Disney’s ‘Zootopia’ And Writer’s Pitch Not Alike: Judge

[Megalan]

[QUOTE]
A California federal judge on Monday said he’s considering permanently tossing a copyright claim against Disney in a screenwriter’s amended suit accusing the studio of ripping off his television pitch with its hit animated film “Zootopia,” saying the works “aren’t very much alike.”
[/QUOTE]

Source: [URL="https://www.law360.com/articles/970276/disney-s-zootopia-and-writer-s-pitch-not-alike-judge"]Law360[/URL]

For those who don't know how it all started:

[QUOTE]
Gary L. Goldman, whose credits include work on film adaptations of "Total Recall," ''Minority Report" and "Big Trouble in Little China," filed the copyright infringement lawsuit Tuesday in a federal court in Los Angeles. His lawsuit states he pitched his "Zootopia" concept to Disney in 2000 and 2009 and there are substantial similarities between his project and last year's animated blockbuster.

The lawsuit states Goldman pitched Disney his "Zootopia" concept as a way to explore life in America through a civilized society of animals. Disney's "Zootopia" explores prejudice through a bunny's quest to become a respected police officer in a city where predator and prey co-exist side-by-side. The film won the best animated feature at last month's Academy Awards.

The lawsuit includes drawings Goldman commissioned for his pitches to Disney. He contends the ideas of his project and the animated film, as well as the style of some of its characters, are substantially similar.

[t]http://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/goldman_zootopia_lawsuit_m-900x620.jpg[/t]
[/QUOTE]

[Ganerumo]

I'd be interested to see what exactly the pitch enticed other than "it's animals doing people things!!!" that made it apparently so unique, but the source is paywalled.

[EcksDee]

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;52741074]I'd be interested to see what exactly the pitch enticed other than "it's animals doing people things!!!" that made it apparently so unique, but the source is paywalled.[/QUOTE]

Looking at the character concepts can give you some ideas too.

[Megalan]

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;52741074]I'd be interested to see what exactly the pitch enticed other than "it's animals doing people things!!!" that made it apparently so unique, but the source is paywalled.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]"Both Zootopias involve the story of a small, cute, furry, female, prey animal, who is an outsider to “Zootopia,” he writes. "She is dismissed by more dominant animals because of her species, and strives to overcome societal prejudice. ... She becomes friends with an abrasive predator who lives in Zootopia. ... The two contrasting protagonists get together and contend with prejudice and preconceived notions of the elite, including a power structure headed by species dominant in a state of nature."

Spoiler alert — Esplanade also says Disney's Zootopia uses Goldman's twist. "Each plot involves a scheme by a third character, a small prey animal, to upend the power structure, but the scheme goes too far and fails," writes Gans.[/QUOTE]

Also this: [URL="https://ru.scribd.com/document/350548338/Esplanade-Productions-MTD-Opposition#from_embed"]Esplanade Productions MTD Opposition[/URL]

[PsychoFox67]

[url]https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160107/10161633270/cartoonist-who-claimed-kung-fu-panda-ripped-off-his-work-might-be-headed-to-prison.shtml[/url]

this is the same guy who tried to do this

Edit:
It's not the same guy :v:

[_maverick_]

[QUOTE=Megalan;52741083]Also this: [URL="https://ru.scribd.com/document/350548338/Esplanade-Productions-MTD-Opposition#from_embed"]Esplanade Productions MTD Opposition[/URL][/QUOTE]

To be fair that's a really cliche plot done hundreds of times (sans animals of course)

Do you think this makes it less likely they'd make a sequel because of this case?

[Megalan]

[QUOTE=_Maverick_;52741127]
Do you think this makes it less likely they'd make a sequel because of this case?[/QUOTE]

That's an interesting question. I'm not sure if it's related but Zootopia merchandise is literally non-existent anywhere but Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneylands. Which is a really strange considering you can still easily find Moana merchandise in many places.

While this lawsuit certainly did some damage to Zootopia brand reputation, I don't think this will stop Disney from greenlighting Zootopia 2 because it's atleast 5-7 years until the release and everyone will forget about this lawsuit by the time the movie will be released. (Byron Howard and Rich Moore both are busy on the other projects so work on Zootopia 2 is probably not going to start until late 2018)

Optimistic prediction: We will hear confirmation that Zootopia 2 is in works at D23 2019 and see the movie somewhere around 2022.
Pessimistic prediction: It's going to be frozen until Byron Howard finishes working on his new untitled movie which will take somewhere around 5 years.

[GhostSonic]

[QUOTE=psychofox67;52741101][url]https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160107/10161633270/cartoonist-who-claimed-kung-fu-panda-ripped-off-his-work-might-be-headed-to-prison.shtml[/url]

this is the same guy who tried to do this[/QUOTE]

I don't think Gary Goldman and Jayme Gordon are the same person.

[PsychoFox67]

[QUOTE=GhostSonic;52741179]I don't think Gary Goldman and Jayme Gordon are the same person.[/QUOTE]

Oh whoops I thought it was the same guy

[bitches]

[QUOTE=Megalan;52741176]Pessimistic prediction: It's going to be Frozen[/QUOTE]

fixed

[dai]

still love that he filed the copyright for his own pitch around the time zootopia was celebrating its 1 year anniversary

[editline]e[/editline]

and that there seems to be a wallaby with the disney armadillo's head traced on

[editline]e[/editline]

and then there's brain

the concepts are such a walk through 90's cartoon tropes tbh

[CirclesofJerk]

that bear looks almost exactly like buff riku
[t]http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/160/856/67f.jpg[/t]

[Omali]

Gary Goldman's entire writing career except for that awful Charlie Sheen Navy Seals movie is him taking the works of more talented authors and adapting them for the big screen, so it doesn't surprise me that he's also the kind of guy to try to get some settlement money out of Disney over a generic idea that gets done hundreds of times every year. The guy wouldn't know an original idea if it bit him on the face, he probably genuinely thinks that he's the first person to come up with a movie about civilized animals.

[Demache]

[QUOTE=Omali;52745238]Gary Goldman's entire writing career except for that awful Charlie Sheen Navy Seals movie is him taking the works of more talented authors and adapting them for the big screen, so it doesn't surprise me that he's also the kind of guy to try to get some settlement money out of Disney over a generic idea that gets done hundreds of times every year. The guy wouldn't know an original idea if it bit him on the face, he probably genuinely thinks that he's the first person to come up with a movie about civilized animals.[/QUOTE]

Zootopia's setting is literally the same concept that every furry work of fiction has used ever since the 1980s. Buddy cop movies have been around since, forever. It's not exactly rocket science to combine the two. It's entirely plausible that Disney came up with it on their own, considering the final product is radically different than how it was originally written.