Marc Davis(1913-2000)
- Animation Department
- Writer
- Actor
Marc Davis was an American animator from Bakersfield, California. He was a member of Disney's Nine Old Men, a group of senior animators who supervised the Walt Disney Animation Studios from c. 1945 to 1977. Davis was nicknamed as "Disney's Ladies' Man", because he was often asked to design and/or animate the primary female characters in Disney's feature films. His most significant characters were Snow White in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), Bambi, Faline, and Flower in "Bambi" (1942), Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear in "Song of the South" (1946), Bongo in "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947), Mr. Toad and the villainous weasels in "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (1949), Cinderella in "Cinderella" (1950), Alice in "Alice in Wonderland" (1951), Tinker Bell and Mrs. Darling in "Peter Pan" (1953), Aurora, Maleficent, and Diablo the Raven in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), and Cruella De Vil and Anita in "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961).
Davis took up drawing as a hobby during his childhood. He noted that his drawings increased his popularity with other kids, and that even the bullies stopped bothering him. Deciding to become a professional artist, Davis received training at the Kansas City Art Institute, the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He habitually sketched zoo animals for practice, and studied animal anatomy to improve the accuracy of his depictions.
In 1935, Davis was one of several young animators hired by Disney during the production phase of the studio's first animated feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937). He soon demonstrated a talent for developing "three-dimensional characters and storytelling", which set him apart from other animators. Which is why he was assigned to draw "difficult-to-draw" human characters, rather than caricatures. He always aimed "to put personality into the characters", in order to make them appealing to the film's audience. He typically used reference images for his characters, and at times emulated the gestures and expressions of the characters' voice actors. One of his most challenging assignments was animating the silent character of Tinker Bell. He had to express the character's sass and personality through pantomime and facial expression alone.
In 1956, Davis married the costume designer Alice Estes (1929-2022). They had previously been working together in developing suitable clothing for the character of Aurora, and their professional relationship preceded their romantic relationship. Soon after their wedding, Disney introduced her to the studio head Walt Disney. Walt eventually hired Alice to design costumes for Disney's live-action productions.
In the early 1960s, Davis left Disney's animation studio. He transferred to WED Enterprises (later renamed to Walt Disney Imagineering), the subsidiary company responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions. Davis helped in the design and creation of several attractions, including "The Jungle Cruise" (1955), "Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland" (1960), "The Enchanted Tiki Room" (1963), "Ford's Magic Skyway" (1964), "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" (1964), "The Carousel of Progress" (1964), "It's a Small World" (1964), "Pirates of the Caribbean" (1967), "The Haunted Mansion" (1969), "The Country Bear Jamboree" (1971), and "America Sings" (1974).
Davis worked in the early 1970s in developing an attraction called "Western River Expedition", which would serve as a historical recreation of the Western expansion of the United States. This attraction was never built, but elements of Davis' designs were later used in developing the attractions called "Tom Sawyer Island", "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad", "Splash Mountain", "Thunder Mesa", "Phantom Manor", and "Expedition Everest".
Davis retired in 1978, at the age of 65. In 1982, Davis won a Winsor McCay Award for his contributions to animation. In 1985, Davis won the Golden Award of the organization Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists. In 1989, he was inducted to the hall of fame Disney Legends. In 1993, Davis received an award by the Disneyana Fan Club. Davis died in January 2000, at the age of 86. Shortly following his death, the Marc Fraser Davis Scholarship Fund was formally established at the California Institute of the Arts.
Davis' career and artwork were the subject of the biographical book "Marc Davis: Walt Disney's Renaissance Man" (2014) by Disney Editions. The book was followed by the sequel "Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Parks" (2020), which focused on his theme park designs. Though long gone, Davis remains popular among fans of traditional animation.
Davis took up drawing as a hobby during his childhood. He noted that his drawings increased his popularity with other kids, and that even the bullies stopped bothering him. Deciding to become a professional artist, Davis received training at the Kansas City Art Institute, the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He habitually sketched zoo animals for practice, and studied animal anatomy to improve the accuracy of his depictions.
In 1935, Davis was one of several young animators hired by Disney during the production phase of the studio's first animated feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937). He soon demonstrated a talent for developing "three-dimensional characters and storytelling", which set him apart from other animators. Which is why he was assigned to draw "difficult-to-draw" human characters, rather than caricatures. He always aimed "to put personality into the characters", in order to make them appealing to the film's audience. He typically used reference images for his characters, and at times emulated the gestures and expressions of the characters' voice actors. One of his most challenging assignments was animating the silent character of Tinker Bell. He had to express the character's sass and personality through pantomime and facial expression alone.
In 1956, Davis married the costume designer Alice Estes (1929-2022). They had previously been working together in developing suitable clothing for the character of Aurora, and their professional relationship preceded their romantic relationship. Soon after their wedding, Disney introduced her to the studio head Walt Disney. Walt eventually hired Alice to design costumes for Disney's live-action productions.
In the early 1960s, Davis left Disney's animation studio. He transferred to WED Enterprises (later renamed to Walt Disney Imagineering), the subsidiary company responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions. Davis helped in the design and creation of several attractions, including "The Jungle Cruise" (1955), "Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland" (1960), "The Enchanted Tiki Room" (1963), "Ford's Magic Skyway" (1964), "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" (1964), "The Carousel of Progress" (1964), "It's a Small World" (1964), "Pirates of the Caribbean" (1967), "The Haunted Mansion" (1969), "The Country Bear Jamboree" (1971), and "America Sings" (1974).
Davis worked in the early 1970s in developing an attraction called "Western River Expedition", which would serve as a historical recreation of the Western expansion of the United States. This attraction was never built, but elements of Davis' designs were later used in developing the attractions called "Tom Sawyer Island", "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad", "Splash Mountain", "Thunder Mesa", "Phantom Manor", and "Expedition Everest".
Davis retired in 1978, at the age of 65. In 1982, Davis won a Winsor McCay Award for his contributions to animation. In 1985, Davis won the Golden Award of the organization Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists. In 1989, he was inducted to the hall of fame Disney Legends. In 1993, Davis received an award by the Disneyana Fan Club. Davis died in January 2000, at the age of 86. Shortly following his death, the Marc Fraser Davis Scholarship Fund was formally established at the California Institute of the Arts.
Davis' career and artwork were the subject of the biographical book "Marc Davis: Walt Disney's Renaissance Man" (2014) by Disney Editions. The book was followed by the sequel "Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Parks" (2020), which focused on his theme park designs. Though long gone, Davis remains popular among fans of traditional animation.
