A Los Angeles jury has found that Disney didn’t steal the idea for Moana from an animator’s story about the adventures of a young surfer in Hawaii.
After deliberating for just over two hours, the jury on Monday sided with a Disney unit that it didn’t infringe on Buck Woodall’s copyright to “Bucky and the Surfer Boy” because none of its employees ever saw works related to his screenplay. He alleged that he had shared materials for “Bucky” more than a decade earlier with his brother’s sister-in-law, who worked for Mandeville Films on the Disney lot at the time and allegedly shared it with an individual at Disney Animation TV, prior to the beginning of development for Moana.
Related Stories
The only defendant in the case was Disney’s Buena Vista Home Entertainment, which sells DVDs of the 2016 film. By the time Woodall sued in 2020, the window for him to sue Disney, which didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, had passed under the three-year statute of limitations for copyright infringement. With the release of Moana 2, the animator in January filed a new lawsuit accusing Disney of ripping off “Bucky.” Both works, which are set against the backdrop of an ancient Polynesian village, follow teenagers who defy their parents by embarking on dangerous voyages to save their homes while encountering spirits manifested as animals along the way.
“We are incredibly proud of the collective work that went into the making of Moana and are pleased that the jury found it had nothing to do with Plaintiff’s works,” said a Disney spokesperson in a statement.
The decision from the jurors — six women and two men — revolved around their finding that Disney never had access to Woodall’s materials. With that issue resolved, they didn’t have to consider alleged similarities between “Bucky” and Moana.
In his lawsuit, Woodall said that he provided the screenplay and a trailer for “Bucky” to former Mandeville Films director of development Jenny Marchick, now DreamWorks Animation’s head of development for features. She allegedly asked about providing further materials — including character designs, production plans and storyboards — by assuring him she could greenlight the film. At the time, Mandeville had a first-look deal with Disney and had offices on its facilities in Burbank.
On the stand, Marchick testified that she was “100 percent certain” that she never shared any materials for Bucky to anyone at Disney, according to Courthouse News Service.
In testimony, Moana director and writer John Musker also denied accusations that he and longtime collaborator Ron Clements plagiarized Woodall’s works. He stressed that the movie’s story borrowed elements from other classic Disney films they created, including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules, in which teenage protagonists persevere through a series of challenges to discover significant truths about themselves.
The jury was shown scenes from the movies to support arguments that the allegedly stolen ideas can be found in most works from Musker and Clements.
The lawsuit pointed to several similarities between Moana and “Bucky.” One example: Both celebrate a recurring theme of the Polynesian belief in spiritual ancestors manifested as animals. Other similarities include the protagonist’s journey starting with a turtle, a plot involving a symbolic necklace, a main character who encounters a demigod adorned with a giant hook and tattoos, and a giant creature that’s concealed within a mountain.
Woodall continues to pursue copyright infringement claims against Disney over the sequel to Moana, though the jury’s decision in this case may indicate he faces an uphill battle. He seeks damages equivalent to 2.5 percent of the film’s gross revenue.
Moana 2 debuted to $224.2 million at the box office, smashing numerous records on its way to the biggest five-day opening in history. The original grossed at least $687 million worldwide.
