Following a two-week trial in a Los Angeles federal court, an eight-member jury unanimously concluded that Disney did not appropriate the concept for the 2016 animated feature 'Moana' from a screenplay written in 2011. The jury swiftly dismissed the claims made by screenwriter Buck Woodall, who alleged that Disney's film was derived from his project titled "Bucky the Wave Warrior." After deliberating for approximately two and a half hours, the jury sided with Disney, ruling that the company had no access to Woodall’s screenplay or any prior drafts. In a statement, a Disney representative expressed pride in the creative efforts behind 'Moana,' emphasizing that the jury's decision affirmed the originality of the film. Conversely, Woodall's attorney, Gustavo Lage, expressed disappointment and indicated that they would consider their next steps. During closing arguments, Lage argued that a series of circumstantial evidence linked the two narratives, asserting that 'Moana' could not exist without 'Bucky.' Woodall's lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused Disney of engaging in a "fraudulent enterprise" that involved the theft and exploitation of his copyrighted materials, which he claimed to have shared with former Mandeville Films development director Jenny Marchick in 2003. He alleged that Marchick solicited various materials from him, promising to help bring 'Bucky' to fruition, but later passed his ideas to Disney through legal loopholes. Defense attorney Moez Kaba countered that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated that 'Moana' was the result of the creative vision of its esteemed directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, who had no knowledge of Woodall’s work. Since its release, 'Moana' has achieved remarkable success, becoming the most-streamed film in recent years with over a billion hours of viewing time.
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