After nearly two weeks of mulling the issues, a Los Angeles judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a writer who sued the Walt Disney Co., alleging the animated hit film “Zootopia'' was premised on his ideas.
By City News Service
May 27, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A judge said today he is inclined to grant a motion by Disney to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a writer who alleges the animated hit film “Zootopia was premised on his ideas, but he took the case under submission to study the issues further.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin C. Brazile did not say when he would issue a ruling on the fate of “Total Recall writer Gary Goldman s suit, which was filed in February 2018, alleging breach of implied-in-fact contract, breach of confidence and unfair competition
“I just want to look at everything one last time, Brazile said.
Goldman and his company, Esplanade Productions allege Disney looked at many genres for Zootopia before deciding on a story that was an adaptation of the writer s thinking. With respect to similarities, it is undisputed that Disney used the identical word Zootopia that Goldman created, which is remarkable because it is a made-up word that had never been used before with a creative work, Goldman s lawyers state in their court papers.
The similarities do not end with the word Zootopia itself, Goldman s lawyers state in their court papers. The parties used it in remarkably similar ways as the central concepts for their respective projects about anthropomorphic animals living in a modern, diverse society called Zootopia that each examine the validity of the utopian ideal that an animal can be whatever he wants, no matter its species, Goldman s lawyers further stated in their court papers.