ST. LOUIS • Disney is the Grinch that stole Christmas ideas, according to a federal lawsuit filed here Tuesday that accuses the entertainment giant of illicitly using three men's concept of a dog called Santa Paws in two movies.

The plaintiffs allege copyright infringement and make other related claims in regard to two Disney films: "Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws" from 2009, and last year's "The Search for Santa Paws." They are the ninth and tenth films in the Air Bud franchise.

The suit claims that Ray Hartner, of Brentwood, Ed Corno, of Chesterfield, and Richard Kearney, of Nashville, Tenn., created a similar tale in 1991, titled Santa Paws, as a side endeavor to their advertising agency work. It seeks unspecified damages.

Disney and other defendants could not be reached for comment.

In the men's illustrated children's story, a dog named Paws is given to Santa Claus as a gift and saves Christmas despite the efforts of an evil female villain with a magical icicle who weaves icy spells. She turns out to be Santa's bitter sister.

The manuscript was shopped around at the time but ultimately languished, according to the plaintiffs' lawsuit, Albert Watkins.

In the 2009 Disney film, Santa and his dog, Santa Paws, watch as a magical Christmas icicle begins melting, threatening to end the holiday. Santa Paws' son, Puppy Paws, joins the other Air Bud dogs in an adventure that ultimately stops the thawing.

In a 2010 prequel, Santa is in the hospital after a car accident, and his friend Paws enlists a young orphan to save him. In that film, the villain is a strict lady who runs the orphanage and who burns toys and forbids pets.

The suit claims the films have pulled some dialogue and screen activity verbatim from the children's story, and also contain "eerily similar uses of a magical icicle and ... Santa's new dog who saves Christmas in spite of the best efforts of a domineering and holiday-spiritless female antagonist."

In addition to Disney Enterprises, the suit names as defendants Buena Vista Home Entertainment, a Disney subsidiary, and Key Pix Productions, which assisted in the filming, as well as two KPP executives. Also named is William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, a talent agency, and two of its agents, John Ferriter and Barry Jeffery.

The suit alleges that Ferriter and Jeffery were enlisted to help shop the Santa Paws illustration to the entertainment industry in the 1990s. Attached to the suit is an August 14, 1996, letter from Jeffery naming several companies interested in the "Santa Paws" project, including Disney.

Watkins called it a "Scrooge-like scenario."

"Santa knows who has been naughty and nice," he said in a statement. "It is my client's position that Dickens could not have come up with a more Scrooge-like scenario. Why not just kick the crutch out from under Tiny Tim and sell it on eBay?"