A screenwriter has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Illumination Entertainment and Migration screenwriter Mike White, alleging that the animated film copied elements from a screenplay he wrote years earlier.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in California, writer Kenneth Giavara claims that Migration closely resembles his screenplay South for the Winter.
The lawsuit alleges that both stories follow a family of birds from New England led by an overprotective father who reluctantly agrees to migrate for the winter in search of a warmer climate, with both works sharing similarities in their sequence of events, including a stop in Central Park during the journey.
According to the complaint, the two works also share character and thematic similarities. It points out that the lead characters have nearly identical names—Mac in South for the Winter and Mack in Migration. Additionally, both stories feature an older mentor bird and explore coming-of-age storylines.
As part of the lawsuit, Giavara is seeking profits from the film, damages, and a court order recognizing him as one of the film’s writers.
Giavara’s screenplay gained recognition in 2011 after winning the animated category of the Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition, and the script was circulated across Hollywood by his attorney, who submitted it to studios, producers, and agents.
In the complaint, Giavara’s attorney, Francis Bottini, contends that it is plausible that White obtained access to the screenplay before writing Migration or that elements of the script were shared with others involved in the film’s production, leading to the alleged unauthorized use.
Released by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures in 2023, Migration was a box office success, grossing over $300 million worldwide on an estimated production budget of about $72 million.
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