On Monday, March 10, 2025, a jury in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, returned a verdict finding that Disney’s film “Moana” did not infringe on Buck Woodall’s copyrights for his film “Bucky.”
“Bucky” is about a teenage surfer who travels back in time to ancient Polynesia. Woodall shared materials for his planned movie with Jenny Marchick, his sister-in-law’s stepsister. Marchick is a film executive who worked for different film companies located on the Disney lot. Woodall provided Marchick with the screenplay, trailer, character designs, production plans, and storyboards for “Bucky.” Woodall claimed that Marchick then passed these materials along to Disney since Marchick’s company at the time had a first-look agreement with Disney. He argued that Disney then used these materials to create “Moana” and “Moana 2.” Woodall cited similarities in plots, settings, and other elements to support his copyright infringement claim. Disney countered that it never saw Woodall’s materials and that the works lacked similarity to support the infringement claims.
Woodall’s lawsuit sought $100 million in damages. The court eventually found that Woodall’s claims as to “Moana’s” theatrical release were time-barred. As such, the lawsuit became focused on Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney’s home video distribution wing. Jurors in the case, six women and two men, watched “Moana” in its entirety in the courtroom and then considered story outlines for “Bucky” dating from 2003 and 2008. The jurors also considered “Bucky’s” 2011 script. The jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours before returning its decision that the “Moana” creators never had access to Woodall’s materials. With its finding, the jury did not need to decide the questions of significant similarity between the two films.
Woodall filed a separate lawsuit concerning “Moana 2” in January. That lawsuit seeks $10 billion in damages.
Additional Reading:
Disney didn’t copy ‘Moana’ from a man’s story of a surfer boy, a jury says, The Associated Press (March 10, 2025)
Disney wins US copyright trial over animated hit ‘Moana’, Reuters (March 10, 2025)
Moana 2 Lawsuit Explained: Why Disney Is Being Sued Over Its $1.6Bn Franchise, ScreenRant (January 21, 2025)
Buck G. Woodall v. The Walt Disney Company (Case No. 2:2020cv03772)
Buck G. Woodall v. The Walt Disney Company et al (Case No. 2:2025cv00273)
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Hiroshi-Mori-Stock / Shutterstock.com
