Buck Woodall sues Disney over his film ‘Moana 2’

The animator claims that the studio stole his idea and demands 10 billion dollars in compensation.

In the midst of awards season, ‘Moana 2‘ has received an unexpected setback. Eight years after the success of ‘Moana‘, the sequel was released last November and continued the story of the young princess as she embarks on new oceanic adventures with her friend and companion, the demigod Maui. The film was an instant success, grossing 964 million dollars and becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of the year.

Not only has it achieved impressive box office success, but it is also one of the top contenders for Best Animated Film and Best Original Song at several award ceremonies for the 2024-2025 season. Although it did not win a Golden Globe, one of the songs from the animated film has been shortlisted for the Academy Award, with the official nominations to be announced on January 19.

However, amidst all this success, animator Buck Woodall has filed a lawsuit against Disney for allegedly stealing copyrighted content. The American animator claims that while working for Mandeville Films, he presented an idea to the company’s development director, Jenny Marchick, for projects titled ‘Bucky‘ and ‘Bucky the Wave Warrior‘. The presentation included a full script, character illustrations, budgets, and a conceptual trailer, among other things. All of this was material for which Woodall had received copyright protection in 2004, which was renewed in 2014. Apparently, the idea reached Disney’s ears without Woodall’s knowledge and was used by the studio in both Moana films.