The lawyers of a writer and animator of New Mexico will argue in the final phase of their federal judgment in Los Angeles that their work was plagiarized to create Moana, the success of Disney of 2016 about a princess Polynesia adventurous. The sequel to the film was one of last year’s greatest successes.
Buck Woodall wrote a script entitled Bucky The Surfer Boy (among other names), which tells the story of a Hawaii holiday teenager with his parents. During his stay, he is friends with a group of young Native Hawaiianos and embarks on a mission that leads him to travel to the old islands, interact with halftics and try to save a sacred place.
According to Woodall, in 2004 he delivered his script to a distant relative who worked in a company located in Disney studios. Twelve years later, seeing Moana, he was surprised by noticing similarities with his history.
Among the coincidences indicated in the demand, Woodall mentions that both stories:
• They follow a teenager who challenges the warnings of his parents and undertakes a dangerous trip through the Polynesian waters to save an island in danger.
• They present to a half -wedge with a giant hook and tattoos.
• They explore ancient Polynesian culture during a sea trip, with an emphasis on the belief of spiritual ancestors manifested in animals that guide and protect the living.
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For its part, the defense argues that no one in Disney had access to Woodall’s script and that Moana developed through cultural research and internal collaboration, as is common in the productions of the study.
A judge determined that the 2020 lawsuit appeared too late to claim part of the almost 700 million dollars that Moana collected at the box office. However, the case still considers sales of DVD and Blu-ray, which generated 31.4 million gross dollars and 10.4 million in net earnings. The only remaining defendant is a good Home Entertainment, a Disney subsidiary.
The film was co -directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, key figures of the Renaissance of Disney animation in the 90s. Together with other collaborators, they worked on classics such as The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997) and The Princess and the Frog (2009).
During the trial, Musker denied any act of plagiarism and was offended by the accusation. The jury, consisting of six women and two men, saw Moana in their entirety and also reviewed scenes of The Little Mermaid and other Musker and Clements films.
The defense argued that the relationship between Moana and his father, the chief of the village, is similar to that of Ariel and King Triton in The Little Mermaid. In addition, an expert pointed out that the dynamics between Moana and the Semiidiós Maui, played by Dwayne “La Roca” Johnson, remembers that of Aladdin and the genius, played by Robin Williams.
According to this witness, Jeffrey Rovin, many of Moana’s elements have been present in Disney films for almost a century.
In order for the demand to prosper, Woodall’s lawyers must demonstrate that the two works have substantial similarities and that Disney had access to their script. The judge will evaluate the specific elements of each story through the “extrinsic test”, while the jury will decide with the “intrinsic evidence”, which is based on the general impression that both works leave.
In January, Woodall filed a second demand related to Moana 2, which has been an even greater success, with more than 1,000 million dollars collected globally. However, the judge refused to combine both demands, so the new one, in which Woodall looks for up to 10,000 million dollars, will be discussed separately.
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