Walt Disney Co. is taking legal action against a Chinese animation company for copyright infringement in line with the impeccable similarity between the local animated film “The Autobots” and Disney-Pixar’s “Cars.”
According to Reuters, Disney is suing all three companies behind the local animation titled "The Autobots" for "unfair competition" and "copyright infringement."
The Chinese animated movie in question is reportedly based on one from the Western entertainment production firm and Pixar Animation, something "The Autobots" director Zuo Jianlong strongly denied.
Disney is slowly but surely making its mark in China even amid deeds to undermine their hold in the country, which is landmarked by the inauguration of Shanghai Disneyland, the first of its kind in the mainland.
In 2015, the Western company earned some 45 billion yuan or $6.8 billion for its sales from movies like "Zootopia" and "Big Hero 6."
The Autobots vs Cars
"The Autobots" is an animated movie from Chinese companies Blue MTV, Beijing G-Point, and PPLive Inc., an online content platform, released last year.
While it was in theaters, it drew the ire of netizens who noted the undeniable similarity to the Disney copyrighted movie, "Cars."
A report from Shanghaiist brought the posters and stills of both films and put them side-by-side to show how close the imagery of both movies are, particularly their characters.
The first movie from the "Cars" franchise was released from a partnership between Disney and Pixar in 2006 and was followed by a sequel in 2011, both of which feature the voice of Owen Wilson as the red race car, Lightning McQueen.
Meanwhile, "The Autobots" follows the story of K1 and K2, both of whom are also race cars.
Chinese Companies' Defense
Zuo, the director of the alleged plagiarized film, told Reuters on Wednesday that he is confident that the court will rule in their favor.
"Lots of people online have talked about plagiarism, but it seems from the legal side that the matter is quite clear--at root there is no plagiaristic behavior," he said during an interview. "If you put the two films side-by-side to compare them, then you will know they are completely different."
Meanwhile, a Beijing G-Point representative identified only with her surname Cheng told the outlet that all three companies sued by Disney wish to reach a settlement with the Western firm.
However, Disney did not want to participate in this and refused to give any more comments before the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court reaches a decision.