hit film "Moana" did not infringe an artist's copyrights related to his planned animated movie about a teenage hero in ancient Polynesia. The jury rejected Buck Woodall's argument that Disney unlawfully copied from a script, storyboards and other content he shared with a film executive starting in the early 2000s for his film "Bucky," according to a spokesperson for Disney's law firm. Woodall's attorney Gustavo Lage said they were disappointed with the verdict and would evaluate Woodall's options moving forward. Spokespeople for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict. Woodall, who lives in Baja, Mexico, and Taos, New Mexico, first sued Disney in 2020. He said he shared materials for "Bucky" — about a teenage surfer who time travels to ancient Polynesia — with film executive Jenny Marchick, whose stepsister is Woodall's sister-in-law. The lawsuit said that Woodall in 2011 sent a final draft script for "Bucky" to Marchick, who allegedly passed it off to Disney. Woodall argued that "Moana" copied from "Bucky," citing similarities in their plots, settings and other elements. Disney argued that the makers of "Moana" never saw Woodall's materials and that the works were not similar enough to support his claims. Woodall asked in the lawsuit for at least $100 million in damages. The case was narrowed to only involve Disney's home video distribution wing Buena Vista Home Entertainment after the court found his claims based on the film's theatrical release were time-barred. Woodall separately brought a similar case over "Moana 2" in January in which he is seeking at least $10 billion in damages. The case is Woodall v. Walt Disney Co, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:20-cv-03772. For Woodall: Gustavo Lage and Augusto Lopez of Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Gomez & Machado For Disney: Moez Kaba, Robert Klieger and Sourabh Mishra of Hueston Hennigan; Arwen Johnson and Michael Roth of King & Spalding
The Independent
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
'Moana' has her origins questioned at trial where man says his surfer boy led to the Disney hit
Was 'Moana' based on a boy named Bucky? Lawyers for a New Mexico writer and animator will say at closing arguments at his federal trial in Los Angeles on Monday that his work was stolen to create the Walt Disney Co.'s 2016 hit about a questing Polynesian princess, whose sequel was among the biggest hits of last year. Buck Woodall wrote a script, whose various titles have included 'Bucky the Surfer Boy," about a teenager vacationing in Hawaii with his parents who befriends a group of Native Hawaiian youth and goes on a quest that involves time travel to the ancient islands and interactions with demigods to save a sacred part of the islands from a developer. Woodall said he first gave the script to a distant relative by marriage who worked for another company on the Disney lot in about 2004, and a dozen years later was stunned when he saw so many of his ideas in ' Moana.' Here are some of the many similarities his lawsuit alleges: Both 'tell the story about a teenager who defies parental warnings and embarks on a dangerous voyage across Polynesian waters to save the endangered land of a Polynesian island.' Both 'involve a main character who encounters a demigod with a giant hook and tattoos.' Both 'involve protagonists who learn about ancient Polynesian culture during a sea voyage' and 'a recurring theme of the Polynesian belief in spiritual ancestors' who 'manifested as animals which guide and guard the living.' Defense lawyers and witnesses — including the woman Woodall gave the script to — said no one at Disney saw his work, and that 'Moana' was developed through the same cultural research and internal collaboration as its other films. A judge ruled that Woodall filed the 2020 lawsuit too late to have a claim on the nearly $700 global box office of 'Moana." What remains are the film's DVD and Blu-ray sales — worth $31.4 million gross with a net profit of $10.4 million. The only remaining defendant is Disney subsidiary Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 'Moana' was co-directed, along with two others, by John Musker and Ron Clements, a duo that was essential to the 1990s Disney animation renaissance that made the company a global powerhouse. At times with other collaborators, Musker and Clements co-wrote and co-directed 1989's 'The Little Mermaid,' 1992's ' Aladdin,' 1997's 'Hercules' and 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog." Musker testified that they had never plagiarized, and he was angered by the accusation. The relatively young jury of six women and two men watched 'Moana' in its entirety while sitting in the courtroom and were also shown scenes from 'The Little Mermaid' and other Musker and Clements films. Musker testified that Moana's relationship with her chief father was much like the mermaid Ariel's with her father, King Triton. A defense expert said that the relationship between Moana and the shapeshifting demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, reflects Aladdin and his shapeshifting Genie, voiced by Robin Williams. 'So many of the extrinsic elements of 'Moana' have been in previous Musker and Clements films, indeed in Disney films going back a century,' the expert, Jeffrey Rovin testified at trial. Woodall's attorneys must prove the works had substantial similarity and that the defendants had access to the copyrighted work. Both judge and jury will decide on substantial similarity, with the judge using the so-called 'extrinsic test" of comparing individual elements and the jury using the 'intrinsic test' of the 'total concept and feel' of the two works. Woodall in January filed a second lawsuit over 'Moana 2,' which was an even bigger hit that brought in more than $1 billion globally. But the judge declined to combine the lawsuits, and the newer one, seeking as much as $10 billion, will be dealt with separately.
