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Why Is Disney Being Sued by an Animator Regarding Moana 2? Find Out
An animator has filed a lawsuit against Disney regarding Moana 2. Check out the article below to discover the reasons behind this legal action taken by the plaintiff.
After the success of Moana 2, the film's name is once again dominating headlines as Disney faces a lawsuit from animator Buck Woodall. Woodall has alleged that the Moana installments were based on a copyrighted screenplay he authored, used without his permission, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Woodall claims that Jenny Marchick, the former development director at Mandeville Films and now head of DreamWorks Animation, violated his copyright by secretly giving Disney materials derived from work he produced for her 20 years ago. The plaintiff alleges that this material ultimately became the basis for Moana and Moana 2.
As reported, a court ruling last November prevented Woodall from filing a similar lawsuit against the first installment of Moana, as the filing was deemed to have been submitted too late. While the new lawsuit includes multiple allegations, it primarily focuses on the second installment, which was released in November 2024.
According to the Entertainment Weekly report, Woodall alleged the existence of a “fraudulent enterprise that encompassed the theft, misappropriation, and extensive exploitation of Woodall's copyrighted materials,” allegedly orchestrated by Marchick. At the time of her dealings with Woodall, Mandeville Films had a first-look agreement with Disney and shared offices on the Disney lot in Burbank, California.
Between 2003 and 2008, Woodall reportedly provided Marchick with “extremely large quantities of intellectual property and trade secrets” related to his projects Bucky and Bucky The Wave Warrior. This included a finished screenplay, character illustrations, an entirely animated concept trailer, budgets, background image references, storyboards, and more, according to the report.
The plaintiff stated in the filing that the development of Bucky never materialized, but alleged that his material was passed along to Disney by Marchick, who exploited legal loopholes within Disney’s “tapestry of confusion” — a term used to describe the company’s elaborate corporate structure.
The filing further alleges that Bucky became the basis for Moana and its sequel without Woodall's consent. The lawsuit outlines numerous similarities between Woodall's unfinished script and both Moana films, per the outlet.
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Woodall is seeking a court judgment to confirm his copyright ownership and to prohibit further infringements. Additionally, he is seeking damages amounting to 2.5% of Moana’s gross income, equivalent to approximately $10 billion.
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