It's a heck of a way to have a class reunion.

Five former sixth-graders and their teacher at Woodbridge Middle School in Virginia have filed suit against ABC and the Walt Disney Co., claiming they've been defamed by the use of their school photos on the Saturday morning kids show "Mrs. Munger's Class."

The lawsuit, filed this week in Los Angeles, says the TV show prominently features school photos of the plaintiffs taken in 1975. Through computer animation, the photos are brought to life and the mouths are moved to make humorous comments.

The plaintiffs, however, don't think it's funny. They say the pictures are used without permission, and "they are made to say things they have never and would never say, such as racial slurs and offensive remarks."

Apparently, their former teacher, also a plaintiff, gave the show permission to use her photo, but claims she "was falsely induced and unduly influenced" to do so.

The show's producers reportedly paid Foresman $1,000 to use her photo, in return for being able to "edit, animate, manipulate and adapt the photograph in any manner deemed appropriate (( for the program."

The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages, substantial exemplary and punitive damages and "a public apology" from the defendants. ABC and Disney have refrained from commenting.

Pub Date: 12/25/98