Associated Press
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
‘Moana' has her origins questioned at trial where man says his surfer boy led to the Disney hit
Was 'Moana' based on a boy named Bucky? Lawyers for a New Mexico writer and animator will say at closing arguments at his federal trial in Los Angeles on Monday that his work was stolen to create the Walt Disney Co.'s 2016 hit about a questing Polynesian princess, whose sequel was among the biggest hits of last year. Buck Woodall wrote a script, whose various titles have included 'Bucky the Surfer Boy,' about a teenager vacationing in Hawaii with his parents who befriends a group of Native Hawaiian youth and goes on a quest that involves time travel to the ancient islands and interactions with demigods to save a sacred part of the islands from a developer. Woodall said he first gave the script to a distant relative by marriage who worked for another company on the Disney lot in about 2004, and a dozen years later was stunned when he saw so many of his ideas in 'Moana.' Here are some of the many similarities his lawsuit alleges: Both 'tell the story about a teenager who defies parental warnings and embarks on a dangerous voyage across Polynesian waters to save the endangered land of a Polynesian island.' Both 'involve a main character who encounters a demigod with a giant hook and tattoos.' Both 'involve protagonists who learn about ancient Polynesian culture during a sea voyage' and 'a recurring theme of the Polynesian belief in spiritual ancestors' who 'manifested as animals which guide and guard the living.' Defense lawyers and witnesses — including the woman Woodall gave the script to — said no one at Disney saw his work, and that 'Moana' was developed through the same cultural research and internal collaboration as its other films. A judge ruled that Woodall filed the 2020 lawsuit too late to have a claim on the nearly $700 global box office of 'Moana.' What remains are the film's DVD and Blu-ray sales — worth $31.4 million gross with a net profit of $10.4 million. The only remaining defendant is Disney subsidiary Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 'Moana' was co-directed, along with two others, by John Musker and Ron Clements, a duo that was essential to the 1990s Disney animation renaissance that made the company a global powerhouse. At times with other collaborators, Musker and Clements co-wrote and co-directed 1989's 'The Little Mermaid,' 1992's 'Aladdin,' 1997's 'Hercules' and 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog.' Musker testified that they had never plagiarized, and he was angered by the accusation. The relatively young jury of six women and two men watched 'Moana' in its entirety while sitting in the courtroom and were also shown scenes from 'The Little Mermaid' and other Musker and Clements films. Musker testified that Moana's relationship with her chief father was much like the mermaid Ariel's with her father, King Triton. A defense expert said that the relationship between Moana and the shapeshifting demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, reflects Aladdin and his shapeshifting Genie, voiced by Robin Williams. 'So many of the extrinsic elements of 'Moana' have been in previous Musker and Clements films, indeed in Disney films going back a century,' the expert, Jeffrey Rovin testified at trial. Woodall's attorneys must prove the works had substantial similarity and that the defendants had access to the copyrighted work. Both judge and jury will decide on substantial similarity, with the judge using the so-called 'extrinsic test' of comparing individual elements and the jury using the 'intrinsic test' of the 'total concept and feel' of the two works. Woodall in January filed a second lawsuit over 'Moana 2,' which was an even bigger hit that brought in more than $1 billion globally. But the judge declined to combine the lawsuits, and the newer one, seeking as much as $10 billion, will be dealt with separately.
