Kuwaiti author claims ‘Frozen’ story lifted from her book

Author Muneefa Abdullah has filed a copyright infringement suit against the studio and screenwriter Jennifer Lee.

April 17, 2015 04:25 pm | Updated 04:25 pm IST - Los Angeles

A scene from the animated feature "Frozen."

A scene from the animated feature "Frozen."

An author in Kuwait has sued Disney and its hit film “Frozen” screenwriter Jennifer Lee, claiming the plot of the movie was pinched from a story included in her book “New Fairy Tales”.

Author Muneefa Abdullah has filed a copyright infringement suit against the studio and Lee alleging they lifted material for the film’s script from a story from “New Fairy Tales”, called “The Snow Princess” , reported TheWrap.

The suit, filed in US District Court in Michigan, said Muneefa “has never licensed or otherwise authorised Defendants to copy, distribute or publicly disseminate ‘New Fairy Tales’ or ‘The Snow Princess’ , or make derivative works based upon them.”

Abdullah alleged “the key plot elements, characters, themes, events, setting, mood, pace and dialogue in ‘Frozen’ demonstrate substantial similarities to ‘The Snow Princess’ , and that such similarities are of a sort that indicate copying rather than independent creation or coincidence.”

According to the suit, “The Snow Princess” revolves around “a princess who possesses magical ice powers that give her the ability to turn people and objects into ice.”

The princess went into hiding after inadvertently awakening an evil dangerous witch with her powers.

“Frozen” Princess Elsa, the lawsuit notes, “Also has the magical ability to turn people and objects into ice” and accidentally injured her sister with her powers, isolated herself from others as a result.

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