Staff at Disney are being taken to court over Moana and Moana 2, with an animator accusing the company of incorporating plot points from one of their original screenplays.
It is reported that he has incorporated elements from a screenplay he created for an animated film project called Bucky dating back to the early 2000s.
Mr Woodall, who is claiming damages of at least 8.25 billion pounds, states that he wrote a screenplay and created a trailer for Bucky, with which he began sharing information about the project with Jenny Marchick, a former director of development at Mandeville Films, in 2003.
Mandeville had a first look deal with Disney, the lawsuit claims, and it states that Ms Marchick, who is now DreamWorks Animation's head of development for features, requested materials such as production plans, character designs, and storyboards from Mr Woodall and reassured him that the film could secure a green light.
It highlights parallels between the plot lines of Moana, a 2016 film, and Bucky "which were unlikely coincidences", including how both centre on a teenager who disregards family warnings and undertakes a perilous journey across Polynesian waters to save the ailing island of a Polynesian land.
The various similarities include the fact that both storylines celebrate a recurring theme from Polynesian myth, which holds that spiritual ancestors take on the form of animals. Furthermore, both involve the main character embarking on a journey that begins with a turtle, a narrative that centres around a symbolic necklace, a hero who comes into contact with a demigod adorned with a large hook and tattoos, and a massive creature that is hidden inside a mountain.
The lawsuit also highlights similarities between Bucky and Moana 2, released last November, stating: "Moana and her crew get pulled into a hazardous whirlpool-like sea passage, another dramatic and distinctive visual concept found in the plaintiff's material that couldn't have been developed coincidentally or without ill intent."
The lawsuit claims: "Disney's Moana was produced following over 17 years of inspiration and work on Woodall's animated film project, after he had provided the Defendants with nearly all the essential parts necessary for its development and production."
Sky News have made contact with Disney and Ms Marchick to seek a statement.
(THR).
It was the box office success of Moana 2, with a worldwide opening of $224.2m in November, which enabled him to proceed with further legal action, THR stated.
Moana director Ron Clements submitted a statement to the court following the initial lawsuit, according to THR, which stated: "Moana was in no way inspired by or based on [Woodall] or his 'Bucky' project, of which I became aware only after this lawsuit was filed."
Disney also lodged documents regarding the origin and development of Moana, including story concepts and sales materials, as reported by THR.
