French Author Claims 'Finding Nemo' Plagiarism By Disney

Reuters ^ | December 30, 2003 | Shiraz Sidhva

[Shermy]

PARIS (Hollywood Reporter) - A French children's author has sued Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, claiming the cartoon fish they catapulted to fame in the worldwide blockbuster "Finding Nemo" was plagiarized from his 1995 creation Pierrot Le Poisson Clown.

Pascal Kamina, a copyrights lawyer representing the author, Franck Le Calvez, confirmed in a telephone interview Monday that the case -- claiming damages for breach of copyright and trademark and demanding that they withdraw "Nemo" books and merchandise from French shops -- will come up for hearing in a French court Feb. 17.

Disney denied the claims.

"We consider the case filed in France to be totally without merit because 'Finding Nemo,' which is owned by Pixar and Disney, was independently developed and does not infringe anyone's copyrights or trademarks," according to a statement that Disney released Monday.

Le Calvez, a 33-year-old aquarium buff, said in an interview Monday that he registered Pierrot as a trademark with France's industrial protection and copyrights body in 1995. An aspiring filmmaker, Le Calvez said he then did the rounds of French production companies and animation studios, hoping they would fall for the lovable tropical fish with white stripes and large orange bulging eyes. But he was turned down, and the little fish languished in a folder until 2000, when Le Calvez decided to make Pierrot the hero of an illustrated children's book.

Registering the screenplay with the French Society of Authors in June 2002, Le Calvez paid nearly $71,000 to publish 2,000 copies of the book in November 2002. Illustrated by Robin Delpuech and Thierry Jagodzinski, "Pierrot Le Poisson Clown" was published by France's Editions Flaven Scene, and the entire print run was sold in a month.

Agreeing that the uncanny resemblance between Pierrot and Nemo could be coincidental (clown fish, Amphiprion ocellaris, do look alike in nature), Le Calvez said he realized something was fishy only after French bookstore chain FNAC removed copies of his book from their shelves, claiming that it was too similar to Disney's version.

"What's really upsetting is that quite a few bookstores won't sell my book because they think that I have plagiarized 'Nemo,"' the author said in an interview Monday. "The two fish look very similar, but it doesn't end there."

Like Nemo, Pierrot lives in a pink sea anemone and starts life half-orphaned because one parent was swallowed up by Liona, the scorpion fish. "The beginning of the story is the same, even if the scenarios then become different," Le Calvez said.

Kamina, who admitted that the film was finished by the time Le Calvez's first book came out (a second has been written since), said he is worried that his client's success will be swallowed up by the American fish. He said the "Nemo" idea probably found its way to the United States through one of the French studios that Le Calvez approached in 1995.

"That would be the only explanation," he said. "It's not just the resemblance of the clown fish, smiling with a raised fin. We have also found the same supporting characters in the film -- such as a surgeon fish and cleaner shrimp -- and gentle fish folk who help the little troubled hero. The similarities are sufficiently troubling for us to ask for an explanation from Disney."

The lawyer said his client is still waiting for an answer from Disney and that if they don't hear from the company, Le Calvez will press ahead with his lawsuit in France.

"I want my fish to live," Le Calvez said.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[Terry Mross]

It'll go only as far as the attorney is willing to take it. If Disney slips some money under the table the poor guy's attorney will suddenly have "other" business come up and will have to remove himself from the case.

Beleive me, movie studios steal all the time. When you send out a script you're taking a gamble. But send it out you must.

I have a friend who had a play running while at the same time the "movie version" was being made down the street. The movie was BOILER ROOM. There were lots of similarities but my friend was helpless. To sue for copywrite infringement in America you gotta' have some deep pockets to hire an attorney who is willing to fight the long battle. The studios know this.

Ever heard of COMING TO AMERICA? Art Buchwald won the case and was given a percentage of the profits. Of course, according to the studio, this is one Edie Murphy movie that didn't turn a profit. So, even if you're as big as Art Buchwald you still can't win.

