Who is Buck Woodall? What we know about the animator amid Moana 2 copyright lawsuit

Animation screenwriter Buck Woodall has recently been involved in an ongoing controversy. A legal clash centers on allegations around Disney’s blockbuster follow-up movie, Moana 2.

The animator suggests that the movie by Disney has copied material from his script Bucky, a project Woodall claims to have been working on close to twenty years ago.

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Woodall completed his associate degree in digital communication and media from the University of New Mexico. He later pursued illustrations from Ringling College of Art and Design.

According to Screen Rant, Bucky was written in 2003 and pitched to Jenny Marchick, who was the Director of Development at Mandeville Films, which had a first-look deal with Disney at the time.

Buck Woodall worked with Marchick to develop a concept trailer, storyboards, character designs, and production plans to bring Bucky to life. Set in an ancient Polynesian village, Bucky is said to follow a teenager who goes on a dangerous voyage as he fights against parental expectations.

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The protagonist interacts with spirits that embody as animals in Polynesian spiritualism. Other narrative components include a necklace with a profound meaning, a demigod with a hook, and a giant creature that lives on a mountain. These beats, Woodall says, are pretty similar to those in Moana and its sequel.

More about Buck Woodall’s lawsuit and Disney’s defense

Buck Woodall is suing for $10 billion or 2.5% of Moana’s gross revenue, alleging that both, the original 2016 movie and its 2024 sequel borrowed many elements from his screenplay. This is not the first time Woodall has sued Disney.

His previous lawsuit regarding the original Moana had been dismissed in November 2024.

Disney has denied the claims, stating that Moana and its sequel were developed in isolation. Co-director Ron Clements said in a statement 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,”

Disney has provided a bunch of documentation to support its claim, including pitch materials, scripts, research, and travel journals describing the creative process behind Moana.

Disney has also stated that no one involved in making Moana was privy to Woodall’s material. Nonetheless, U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall ruled in November 2024 that genuine issues of fact exist as to whether any of the alleged similarities between Bucky and Moana exist.