Animator Buck Woodall filed the lawsuit on Friday, alleging that Jenny Marchick, former development director at Mandeville Films and now head of development at DreamWorks Animation, passed Woodall’s confidential work to Disney. Woodall claims this material, which he developed between 2003 and 2008, became the foundation for both Moana and its sequel Moana 2.
While a prior court ruling in November 2024 prevented Woodall from filing a similar case regarding the original Moana film due to timing, his recent suit focuses on the sequel. Woodall argues that the actions of Marchick and Disney involved "fraudulent enterprise" and that his intellectual property was stolen, misappropriated, and widely exploited.
Woodall's work, titled "Bucky" and later "Bucky the Wave Warrior," included a completed screenplay, character sketches, storyboards, an animated trailer, and more. The animator had secured copyright protection for these materials in 2004, which was renewed in 2014. Though the project was never developed, Woodall claims Marchick exploited legal loopholes to pass his materials to Disney, leading to the creation of Moana without his consent.
The lawsuit points to many similarities between Bucky and Moana, including the Polynesian setting, a teen protagonist on a quest across the ocean, animal guides, and specific elements like a symbolic necklace, star navigation, a lava goddess, and a creature disguised as an island. The sequel Moana 2 allegedly borrowed more specific details, such as a rooster and pig duo, a curse-breaking mission, and a whirlpool leading to an oceanic portal, all of which Woodall claims were taken from his original project.
Woodall is seeking $10 billion in damages, which represents 2.5% of Moana's gross revenue, and a court order affirming his copyright. Disney has yet to comment on the lawsuit, but it has previously provided documents related to Moana, including early drafts and pitch materials.
