Logo text
A screenwriter has sued Illumination Entertainment and Migration scribe Mike White for copyright infringement, accusing them of ripping off his script to make the animated feature.
The screenwriter, Kenneth Giavara, claims in a lawsuit filed in California federal court that the film bears “substantial similarities” to his screenplay South for the Winter. Both works follow a family of birds whose homebody father reluctantly agrees to a road trip-esque migration.
Giavara seeks profits from the movie and unspecified damages, plus a court order naming him as a writer of the film.
The lawsuit points to several alleged overlaps between the scripts across plot, sequence of events, and themes. Like the Illumination movie, South for the Winter features a family of birds living in New England confronted with a decision of whether to migrate to a warmer climate or stay in the safety of their home. They begin their migration in Central Park in New York, where much of the films are located.
