Disney is being sued by animator Buck Woodall for allegedly stealing the idea for Moana 2, as well as for the 2016 original. In a lawsuit filed in California federal court on January 10, Woodall claims the company stole pieces of a screenplay he wrote for an animated film titled Bucky for Moana 2.
![[In a lawsuit filed in California federal court on January 10, Woodall claims the company stole pieces of a screenplay he wrote for an animated film titled Bucky]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/01/94021121-14276857-In_a_lawsuit_filed_in_California_federal_court_on_January_10_Woo-a-66_1736733473062.jpg)
He alleges that both his screenplay and that of the animated film take places in a storied Polynesian village and are centered around young adults who seek to salvage their homes while coming across spirit animals along the way. The lawsuit comes after a November court hearing relieved the studio from an identical lawsuit by Woodall over the first Moana film, as he had waited too long to file his suit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
![[The lawsuit comes after a November court hearing relieved the studio from an identical lawsuit by Woodall over the first Moana film, as he had waited too long to file his suit, according to The Hollywood Reporter; still form Moana 2]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/01/91786277-14276857-A_November_court_hearing_relieved_the_studio_from_an_identical_l-a-67_1736733473152.jpg)
However, the release of Moana 2 granted him the ability to again take legal action. In the initial case, the court declared that a jury should decide whether the projects are significantly similar. Disney is being sued by animator Buck Woodall for allegedly stealing the idea for Moana 2, as well as for the 2016 original; still from Moana 2.
![[The release of Moana 2 has granted Woodall the ability to once again take legal action after his previous filing was deemed beyond the statute of limitations]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/13/01/91786279-14276857-The_release_of_Moana_2_has_granted_Woodall_the_ability_to_once_a-a-68_1736733473199.jpg)
In a lawsuit filed in California federal court on January 10, Woodall claims the company stole pieces of a screenplay he wrote for an animated film titled Bucky. It also came to the conclusion that someone at Disney Animation TV could have seen Bucky's copyrighted materials before development on Moana began.
