Marc Davis: Disney's Renaissance Man

Canemaker, John (2001). 

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men Disney Edition

    Marc Davis knew that he had a gift for dramatic storytelling at a young age. Following in his father’s footsteps, he sought to entertain and entrance. Davis’s father, Harry A. Davis, who performed a “black magic” act was a consummate showman. Harry Davis was a brilliant man who could speak ten languages, was a magician, a musician, and a watchmaker, amongst other skills. Eager to follow in his father’s footsteps, Marc decided to pursue a higher education in the arts. Harry knew that his son had storytelling skills, but instead of putting him in a performing arts school, he wanted him to work at a pool hall, to “learn about life”. Because his father was rarely happy in one profession for long, Marc and his family moved around a lot. He never stayed anywhere long enough to gain any true or lasting friendships, so he had to occupy his time in other ways, often carrying around a sketchbook. Davis loved to draw and sketch, especially nature, so he would find a creek or farm and sit down with his sketchbook. He would study forms and movements from all walks of life, it’s where his true passion would lie.

    During the Depression, Davis’s family moved to Los Angeles, and Marc was able to take a few classes at the Otis Art Institute. Once he graduated high school, however, his father told him that he could not afford to send him to college, but he would “give him an education”. This is when Marc started working at the Waldorf Pool  Hall. His family moved again, this time to San Francisco during the depths of the depression Davis took whatever odd job he could since his family was making very little money. He worked painting signs, and attending The California Institute of Arts until he couldn’t afford it anymore. Then he would take the train out to the Fleishacker Zoo to draw the animals on cheap butcher paper, trying to get an art education in the only way that he could. He would visit so often that he became friends with numerous staff and even the zoo director. They would often let Marc in early and bring animals out for him to draw. In the evenings he would go to the public library and study anatomy and skeletal structures.

Canemaker, John (2001). 

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men Disney Edition

    After the family moved to Sacramento, Marc found a small job cartooning for the Sacramento Bee newspaper. Harry Davis, seeing his son’s talents, told Marc he should go see the new Walt Disney animated film The Three Little Pigs. Marc was impressed, he had never seen an animated film quite like it. Once Marc’s family made a move to Marysville, he got a good desk job, designing posters and newspaper advertisements. Marc would often leave the print shop and walk to the local theater. He tried to see more Disney offerings like Who Killed Cock Robin?. Marc would always talk about how Spectacular Disney’s films were, that his boss finally told him that he should apply. Marc sent in an application shortly after but was rejected. Feeling frustrated and embarrassed, Marc gave up the endeavor and continued work at the print shop.

    Shortly after his Disney rejection, Marc’s father passed away, leaving Marc her sole financial support. Marc drove down to Los Angeles, driven to find a good job in print or advertising. After showing his impressive portfolio to several studios, he was told he should apply at Disney. With renewed enthusiasm, he did just that. He drove to Disney Studios, presented his portfolio, and was hired on the spot.

    Davis wasn’t at the studio long when he befriended Milt Kahl, one of the studio's best new artists. Kahl wasn’t a very sociable guy, he was often short-tempered and cutting with his sharp critiques. Kahl saw something special in Davis, someone who could toe-to-toe with him on the paper, a fellow artist he could really respect.

    It wasn’t long after that Marc’s illustration skills began impressing other artists and directors. Even Walt himself began to take notice of Dais’s abilities, especially with animals and the female form. Davis’s skills had even caught the eye of one of the studio's best animators, “Grim” Natwick. He saw exceptional skill in Davis and wanted to give him more challenging scenes. After a year of animating almost exclusively female characters like Viola in Music Land, Grim started work on Snow White for Disney’s first full-length feature and asked Marc to assist.

    Marc worked on a variety of Disney films over the years, but his focus was on the animals and the female lead character, his specialty. He not only animated characters like Flower from Bambi, but he began designing characters like Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty and Alice from Madame Madusa from The Rescuers. Since he was constantly trying to improve as an artist, Davis would make clay sculpture or “maquettes” of the character he was animating so he could see the form from all sides. This was such an excellent tool that Disney started having them produced specifically for the animators to use for reference.

Animated Spirit (2023). The Art of Marc Davis

    During this time, Walt Disney himself was heavily involved in his new project, Disney Land. It had all the makings of the classic Main Street fairs he had experienced as a child and was now looking for ways to incorporate more of the Disney properties into the park. He knew he needed top-shelf engineers and designers, he needed Marc Davis.

    To the disappointment of Milt Kahl, Disney had recruited Marc to work with his imagineering team at Disney Land, creating exciting, new attractions. To Milt, Walt was just taking away one of the studio's best draftsmen.

    After doing some concept work for Disney during the 1965 World’s Fair, he was tasked with designing two new rides, The Haunted Mansion, and The Pirates of the Caribbean. Davis would spend his time sketching ghostly characters that inhabited the mansion and trying to tell the audience a story along the way. As with the pirates ride, he had to find a new way to convey a story to an audience who were on a moving track. It was an exciting new way to entertain and Marc was all for it.

    Davis spent the rest of his 40+ years career at Disney as a designer and an imagineer. He would do concept sketches and even helped with the animal design when they were planning Disney World. He was an extraordinary talent, much like his father, with numerous abilities and accolades under his belt. His art studies and lectures are still talked about and studies to this day. His sculptures and paintings are hung in galleries, Disney Land, and even The California Institute of Art. He was a true renaissance man of Disney Studios and the animation industry in general. He will be missed, but never forgotten.

Animated Spirit (2023). The Art of Marc Davis