According to Kelly Wilson, Disney’s teaser trailer for the box-office hit was “substantially similar” to a two-dimensional short film she created called The Snowman.

Released in November last year, Frozen centres on a princess, a reindeer and a snowman, and their journey through the winter countryside. It broke box-office records and earned an estimated $110 million worldwide in its opening weekend.

The Snowman, released in 2010, tells the story of a snowman who attempts to stop a group of rabbits from eating his carrot nose on an icy lake before becoming friends with them.

It was screened at eight film festivals and is also available online.

But in a complaint filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Wilson said Disney’s teaser trailer, released prior to the film’s release, is not related to the film’s subject and created confusion.

The complaint said both The Snowman and the Frozen trailer show a snowman in a battle to save his nose before finding friendship with his former foes.

Wilson referred to film critics who said the teaser trailer, which is still available to view online, made people think the subject was about a reindeer fighting for a carrot.

The complaint added that the teaser trailer copies “key plot elements” including “characters, themes, events, setting, and mood.”

The “defendants had access to plaintiff’s The Snowman prior to the creation of Frozen [and] the Frozen teaser trailer ... [The] defendants copied a substantial portion of The Snowman and used it as the Frozen teaser trailer,” Wilson claimed in the complaint, filed on March 28.

The “defendants’ infringement was, and continues to be, intentional, deliberate, wilful, malicious, and in blatant disregard of plaintiff’s exclusive rights,” the complaint said.

In response, Disney claimed the complaint was without merit and said it would vigorously defend itself.

Wilson is seeking a judgment of infringement and profits gained from the exploitation of the copyrighted work as well as damages and attorneys’ fees.