Lawsuit accuses Disney of stealing idea for ‘Zootopia’
Reprints
My zoo, my monkeys: So says a screenwriter and producer who filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Walt Disney Pictures claiming the studio copied his ideas to create the Oscar-winning, $341 million-earning animated film “Zootopia,” the Orange County Register reported.
The lawsuit states Gary L. Goldman pitched Disney his movie concept exploring life in America through a civilized society of animals in both 2000 and 2009, according to the newspaper, which obtained a copy of the suit filed in federal court in Los Angeles.
“Both works explore whether the societies can live up to utopian ideals and judge and credit others fairly as individuals not as stereotypes, based on conceptions of merit not natural order, and the protagonists are challenged to strike a balance between the utopian and counter-utopian positions, optimism and pessimism, nature and individuality, and self-acceptance and self-improvement,” the lawsuit states.
Furthermore, the lawsuit includes drawings Mr. Goldman commissioned for his pitches to Disney, which he alleges are similar to the characters in “Zootopia,” according to the newspaper.
Disney rejected the lawsuit’s claims in a statement: “Mr. Goldman’s lawsuit is riddled with patently false allegations. It is an unprincipled attempt to lay claim to a successful film he didn’t create, and we will vigorously defend against it in court.”
Read Next
-
Punctuation dispute helps workers win lawsuit
The Oxford comma can help organize longer sentences, eliminate confusion in serial ideas — and apparently help win lawsuits.
Related Stories
Most Read in Risk Management
-
1. Hub sues former broker for allegedly violating nonsolicitation agreement
-
2. Aon reports 5% revenue increase; looks to middle-market growth
-
5. Truist Insurance Holdings sale completed; brokerage rebrands
