A Los Angeles federal jury ruled on Monday that Disney did not steal the idea for its massive hit film “Moana” from animator Buck Woodall.
The jury’s deliberation was decided in around two-and-a-half hours and ruled that, despite similarities, Disney and its “Moana” creators did not commit copyright infringement of Woodall’s story “Bucky the Surfer Boy.” The jury’s decision was based on the fact nobody working on “Moana” had access to the story outlines or the screenplay Woodall created.
Woodall’s initial filing stemmed from the fact he shared an outline to “Bucky the Surfer Boy” with Jenny Marchick, his brother’s wife’s stepsister – who worked for Mandeville Film, which was located on the Disney lot – back in 2004. According to Courthouse News Service, Marchick – who is now the Head of Development for Features at DreamWorks Animation – testified she was “100 percent certain” she had not shared “Bucky” assets or materials to Disney.
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” Gustavo Lage, Woodall’s attorney, said after the ruling. “We’re going to review our options and think about the best path forward.”
Woodall was shocked to see the similarities between his story and “Moana” when the film released in 2016. Both feature teens on quests across the ocean, a focus on Polynesian spiritual ancestors returning as shape-shifting animals, a demigod with tattoos and a hook weapon and more. Woodall’s original lawsuit, filed back in 2020, was deemed too late to earn a percentage of the $700 million “Moana” earned during its original box-office run.
“Moana” director John Musker denied Woodall’s accusations in his testimony, saying he and co-director Ron Clements took inspiration from their previous Disney works like “Hercules” and “The Little Mermaid.”
“They had no idea about ‘Bucky,’” defense lawyer Moez Kaba said in his closing argument. “They had never seen it, never heard of it.”
Woodall has also filed a second lawsuit surrounding the 2024 sequel “Moana 2” which must be ruled on separately. Though, with this decision falling the way it did it is likely the suit on the sequel will end the same way.
