Disney is being sued over Moana 2. The 2024 movie is a sequel to their 2016 smash hit and follows Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) gathering a crew for a new seafaring adventure that brings her face to face once more with her former demigod companion Maui (Dwayne Johnson). The animated musical was an instant smash hit, eventually climbing to a worldwide gross of $964 million, which has made it the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2024 so far.
In addition to the record-breaking Moana 2 box office, the movie is a major contender in the Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song categories at various ceremonies during the 2024-2025 awards season. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, losing to Flow, and the song “Beyond” was shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination. The official nominations will be announced on January 19 after being delayed by two days amid the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
Moana 2 Is Now Involved In A Copyright Lawsuit
It Contains Similarities To The Screenplay For Bucky
Disney is being sued for copyright infringement for Moana 2. This is not the first time that the entertainment conglomerate has fielded a copyright lawsuit. A recent suit alleged that the MOVA Contour motion-capture software bringing Beast to life in 2017’s Beauty and the Beast was stolen, though the $600,000 fine was overturned as the misuse was done by a contractor, and it was decided that Disney could not have known about it. That same year, Arthur Lee Alfred II and Ezequiel Martinez Jr. sued the company for infringement on their 2000 Pirates of the Caribbean screenplay.
Disney’s motion to dismiss the Pirates of the Caribbean claims was granted in 2019, as it was found that the similarities between the submitted screenplay and the 2003 movie were unprotected tropes of the pirate genre, though that was followed by an amended complaint.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, animator Buck Woodall is suing Disney for $10 billion, or 2.5% of Moana‘s gross revenue. Woodall claims that the movies infringe on the copyrighted screenplay for his movie Bucky, which was given in 2003 – along with a concept trailer and other materials – to Jenny Marchick, Mandeville Films’ Director of Development, who had a first look deal with Disney. Below, see a breakdown of story elements that are present both in the Moana movies and the Bucky screenplay:
- The setting of an ancient Polynesian village
- A teenager goes on an ocean adventure that involves the spirits of ancestors manifesting as animals
- Said adventure begins because of a turtle
- A symbolic necklace is important to the story
- A supporting character is a hook-wielding demigod with tattoos
- A large creature is hidden in a mountain
- The crew is sucked into a whirlpool portal
This is Woodall’s second attempt at suing Disney for copyright infringement in this matter. His first lawsuit, against the original Moana, was rejected in November as it was deemed to have been filed too late. At the time, U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall wrote that “there is a disputed issue of genuine fact regarding substantial similarity and striking similarity between the parties’ works.”
In that matter, Moana co-director Ron Clements told the court that “Moana was not inspired by or based in any way on [Woodall] or his ‘Bucky’ project, which I learned of for the first time after this lawsuit was filed.” Read portions of the new complaint below:
Disney’s Moana was produced in the wake of Woodall’s delivery to the Defendants of virtually all constituent parts necessary for its development and production after more than 17 years of inspiration and work on his animated film project… Moana and her crew are sucked into a perilous whirlpool-like oceanic portal, another dramatic and unique device-imagery found in Plaintiff’s materials that could not possibly have been developed by chance or without malicious intentions.
What This Means For Moana
The Results Of The Case Could Take Years
Ultimately, it could take years for this dispute over the Moana 2 story to be resolved. Given the franchise’s huge grosses, paying out $10 billion would not necessarily represent a significant loss, though the future of the franchise could be in jeopardy should the court find itself in favor of Woodall’s complaint. It seems unlikely that further sequels could be produced in the movies’ current form. This could also complicate the release of the upcoming live-action remake of Moana, which features Johnson reprising his role as Maui opposite Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana.
While filming on 2026’s Moana has wrapped, it is not due to debut in theaters until July 10, 2026.
However, Disney would most likely take steps to ensure the longevity of the franchise as much as possible, even if the movies are found to be in violation of copyright. While the possible Moana 3 has not been officially greenlit, it seems highly likely that the company will want to mount a sequel in the wake of the 2024 movie’s massive box office success. Disney may be able to make this happen by bringing on Woodall as an executive producer and allowing him to share in the success of future installments.
Our Take On The Moana 2 Lawsuit
It Could Complicate The Movie’s Awards Chances
The fact that this lawsuit has come into play a week before January 19 could potentially affect Moana 2‘s chances at earning a spot in the 2025 Oscar nominations. While Moana 2’s “Beyond” is officially on the shortlist for the Oscar for Best Original Song, the Academy may wish to avoid potential future controversy by not nominating it in the first place.
There are also a wide variety of other films that could take its place in the Animated Feature category, which does not yet have an official shortlist. In fact, the Golden Globes nominated six total (including Flow, The Wild Robot, Inside Out 2, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and Memoir of a Snail), while the Oscars will only nominate five, making Moana 2‘s elimination in that particular category even easier. Below, see what other shortlisted tracks could earn the Best Original Song nomination over “Beyond”:
Movie
Song
Blitz
“Winter Coat”
Challengers
“Compress/Repress”
Elton John: Never Too Late
“Never Too Late”
Emilia Pérez
“El Mal”
Emilia Pérez
“Mi Camino”
Kneecap
“Sick In The Head”
Mufasa: The Lion King
“Tell Me It’s You”
Piece By Piece
“Piece By Piece”
Sing Sing
“Like A Bird”
The Six Triple Eight
“The Journey”
Twisters
“Out Of Oklahoma”
The Wild Robot
“Kiss The Sky”
Will & Harper
“Harper And Will Go West”
Additionally, Moana 2‘s awards prospects this season have already been somewhat shaky. While the movie is eligible in multiple categories, it was only nominated for a Golden Globe for Animated Feature, which it lost to Flow. So far, it has not been nominated for any other major awards, including any Critics’ Choice Award or the SAG Awards. This could have spelled bad news for its Oscars prospects even before this lawsuit was filed.
Source: THR
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