With solely a little bit over per week left for the Academy to announce the 2025 Oscar contenders, Disney is going through a lawsuit for allegedly copying concepts for Moana and its not too long ago launched sequel.
Animator Buck Woodall, in a submitting on Friday, January 10, in California federal court docket, accused Disney of ripping off components of a screenplay he wrote for an animated movie referred to as Bucky. He claims his work, just like the aforementioned Disney choices, is ready in opposition to the backdrop of an historical Polynesian village and follows youngsters who defy their mother and father by embarking on harmful voyages to save lots of their neighborhood whereas braving spirits manifested as animals alongside the best way.
The submitting of Friday lawsuit follows a court docket ruling in November 2024 that saved Disney from going through an an identical copyright lawsuit introduced by Woodall over Moana as a result of he sued too late. The discharge of Moana 2 over the Christmas weekend allowed him to provoke the present authorized motion.
In that case, the court docket discovered {that a} jury ought to resolve whether or not the works in query are, in truth, an identical if the statute of limitations had not handed.
Moana 2, which can garner an Academy Award nomination for Greatest Animated Function, debuted at $224.5 million on the field workplace. The unique grossed at the least $687 million worldwide.
Woodall is in search of damages equal to 2.5 % of Moana’s gross income, or $10 billion, in addition to a court docket order barring additional infringements of his copyrights.
The screenplay for Bucky has been registered with the Writers Guild of America and is beneath the safety of the U.S. Copyright Workplace, granting safety to the fabric.
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