‘Zootopia’ News & Updates: Screenwriter Accuses Disney Stole Film Idea, Files Lawsuit

"Zootopia" proved to be a runaway hit, raking in $1 billion in the box office worldwide and winning an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. However, one screenwriter has surfaced and claimed that Disney stole his idea and designs.

Screenwriter Gary Goldman, whose credits include "Big Trouble in Little China" and "Total Recall," filed a lawsuit before a federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday. In the lawsuit, he said that he pitched an idea to do a franchise of television shows and movies titled "Zootopia." He claims that Disney had rejected the idea, only to steal it, including the title, story, dialogue and designs of the animated characters from the film, years later, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The complaint also states that Goldman worked with Disney years ago, having been hired to draft a screenplay entitled "Blaze" to be based on a comic by Stan Lee back in 2007. As for "Zootopia," Goldman first pitched the idea in 2000 at the Disney offices. While David Hoberman, who was then a Disney executive and CEO of Mandeville Films, responded favorably, the studio eventually turned it down.

Nine years later, Goldman once again tried to pitch the project. While working on "Blaze," Goldman had established a working relationship with Brigham Taylor, who was believed to be the Executive Vice President of Production and Development for Disney at the time. He then asked Taylor to pitch the idea again on his behalf. By then, the studio had begun production of "Zootopia" allegedly utilizing all of Goldman's ideas for the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The complaint then goes on to accuse Disney of stealing ideas from other storytellers and that "Zootopia" is a prime example of what they describe is an "embedded corporate practice." It also went on to criticize Disney for choosing to unlawfully copy Goldman's work instead of acquiring it legally.

Disney has vehemently denied that they stole the idea for "Zootopia" from Goldman. "Mr. Goldman's lawsuit is riddled with patently false allegations," a spokesperson for the studio said, according to Variety. "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."