Bucky Woodall claims there are clear overlaps between Moana 2 and his screenplay

An animator has sued Disney for allegedly copying the idea for hit franchise Moana from his decades-old screenplay without his consent.

Buck Woodall filed a suit in a California federal court on Friday claiming that Disney lifted many elements of a screenplay he had written for an animated film titled Bucky.

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Woodall initially sued Disney last year but a California court ruled in November that his filing had come too late and dismissed it. The release of Moana 2 allowed the animator to sue the production giant anew, on the same basis.

The suit alleges a “fraudulent enterprise that encompassed the theft, misappropriation and extensive exploitation of Woodall’s copyrighted materials” on part of former Mandeville Films development director Jenny Marchick, now head of development at DreamWorks Animation.

The suit states that Woodall gave Marchick a screenplay and trailer for Bucky in 2003 and was then asked for more materials over the next few years, including character designs, production plans, budgets, and storyboards. Woodall claims he delivered “extremely large quantities of intellectual property and trade secrets” for projects titled Bucky and Bucky the Wave Warrior and was told by Marchick she would get the film greenlit.

“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 suit states.

It also points out alleged overlaps between Bucky and Moana 2.

Both are set in an ancient Polynesian village and follow teenagers who set out on a dangerous voyage to save their land, and meet ancient spirits who manifest as animals on their journey.

The suit specifically points out details like the rooster and pig companions, a meeting with the Kakamora warrior tribe, a whirlpool that leads to a portal as all being lifted from the screenplay of Bucky.

  • Granite@midwest.socialEnglish
    1752·
    5 months ago

    This kind of theft happens all the time. Proving it in court is a nightmare though, especially against Disney.

  • IMongoose@lemmy.worldEnglish
    631·
    5 months ago

    I’m not very versed in this but aren’t all those plot elements part of Polynesian folklore?

    • pooberbee (they/she)@lemmy.ml
      English
      33·
      5 months ago

      As far as I can tell, only Maui and the Kakamora (not as cute, little coconut people but as tricky spirits) are specifically elements of Pacific Island folklore.

        • pooberbee (they/she)@lemmy.ml
          English
          6·
          5 months ago

          Of course. I’m just talking about folklore as it relates to story elements. Moana isn’t an adapted fairy tale like Aladdin or Snow White.

  • Juice@midwest.socialEnglish
    57·
    5 months ago

    I feel like this thread is full of Disney lawyers trying out arguments to help them prep

  • vaguerant@fedia.io
    40·
    5 months ago

    This is pretty interesting. The claimant never pitched his movie to Disney itself, instead arguing that the exec he provided those materials to, Jenny Marchick, was “using legal loopholes to pass on his materials to Disney.” Not trying to dox anybody, but Marchick has a public LinkedIn profile and her official association with Disney is limited (she worked at the Disney Channel for four months in 2011). Otherwise, she has been employed by Mandeville Films, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Animation and DreamWorks.

    2003 and “over the next few years” is vague, but it roughly corresponds to when Marchick was Director of Development at Mandeville, a studio probably best known for 2008’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua–for certain definitions of “best”–although Marchick was already with Fox by that point. I’m not making any sort of judgment about the likelihood of Marchick aiding in theft of Woodall’s work based on this stuff, just putting together how it is alleged to have happened.

    • troed@fedia.io
      10·
      5 months ago

      Yeah it’s all in proving

      Woodall’s delivery to the defendants [Disney]

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.worldEnglish
    317·
    5 months ago

    I want to see his trailer and screenplay from 2003.

    From another article:

    This is not the first time Woodall has taken legal action against Disney. A previous lawsuit regarding the first Moana film was dismissed in November last year due to the statute of limitations. However, the release of the sequel has allowed Woodall to file a new complaint.

    If he had evidence of his creation being stolen, why did he wait so long? This all just seems like a cash grab or something to me. Also, $10 billion? That’s a good way to be dismissed as a fraudster.

    Disney made it’s empire from stealing from the public domain. They don’t need to steal from anyone. And if they did, he probably agreed to giving it to them through a terms and conditions acknowledgment at the Disneyland Theme park in 1997 that vindicates Disney from any legal repercussions.

  • shplane@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    5 months ago

    Hard to imagine Disney not having an original idea for their films

    /s x infinity

  • Petter1@lemm.eeEnglish
    71·
    5 months ago

    Deed them their own medicine! Hope this show how stupid copyright has become!