Disney has been cleared of copyright infringement allegations in a lawsuit over its 2016 animated film Moana. A jury in Los Angeles ruled in favor of the entertainment giant on Monday (March 10, 2025), following a two-week trial in federal court.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Buck Woodall, a screenwriter from New Mexico, who claimed that Moana was based on his work, Bucky the Wave Warrior. Woodall alleged that both projects featured similar story elements, including teenagers defying their parents to embark on dangerous voyages to save a Polynesian island. He also pointed to other resemblances, such as celestial navigation, a tattooed demigod, and surviving a storm at sea.
However, an eight-member jury ruled unanimously that Disney did not have access to Woodall’s 2011 screenplay or earlier story treatments. After deliberating for less than three hours, the jury concluded that access had not been established, making it unnecessary to determine whether the two works were substantially similar.
Woodall claimed that he had pitched his project in 2004 to his sister-in-law’s stepsister, who worked as an assistant at a live-action production company located on the Disney lot. He alleged that the assistant later inquired whether Walt Disney Animation Studios would accept a submission, only to be told that it would not. Disney, however, argued that Moana was independently developed years later and maintained that there was no evidence linking Woodall’s work to the film’s creative team.
Disney’s lawyers emphasized the key differences between the two stories, stating: “Bucky is white; Moana is Oceanian. Bucky is from the mainland U.S.; Moana is indigenous to the fictional island of Motunui. Bucky lives in the modern day; Moana lives millennia in the past. Bucky wants to learn to surf, while Moana wants to continue her people’s proud history as the greatest ocean voyagers the world has ever known.”
In November, a judge ruled that most of Woodall’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations, as Moana was released in 2016. However, a claim against Disney’s home video subsidiary, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, was allowed to proceed due to the DVD release in 2017.
Following the verdict, Disney’s lawyers declined to comment, while Woodall’s attorney expressed disappointment and stated that his client would consider his options. Woodall has also filed a separate lawsuit in January 2025, alleging that Moana 2 infringes on his work. That case remains pending.
