LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in Los Angeles recently dismissed a man’s claim that Disney’s animated film “Moana” was based on his story about a surfer in Hawaii. The jury took just 2.5 hours to decide that the creators of “Moana” did not have access to Buck Woodall’s script, titled “Bucky the Surfer Boy.”
During the two-week trial, it was revealed that Woodall had shown his work to a woman who was connected to Disney but had not shared it with anyone at the company. This played a key role in the jury’s decision. Woodall expressed disappointment after the ruling, stating that his team will explore their options moving forward.
In his closing arguments, Woodall’s attorney argued that the similarities between “Bucky” and “Moana” were so strong that they couldn’t just be a coincidence. He claimed there were numerous shared elements that hinted at the possibility of his work being the inspiration for the film.
On the defense side, attorney Moez Kaba stressed that “Moana” was an original creation by its directors, John Musker and Ron Clements. He asserted that they were unaware of Woodall’s work and had developed the film through their own research and inspiration over four decades in the industry.
“Moana” has been incredibly successful, earning nearly $700 million worldwide. Despite the jury’s decision, Woodall’s earlier lawsuit seeking a share of those earnings was dismissed because it was filed too late. He recently filed another lawsuit regarding a sequel, “Moana 2,” which is still pending.
The jurors, who watched “Moana” in court, considered Woodall’s original story outline from 2004. In his tale, the main character embarks on a quest in Hawaii, making friends with local youth and interacting with demigods to save a sacred site. The court evaluated whether there were substantial similarities between the two stories, but they only needed to confirm whether Woodall’s ideas had reached the filmmakers at Disney.
Ultimately, the defense highlighted that many common elements in both works, such as demigods and shape-shifters, are not unique and exist in various forms across many stories and movies, including ones that came long before “Moana.” In Kaba’s words, “This is Ron and John’s story. It is not Buck Woodall’s story.”
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