Judge dismisses ‘Toy Story 4’ lawsuit from Evel Knievel’s son

A national justice successful Las Vegas has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Evel Knievel’s lad against The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar implicit a quality successful “Toy Story 4.”

Knievel’s son, Kelly Knievel, had claimed the animated movie’s Duke Caboom quality knocked disconnected his precocious father’s celebrated daredevil persona.

Kelly Knievel runs K and K Promotions, a Las Vegas-based institution that has owned publicity rights to Evel Knievel’s representation and likeness since 1998, the ailment filed past twelvemonth stated. He sought unspecified damages totaling much than $300,000 connected allegations that see mendacious endorsement and unjust enrichment.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan dismissed the suit connected Sept. 23, penning that the movie’s quality had capable attributes — including “a antithetic name, antithetic clothing, Canadian alternatively than American insignia, the summation of a moustache, and a antithetic hairsbreadth color” — to differentiate him from Evel Knievel, who died successful 2007 astatine property 69.

“Features shared by some the Duke Caboom enactment fig and Evel Knievel are shared by galore stuntmen, specified arsenic a jumpsuit, helmet, and motorcycle,” Mahan wrote. “Duke Caboom is not a practice of Evel Knievel simply due to the fact that helium is simply a stuntman … Duke Caboom is not a c transcript of Evel Knievel minus a fewer details.”

Last year’s ailment pointed retired that successful 1973 the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle debuted. It was an enactment fig doll successful the daredevil’s well-known patriotic jumpsuit and helmet, capable to beryllium bent into immoderate position.

“We’re evidently disappointed,” Kelly Knievel wrote successful an email to the Associated Press. “We are considering our options” astatine the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals successful San Francisco.

An email connection to the Associated Press from The Walt Disney Co. spokesperson Jeffrey R. Epstein said helium was traveling and unavailable for contiguous comment.

When “Toy Story 4” premiered astatine CinemaCon successful Las Vegas successful April 2019, the ailment alleged, Duke Caboom was “featured mostly connected the apical near of the poster.” In the movie, the quality archetypal appeared connected a reddish and achromatic motorcycle successful a achromatic jumpsuit covered successful Canadian insignia.

Consumers and movie reviewers “universally caught connected to the connection,” the suit stated, portion the movie institution avoided making immoderate nationalist association, transportation oregon examination “even if straight asked.”

But Mahan determined that Disney did not interruption the instrumentality by utilizing Knievel’s likeness arsenic inspiration for its character.

“The tribunal finds that by nary means is Evel Knievel the sum and substance of the enactment astatine contented here; astatine most, it is 1 of the ‘raw materials’ from which the Duke Caboom enactment fig was created,” Mahan wrote. “Furthermore, the Duke Caboom enactment fig is simply a practice of Disney’s look successful the movie and not an effort to immitate Evel Knievel.”

Contact Alexis Ford astatine aford@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0335. Follow @alexisdford connected Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.