Digging for Gold, Yet Again! (Goldman Appeals!)

Zootopia Commission by Impendingsenseofdoom

Some things just won’t things die.  The news story that possesses the traits of zombies is back, as Gary Goldman is back to, once again, suing Disney over Zootopia.  I’d comment more, but I’ve said all I have to say on the matter already, so this time I’m turning this article over to YFWE.  Just to be clear, my opinions on this matter do not reflect that of ZNN. So, take it away, man.  ~Andy Lagopus.

Though Esplanade Productions’ lawsuit against Disney
alleging the company stole from its to make Zootopia
was dismissed by a U.S. district judge in November, the company and writer Gary
Goldman are back again with a new suit, which was filed Tuesday (Feb. 13) in
Los Angeles County Superior Court.

According to The
Hollywood Reporter
, which published the full 54-page document from the
attorneys for the plaintiff (alleging breach of implied-in-fact contract,
breach of confidence and unfair competition), Esplanade and Goldman claim that
Disney looked into multiple possibilities for what eventually became Zootopia before arriving at the final
product by adapting parts of an idea Goldman says he pitched Disney twice in
the 2000s.

Read on after the break!

Moreover, Esplanade alleges that Disney “adapted the
small-town human creator of Zootopia, who goes to the big city to fulfill his
wild ambition in the field of animation, into a cartoon character, Judy, who
goes to the big city with a similarly wild ambition, to succeed as a cop. And
Disney used Goldman’s concept for Zootopia as ‘a metaphor for life and for
America,’ where ‘an animal can be whatever he wants to be.’ Thus, Esplanade is
informed and believes that Disney did not create its Zootopia from scratch but,
rather, used Goldman’s materials as the basis for its movie.”
As this is currently simply a complaint filed in superior
court (the original came in U.S. district court, and Esplanade and Goldman
would not have been able to refile a lawsuit there, hence the change of venue),
no trial date has been set as an L.A. County Superior Court judge must first
agree to hear the case. The plaintiffs have requested a trial by jury and,
should they succeed this time around, would seek damages and a motion to bar
Disney from using elements of Zootopia
it claims the company stole in the future. (Hint: things wouldn’t be looking
good for a continuation of the story in any capacity.)
Read the full complaint below, via THR.

12 Comments

  1. Careful, Mr Goldman, you may find yourself facing Warner Brothers for infringing on the 'animals as people', 'animals dealing with humans in a shared world', and 'small time character goes to big city to succeed' story elements they've been using since the 1940s. This whole thing just Bugs me… sorry… I'll be going now…

  2. Even if what he claims about pitching the original idea to Disney is true, he has made poor arguments and have failed to provide any specifics to prove that Disney used his idea. And judging by how Zootopia was developed, stealing his pitch was highly unlikely.

  3. You'd think once it failed the first time he'd at least have the brains to bring something a touch different to the table the second round if he's going to try again…I hope either the judge dismisses it with contempt or the jury laughs him out of the courtroom.

    • Guy's trying to dress the same package in different wrapping paper. Dismissal with prejudice this time is needed, with an addendum that he won't file this again under a different legal track.

      I have every confidence that Disney will win this one out.

Comments are closed.