Screenwriter Gary Goldman has filed a lawsuit against Disney executives for allegedly stealing his idea for their 2016 animation Zootopia.
Goldman, who has written scripts for Total Recall and Big Trouble in Little China, filed a complaint on Tuesday (21Mar17) in California federal court through his company Esplanade Productions, Inc., claiming Disney bosses used character designs, themes, lines of dialogue, and even the film's title from an idea he began working on in 2000.
He allegedly pitched the idea to different Disney executives on two occasions, once in 2000 and again in 2009, and while they were interested, they ultimately passed on the project.
"He provided a treatment, a synopsis, character descriptions, character illustrations and other materials," the complaint reads, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Instead of lawfully acquiring Goldman’s work, Defendants said they were not interested in producing it and sent him on his way.
"Thereafter, consistent with their culture of unauthorised copying, Defendants copied Goldman’s work. They copied Goldman’s themes, settings, plot, characters, and dialogue - some virtually verbatim."
The complaint details the alleged similarities and includes a comparison of creatures drawn by an animator hired by Goldman to the animals eventually used in Disney's Zootopia, which was released as Zootroplis in certain countries, and won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Animated Film.
The company is suing Disney executives for copyright infringement, breach of implied contract, breach of confidence and unfair competition. They are seeking a jury trial, an injunction preventing Disney from producing and distributing works allegedly derived from his idea, and damages.
A Disney spokesman has issued a statement to deny the claims.
“Mr. Goldman’s lawsuit is riddled with patently false allegations,” the spokesman said. “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.”
