One of last year’s biggest hits at the box office was Disney’s animated blockbusterZootopia, which crossed the $1 billion worldwide threshold and became the second highest-grossingoriginal movieof all time, albeit a distant second place behindJames Cameron’sAvatar($2.7 billion). Today we have word thatZootopiamight not be an original movie at all, with a screenwriter namedGary Goldmanfiling a lawsuit against Disney, claiming the studio stole an original idea he had that he reportedly pitched to the studio twice.Gary Goldmanhas a number of major writing credits to his name, including the cult classicBig Trouble In Little Chinaand the originalTotal Recall.
The Hollywood Reporterreveals that the screenwriter pitched his project, which included a live-action movie component entitledLooneyand ananimated moviecalledZootopia. The writer pitched this franchise two separate times to Disney, in the years 2000 and 2009, with the writer even providing artwork for characters he created, that are seen side by side with the characters inZootopia. Here’s an excerpt from the lawsuit, filed by Esplanade Productions, Inc. in California federal court today.
“Twice, in 2000 and 2009,Goldman, on behalf of Esplanade, pitched Defendants hisZootopia franchise, which included a live-action component called Looney and an animated component called Zootopia. He provided a treatment, a synopsis, character descriptions, character illustrations and other materials. He even provided a title for the franchise,Zootopia. Instead of lawfully acquiringGoldman’s work, Defendants said they were not interested in producing it and sent him on his way. Thereafter, consistent with their culture of unauthorized copying, Defendants copied Goldman’s work. They copiedGoldman’s themes, settings, plot, characters, and dialogue, some virtually verbatim.”
The lawsuit alleges that Disney has a track record with ripping off other stories, which were used inThe Lion King,Toy Story,Monsters Inc.,UpandInside Out, among others.Gary Goldmanhas worked for Disney in the past, with the lawsuit revealing he was hired by the studio in 2007 to write the screenplay for a movie calledBlaze, based on aStan Leecomic book. The comic book legend allegedly told the writer that, after he completed his work on the project, he was his “favorite writer.” The lawsuit states thatGary Goldmanfirst pitched hisZootopiain 2000 to former Disney executiveDavid Hoberman, who responded favorably to the writer’s pitch, but ultimately declined. In 2009, he tried his pitch at Disney once again, while he was working onBlaze.
“At the time,Goldmanwas working onBlazewithBrigham Taylorwho, Esplanade is informed and believes, was Walt Disney Pictures' Executive Vice President of Production and Development at the time. Because Goldman had this existing relationship with Taylor, Goldman offered to pitch the Goldman Zootopia to Taylor on behalf of Defendants, and Taylor accepted Goldman’s offer. On or about August 07, 2025, Goldman met with Taylor at Defendants' offices in Burbank, California.”
The lawsuit alleges that Disney then began to craft their ownZootopiaproject based onGary Goldman’s work. The lawsuit, filed by lawyerJeffrey McFarlandfrom the prominent law firm Quinn Emanuel, accuses Disney of breach of implied contract, breach of confidence and unfair competition. A Disney rep responded by stating that the lawsuit is, “riddled with patently false allegations,” and they plan on defending the lawsuit “vigorously” in court.Gary Goldmanis seeking an injunction plus monetary damages, which included punitive damages that could be quite substantial, consideringZootopiagrossed over $1 billion worldwide. While we wait for more updates regarding this lawsuit, take a look at the illustration provided in the full lawsuit, which showsGary Goldman’s characters side-by-side with theZootopiacharacters.
