A California jury ruled in favor of Disney, finding that the company did not plagiarize animator Buck Woodall’s screenplay, Bucky, in the creation of the 2016 film Moana. After more than two hours of deliberation, the jury concluded that Disney employees never had access to Woodall’s materials. Woodall, who initially filed a $100 million lawsuit in 2020, accused Disney and former Mandeville Films executive Jenny Marchick of misappropriating his work. However, Marchick testified that she never shared Woodall’s content with Disney and that she had worked for competing studios for most of the relevant period. Disney’s legal team presented extensive documentation of Moana’s development, showing that its creators, John Musker and Ron Clements, drew inspiration from existing Disney projects and other sources.
The jury determined that Disney’s creative process for Moana was independent of Woodall’s Bucky screenplay, negating the need to evaluate alleged similarities. Woodall, who has sought up to $10 billion in damages in a related lawsuit following the 2024 release of Moana 2, was disappointed by the verdict. Disney expressed satisfaction with the decision, maintaining that Moana was an original work. Judge Consuelo B. Marshall, overseeing the ongoing lawsuit, indicated agreement with the jury’s findings, casting doubt on Woodall’s remaining legal challenge.
