Marc Davis (animator)

As one of Walt Disney's “Nine Old Men,” Marc Davis's importance to the Disney Studio is immediately evident. Davis was creative and skilled, able to set himself apart from the distinguished group of veteran animators. His mastery of drawing and painting led him to champion animation, followed by three-dimensional characters and storytelling.[7] “I haven't used Marc as I should,” Walt once admitted to Alice Davis. “I have a whole building over there filled with animators and that's all they can do. Marc can do story, he can do character, he can animate, he can design shows for me. All I have to do is tell him what I want and it's there. He's my Renaissance Man.”[8] An even higher compliment from Walt circled back to Davis over the years. When asked what piece of the Studio's animation he fancied most, Walt replied, “I guess it would have to be where Cinderella gets her ballroom gown.”[9][10] It was Davis who animated Cinderella's pixie dust transformation.

Despite his skill with animal anatomy and caricature, it was Marc Davis and Milt Kahl who were stuck with over a decade of “difficult-to-draw” and “dull” human characters.[11] In Davis's own words, “Milt got stuck with the prince a lot and I got stuck with the girls.” Despite his distaste for this role, his commitment to artistic excellence never let him forget that he “still had to put personality into the characters. You had to believe the characters were alive, give a performance like an actor and make them come alive for the audience.”[12] Davis follows through on this commitment, as seen through his involved work with reference images, voice actors, and live actors. Davis became a master of observing and capturing life, “evident in his acting, posing, and movement.”[13]

Voice actors for Maleficent, Briar Rose, and Cruella De Vil have all discussed the influence on Marc Davis's animation of their respective characters. Mary Costa, voice of Briar Rose, recalled not even being invited to the premier of Sleeping Beauty because, at the time, voice acting was hardly recognized. Even though Hollywood did not acknowledge voice acting's importance, Davis did. In an interview Costa described working with Davis at Disney, “Marc would sit in the sound booth and sketch my every gesture and expression.” He recalled how despite hiring Helene Stanley as the live action reference for Briar Rose, it was her “mannerisms” that made it to the big screen. When her mother saw the film, she exclaimed: “Oh Mary, she looks just like you!”[14] Eleanor Audley, voice of Maleficent, remembered Davis telling her that “the voice is the most necessary thing in the world.” In the end, Davis admitted that Maleficent “looked a lot like Eleanor.”[15] When it came to Cruella, one of the only characters to ever be completely controlled by a single animator, Davis claimed his greatest inspiration was the vocal performance of Betty Lou Gerson.[16] Gerson commented in an interview how Davis incorporated her high cheekbones into Cruella's face and how closely she had to work with him to perfect “the laugh.”[17]

Live action references also influenced Davis's work, though his distinct style still shone through unlike many animators who just regurgitated reality.[13] Davis's most famous scene from Sleeping Beauty is when Briar Rose spins around with her arms out in the forest. Though he followed the live-action reference footage, “Davis exaggerated the foreshortening and sweeping arcs of the arms” making an artistic choice, rather than one from reality, that made the princess look “more appealing.”[18] Fellow animator Frank Thomas criticized Davis for going “overboard” with Cruella De Vil, making the villain's face more “of a skull.” However, Davis's skill in capturing personality made it so “her key poses and facial angles” retained a “certain glamor.”[16] Another example of this talent is how Davis perfectly captured and articulated Tinker Bell's notorious sass and personality through pantomime and facial expression alone.[19] Margaret Kerry, the live action reference for the fairy, remembered asking Davis for guidance on who he wanted Tinker Bell to be and getting a response that she described as “wonderful.” Davis told her he wanted “her to be you!”[20] Davis had vision for the characters he animated beyond just what they looked like, he knew how they would behave, sound, move, and what they would wear. A clear example of Davis's forethought is with Briar Rose's dress. Davis instructed his wife, Alice, on how he wanted the princess's dress to flow so she could make the correct costume for when the live action model arrived.[21]

Davis's contribution to Disney animation is undeniable. When asked how he'd like to be remembered, he responded, “Well, I think as a really decent person and a pretty damn good artist.”[22] Marc Davis was an incredible artist at Disney and whose skill at capturing life – movement, expression, personality – through animation, storytelling, or attraction development will forever enchant Disney audiences and preserve his name as a Disney Legend.

The most significant characters he designed and animated are :

• Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
• Bambi, Thumper, And Flower, from Bambi (1942)
• Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear from Song of the South (1946)
• Bongo, butterfly, and yawning trees from Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
• Mr. Toad, Cyril Proudbottom, Rat, Mole, Angus MacBadger, Mr. Winkie and the weasels from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
• Cinderella, Stepsisters (tearing Cinderella's dress apart), Prince Charming, the King (close up of hands and bookends) and the Grand Duke (close up of hands and bookends) from Cinderella (1950)
• Alice and the eyeglasses creature from Alice in Wonderland (1951)
• Tinker Bell and Mrs. Darling from Peter Pan (1953)
• Aurora, Maleficent, Diablo the Raven, Prince Phillip (a few scenes), King Stefan, and Queen Leah from Sleeping Beauty (1959)
• Cruella de Vil and Anita from 101 Dalmatians (1961)