LOS ANGELES — A copyright lawsuit filed last week explosively alleges that Disney’s acclaimed “Moana” series, which features a daring Polynesian heroine and became a box office triumph, largely draws from a screenplay penned two decades ago that was never developed. Buck Woodall, an animator, claims his creative work was used without his authorization to conceive both “Moana” and its sequel.
According to the legal documentation, Woodall accuses Jenny Marchick, a former executive at Mandeville Films and now a senior official at DreamWorks Animation, of clandestinely submitting his screenplay and other materials to Disney. These materials, including character illustrations and storyboards from a project titled “Bucky the Wave Warrior,” were alleged to have been given to Marchick between 2003 and 2008 for development consideration.
Woodall, whose project “Bucky” never proceeded to production, insists that his copyrighted concepts and story elements became the foundation for “Moana,” which released in 2016, and its 2024 sequel. Despite a 2016 court decision barring him from suing over the original film due to timing constraints, his latest suit zeroes in on the sequel, weaving in broader claims about the initial movie.
At the heart of the legal battle are charges that Marchick engaged in a “fraudulent enterprise” involving the “theft, misappropriation, and extensive exploitation” of Woodall’s creative assets. These claims draw attention to the intricate corporate pathways within Disney that, as alleged by Woodall, facilitated the unauthorized use of his intellectual property.
In terms of specific overlaps, Woodall outlines several elements from his unproduced screenplay that surfaced in the “Moana” films. His narrative involving a young protagonist embarking on an oceanic voyage in a traditional Polynesian canoe, guided by spiritual animal ancestors and a quest crucial to saving their land, mirrors the plot of “Moana.” Furthermore, both films share mystical elements such as a symbolic necklace, celestial navigation, and mythical figures akin to Woodall’s earlier concepts.
For “Moana 2,” the alleged appropriations include characters like a rooster and a pig, and plot devices such as a mission to lift a curse and a whirlpool leading to another realm, suggesting a continuing reliance on Woodall’s original materials.
Despite Woodall’s claims, Disney did provide some documentation related to “Moana” in response to his earlier lawsuit, including story ideas and various draft scripts, but allegedly fell short of full disclosure.
Seeking redress, Woodall is demanding a staggering 2.5 percent of the gross revenue from “Moana,” which amounts to approximately $10 billion. Additionally, he seeks a court order to affirm his copyright, preventing further alleged infringements.
As of now, representatives for Disney have not publicly commented on the allegations put forth in the lawsuit.
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