Instead of copying the competition, Disney has recently begun buying up studios producing successful franchises. For instance, after attempting to start their own sci-fi franchise with John Carter, the company just bought LucasFilm for $4.05 billion and now own the Star Wars franchise.

With so much money available, it’s surprising to discover Disney are being sued over they Oscar-winning animation Zootopia having allegedly stolen the idea.

Gary L. Goldman - the writer of Total Recall and executive producer of Minority Report - has filed a copyright infringement against Disney, claiming they copied from his work.

In a slightly on-the-nose gesture, the plaintiff begins by quoting Zootropolis director Byron Howard as saying: "Don’t worry if you feel like you’re copying something, because if it comes through you, it’s going to filter through you and you’re going to bring your own unique perspective to it.”

Goldman claims he pitched his very own Zootopia twice - in 2000 and 2009 - but Disney rejected the idea both times, the complaint reading: “The Disney Zootopia is substantially similar to the Goldman Zootopia. They copied Goldman’s themes, settings, plot, characters, and dialogue – some virtually verbatim… They copied Goldman’s title, Zootopia. They even copied Goldman’s character designs and artwork.”

Included in the complaint - which you can read in full here - is a graphic, showing the similarities between Goldman’s original sketches against Disney’s final product.

In response, Disney issued a statement reading: “Mr. Goldman’s lawsuit is riddled with patently false allegations. 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.”

The lawsuit - filed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP on behalf of Goldman - doesn’t contain any exact figures, considering Zootopia has grossed $1.024 billion so far, not including toys, Disney could end up paying out a lot of money if found guilty.

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