The Walt Disney Company may never have thought that what is happening at the moment would happen, because after more than a year of the premiere of “Toy Story 4” they have received a lawsuit
Perhaps the Walt Disney company never thought that what is happening at the moment would happen, because after more than a year of the premiere of ” Toy Story 4 ” they have received a lawsuit for one of the characters in the film.
There is no doubt that for Pixar and Disney, Toy Story 4 was an incredible success for the franchise that began in the year 1995.
And although it’s hard to believe, it seems that the Duke Caboom character that came out in the last Toy Story movie has a strong resemblance to Evel Knievel.
This is how now Toy Story 4 and its characters are the centers of attention since Disney, Pixar and other subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company have received a lawsuit by a company called K&K Promotions, headed by the son of the late Evel Knievel, alleging that Duke Caboom’s character is very similar to the popular stunt biker and that the Trademark Law was violated
In this Disney movie, Bonnie’s toys, previously Andy’s, are back in action. Woody has always been sure about his place in the world and that his priority is taking care of his child, but everything changes when little Bonnie has a new toy, made by her, and called Forky, the cowboy will realize how big. that can be the world for a toy.
This is where Duke Caboom comes in, being one of the best additions to this film, who was given a voice by the beloved Keanu Reeves.
Caboom is a Canadian stunt biker toy from the 1970s who lives hidden in the thrift store, a very charismatic toy, and apparently gets along quite well with Bo Beep.
But apparently not everything is so good for the franchise since K&K Promotions, which owns the copyrights and trademarks of the acrobat Evel Knievel, has filed a lawsuit against Disney requesting to pay for the damages caused, as it alleged that the character of caboom is very similar to Knievel, according to a TMZ report.
In this lawsuit, the company headed by the son of the late acrobat says that the character and the film are full of tributes and nods to Knievel’s wardrobe. Also, they point out that the Duke Caboom toy appears to have been straight out of a similar 1970s Knievel toy.
As if that weren’t enough, they also mention that those involved in the movie went out of their way to never mention Knievel in interviews while promoting the movie.
So far it is not yet clear what the chances are that K&K Promotions beat Disney. However, there is the possibility that the courts will side with the plaintiff company since the Trademark Law is different from the Copyright Law and is not subject to “Fair Use”, although it is not clear nor if Disney violated Evel Knievel’s trademark.
The most curious thing about this is that Duke Caboom did not have as much weight in the film at first, but when the directors spoke with Reeves they realized that they could delve into the character and the end result was a lot of fun.
Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel was a popular American stunt rider of the 1960s and 1970s, and one of his most famous feats was attempting to jump the Snake River Canyon in Idaho in 1974.
His spectacular falls when landing from his jumps were also relevant, which, however, did not prevent him from continuing with his show career.
