Aber mit der Heimat
geht man immer herum,
durch die Welt,
dort und dort
Peter Handke
No one could describe
the Word of the Father;
but when He took flesh from you, O Theotokos,
He consented to be described, and restored the fallen image to its former beauty.
We confess and proclaim our salvation in word and image.
Kontakion of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
I first read about this close a decade ago, and they seemed to dodge the potential lawsuits ok! Practically speaking Disney is so big (even owning Marvel now, and Pixar is something like the most successful studio *ever* now) that they can ‘homage’ or ‘be influenced’ by what they want and get away with it.
In Disney’s defence, there are famously only (IIRC) 7 basic screenplays, and the wikipedia presenting of two roaring lions on rocks in the separate works as a slam down clincher in the argument is absurd. Ought Disney to have made sure that their lions only roared heroically on, what, uninteresting flat lands? That said, Disney have taken over the making of The Avengers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avengers_(comics) ) and am worried we (well, fanboys) will have to endure a Captain America sung Elton John-penned ballad or, worse, a mousesqueek or duckquack of ”Avengers Assemble!” ;-)