Illumination has multiple reasons to celebrate, with the success of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and a new Minions movie on the way. However, its hit 2023 animated film Migration is now the reason for a lawsuit.
The studio and Migration screenwriter Mike White (The White Lotus) have been sued by Kenneth Giavara, a screenwriter, for copyright infringement, The Hollywood Reporter reveals. The screenwriter accused them of ripping off his script for Migration.
What Is the Migration Lawsuit About?
Screenwriter Kenneth Giavara filed a lawsuit against Migration‘s screenwriter and studio in California federal court, accusing them of “substantial similarities” to his screenplay, South for the Winter. The two animations follow a family of birds whose father reluctantly agrees to a vacation of a lifetime as they migrate from New England to Jamaica.
The lawsuit pointed to several similarities between the scripts across the plot, sequence of events, and themes. Just like Illumination’s animated hit, South of the Winter also follows a family of birds from New England, who decide to migrate to a warmer climate, and begin their migration in Central Park in New York.
More similarities include that the protagonists are both named Mac (Mack in the 2023 animated film, voiced by Kumail Nanjiani), and have an older mentor bird, as well as themes of coming-of-age stories and adventure.
Giavara is seeking profits from the Illumination movie and unspecified damages, and asks for his name to appear as a writer on the film.
Giavara’s script for South of the Winter won the top prize in the Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition in 2011. The script was shopped across Hollywood by Giavara’s attorney, who sent it to multiple studios, producers, and agents.
Francis Bottini, a lawyer for Giavara, argued in the complaint, “It is more than just a mere possibility that White, the alleged writer of the screenplay for Migration, discovered and misappropriated the South for the Winter copyrighted work, and/or disclosed it to the Defendants, who then incorporated elements from those works without permission or authorization.”
Migration Was a Hit for Illumination
The animated film had Benjamin Renner at the helm, with White penning the script. Aside from Nanjiani, it featured the voices of Elizabeth Banks, Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, Isabela Merced, Carol Kane, and Keegan-Michael Key.
Migration grossed $301.2 million at the box office against a $72 million budget, becoming a profitable affair for Illumination. It also received positive reviews, holding a 73% approval score out of 105 reviews from critics and a higher 87% approval from audiences.
Illumination has just celebrated the success of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which became the first billion-dollar film of 2026. It will also release a new Minions movie on July 1, Minions & Monsters, which marks a prequel to the hit franchise.
- Release Date
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December 22, 2023
- Director
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Benjamin Renner
- Writers
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Mike White
