Disney has found a lot of success with their Disney+ ‘Behind the Attraction’ show, where fans can see interviews and hear about how an attraction came to be. Prior to Disney+ many other fans have done similar shows on platforms like YouTube, but they were simply that, fan videos.
Now Disney has found themselves in a bit of a PR kerfuffle as fans of the YouTube channel ‘Art of Engineering‘ have caught a bit in Disney’s Behind the Attraction: The Tower of Terror, that looks strikingly similar to something Art of Engineering had in one of their videos.
So similar that it looks like it was simply traced over. I’m an art teacher and my husband is a professional artist, and we both feel that it could be just that. Honestly, I think you don’t have to be a pro artist to see it.
There are only so many ways it can drawn sure, but even the spacing is the same.
Keep in mind James St. Onge claims he created these without seeing Disney’s official documents or blueprints. So it wasn’t like they had this drawing laying around and he copied it. If they did it would look more like his version and NOT the clunky tracing we see in the Disney+ show.
Take a look!
Several people have mentioned that the graphics in the Tower of Terror episode of ‘Behind the Attraction’ are very similar to my YouTube video, so I decided to give it a watch for myself.
Left is my original artwork from my video.
Right is from Behind the Attraction on Disney+ pic.twitter.com/Sf1biymTSz
— James St.Onge – Art of Engineering (@aoEngineering) September 16, 2021
It is important to note that Disney does have various production companies working on shows for the Disney+ platform and ‘Behind the Attraction’ is one of them. It is actually a series by Brian Volk-Weiss and it’s produced by Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Production company and Volk-Weiss’s The Nacelle Company.
However Disney isn’t immune to suspicion as they and companies they own have been accused of the same thing in the past. We’ve seen it with various merchandise. For example when Baby Yoda was introduced on ‘The Mandalorian’ bootleg merchandise showed up immediately and then Disney put out official merchandise that was just like it. The most well known was probably the ‘He protect” meme.
I know Etsy sellers have run into this as well.
Then there were accusations that the Marvel comics were using fan art ships in their comics as well.
Of course at the end of the day Disney owns the IP so they can argue that it’s theirs to do with as they please, however it still isn’t a very ethical thing to do or they should at least credit the people they are “taking inspiration” from.
However, in this case it is a building and not a character. The Art of Engineering channel owner James St. Onge explains the difference.
Disney did not create the series, but they did work with the production studios involved, and it is ultimately hosted on their platform.
A lot of artists get pushed around by Disney, but I am not a typical artists, and I happen to know a thing or two about copyright law.
— James St.Onge – Art of Engineering (@aoEngineering) September 18, 2021
Most claims from small creators get swept under the rug by Disney because a lot of their art falls into the category of ‘fan art’ or derivative work. If you draw a picture of Mickey Mouse, then Disney automatically owns the rights to your work and they can use it as they please.
— James St.Onge – Art of Engineering (@aoEngineering) September 18, 2021
However, Tower of Terror is not a typical artistic work. It is a building.
Buildings fall under a different set of rules when it comes to copyright law because they are protected as architectural works, and this protection differs from things like paintings or IP in films.
— James St.Onge – Art of Engineering (@aoEngineering) September 18, 2021
Engineering plans and blueprints are still protected as regular artistic works, but as I said previously, I did not use (or even have access) to any of these when creating my video. All the drawings in the video are my own artistic representation of the building and ride system.
— James St.Onge – Art of Engineering (@aoEngineering) September 18, 2021
This means that not only is this one of the most blatant cases of plagiarism from Disney, but it also a rare instance where copyright law may not be on their side.
As a small creator, I’d love to see Disney, Seven Bucks, and Nacelle held accountable. Keep the pressure on them.
— James St.Onge – Art of Engineering (@aoEngineering) September 18, 2021
Disney themselves go out of their way to protect copyright and make sure laws get “updated” to keep ownership of characters that should have transitioned to public domain by now.
Disney and the companies associated with the show should update to credit the artist but they likely won’t. That would be admission of guilt and the right thing to do. I’m sure their lawyers will just want them to ignore it and hope it goes away or stall them out for years till they run out of money. Either one is on brand for Disney.
As a side note, the Art of Engineering channel has some AMAZING videos on various attractions and show elements. Definitely check them out and give them a like or subscribe!
What do you think? Comment and let us know.
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.