Disney wins Moana copyright case as jury in Los Angeles finds no proof of concept theft

Because the jury discovered no proof that Disney’s filmmakers had seen Woodall’s work, they didn’t want to investigate whether or not the 2 tasks shared any artistic similarities. Woodall claimed that round 2004, he supplied his story define to Jenny Marchick, who was then employed at Mandeville Movies. On the time, Mandeville had a first-look settlement with Disney and maintained workplaces on the corporate’s Burbank studio lot. Woodall testified that he despatched Marchick further supplies within the years that adopted and was surprised by the resemblance when Moana was launched in 2016—a movie that went on to earn practically $700 million worldwide.

Nevertheless, Marchick said through the trial that she by no means handed Woodall’s work alongside to Disney. The protection offered messages through which she knowledgeable Woodall that she couldn’t help him along with his undertaking and later stopped responding to his follow-ups.

In closing arguments, Woodall’s lawyer, Gustavo Lage, identified the narrative components that Bucky the Surfer Boy and Moana share. He famous that each characteristic a younger protagonist embarking on a journey in an outrigger canoe throughout Polynesian waters to rescue their homeland. The tales additionally incorporate Polynesian traditions, together with ancestral spirits showing as animal guides, and embrace particular particulars corresponding to a significant necklace, navigation by the celebs, a lava goddess, and an enormous being hid as an island.

Disney’s lawyer, Moez Kaba, countered by asserting that features of Polynesian mythology and customary literary tropes are “not copyrightable.” The corporate’s authorized staff additionally submitted in depth documentation detailing the event technique of Moana, which Kaba argued proved that administrators John Musker and Ron Clements created the movie independently. “They’d no concept about ‘Bucky,’” Kaba said in his closing remarks. “They’d by no means seen it, by no means heard of it.”

Woodall initially filed the lawsuit in 2020, in search of $100 million in damages. Nevertheless, a courtroom ruling in November 2024 considerably restricted the case, decreasing it to Disney’s residence video distributor, Buena Vista Residence Leisure, attributable to a timing challenge with the unique criticism. This lawsuit is considered one of two filed by Woodall—he initiated one other case in January 2025, specializing in Moana’s sequel, which was launched in November 2024. That case stays ongoing.