This comment is off topic and is not really directed at its parent's author, per se, though the parent comment inspired the question.

"Disney's movie is basically a rip-off of the..."

This is an interesting statement that not only includes the statement that the Disney movie is based on earlier works, but also a value judgement at the same time. At what point do we declare something a "rip-off" vs. an "homage" or simply be content saying it was "based on" or "inspired by" some earlier, original work?

Take for example the musical "West Side Story": it was based on "Romeo & Juliet", but I never hear it said that it ripped off Romeo & Juliet... never mind that Romeo & Juliet, itself, was based on an earlier story. Looking at some of the old posters and album covers (etc) for West Side Story, I see it was "Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins", but there's no mention of Shakespeare. The link was never disclaimed or represented as being otherwise, but apparently not really advertised either.

So how does the judgement aspect of this enter? Is it simply a way to emphasize a viewpoint that's really not so connected to the statement directly, but perhaps at the parties involved? Is the judgement more about who acted rather than the act being described itself?

Note that if someone were trying to remake earlier material while disclaiming that the earlier material existed, then I'd get the "rip-off" statement... but I don't think Disney tries to claim that kind of credit for many of its films.

I guess I just find it curious that we take such opportunities to inject our opinions where seemingly a more neutral statement of fact would suffice and be more informative.