[lady lawyer]

It would be pretty hard to draw a cartoon clown fish that DIDN'T look just like Nemo.

[diamondjoe]

Exactly. Take 20 skilled cartoonists, lock them in separate rooms, and tell them to draw a cartoon garibaldi that will appeal to children. I bet 15 of them would look nearly identical. There is no case here.

[pogo101]

Oddly enough, my first lawyering job was with the firm (and office thereof) that represented Buchwald in his action against Paramount. A pyrrhic victory: we made 'em open their books, but there was little in the way of "net profit" there, as you obviously know.

[Shermy]

the film was finished by the time Le Calvez's first book came out

But he claims that the fish was trademarked in 1995, and that he passed around something to animation businesses after that...so I suppose that's where he'll say the rip-off occured.

[yle1138]

Uhh, guys, there's are REAL big problem with this guy's story:

1) He registered his screenplay in June 2002. Finding Nemo was in production for over three years... 1999.

2) His first book did not come out until the first film was already finished.... Sorry Charlie

3) He's French... so I don't believe him.

4) He's French... so I reall don't believe him.

And big deal if the cover of his book looks like Nemo. Nemo was already designed and theatrical advertisement was well underway by the time this book hit shelves. Sorry, but it looks like a case of plagerism by Mister Le Calvez.

[cake_crumb]

I know how you feel. On the other hand, the copyright on the clown fish goes to none other than God. This Frenchman has to prove the story was stolen by Disney. Two different illustrations of one species of fish do not a copyright infringement make. I think I'll hurry up and make a lovable animation of a guppy...

[Political Junkie Too]

And shortly after that, Buchwald suffered a debilitating stroke.

-PJ

[thoughtomator]

A Frenchman vs. Disney... hmm I got no dog in this fight. Pass the popcorn!

[Always Right]

Maybe the real Creator should sue...

[kingu]

Shall we order up some cheese with that Disney counter suit against the author for making his books appear to be connected to the Nemo movie?

[kitkat]

Terry, I've wondered just how much of a script Buchwald wrote. I know he submitted it to the studio and that he got no credit for it. But what was reported at the time was that his script was no more than a few sentences long. Actually, they claimed it was just a germ of an idea. That never made sense to me. Any truth to it?

[JustAnAmerican]

As much as I despise the Anti-American French, his version actually pre-dated Disney's by a few years..Le Calvez, a 33-year-old aquarium buff, said in an interview Monday that he registered Pierrot as a trademark with France's industrial protection and copyrights body in 1995.

[Vigilanteman]

Disney has a recent history of ripping people off . . .

You called it right. When Walt was alive, he hired like-minded talent who turned out top-notch productions. As Walt's hires retired or went on to greener pastures, the Eisner types took over and cared about nothing but short-term profits. This accellerated the exodus of those who shared old Walt's vision of building a strong family-oriented company with timeless values and talents developed from within.

Japan's most famous animator Osamu Tetsuka was urged many times to sue Disney for plagarism. Any Japanese anime fan can cite you a book full of case studies. Tetsuka had a high reguard for old Walt and even incorporated some Disney techniques into his early drawings. He couldn't, however, be prevailed on to sue even after Walt's death because, he said, such imitation was an honor.

[Little Ray]

Dang. Stealin' from the French? Thats stoopin' pretty low. Still, they did steal the "Lion King" from "Kimba the White Lion" and their Atlantis flick from "Nadia, The Secret of Blue Water" so what do you expect?

[trebb]

Disney has a history

Yes, and in the 60s, they were sued for the song "supercalafragalisticexpialadocious" (or sumpin like dat).

[xp38]

The real art in Hollywood is creative accounting as a wit noted some time ago.

[bootless]

Oh look! Krill!

[azhenfud]

RUN AWAY!!!

[Hildy]

Yea, that'll happen.