Live action references also influenced Davis's work, though his distinct style still shone through, unlike many animators who just regurgitated reality. 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."
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When her mother saw the film, she exclaimed: "Oh Mary, she looks just like you!" 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." 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. 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. Even though Hollywood did not acknowledge voice acting's importance, Davis did. 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. Voice actors for Maleficent, Briar Rose, and Cruella De Vil have all discussed the influence on Davis's animation of their respective characters. Davis became a master of observing and capturing life, "evident in his acting, posing, and movement."
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You had to believe the characters were alive, give a performance like an actor and make them come alive for the audience." Davis follows through on this commitment, as seen through his involved work with reference images, voice actors, and live actors. 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. When asked what piece of the Studio's animation he fancied most, Disney replied, "I guess it would have to be where Cinderella gets her ballroom gown." It was Davis who animated Cinderella's pixie dust transformation.ĭespite his skill with animal anatomy and caricature, Davis and Milt Kahl were stuck with over a decade of "difficult-to-draw" and "dull" human characters. He's my Renaissance Man." An even higher compliment from Disney circled back to Davis over the years. All I have to do is tell him what I want and it's there. Marc can do story, he can do character, he can animate, he can design shows for me. “I haven't used Marc as I should," Disney once admitted to Alice Davis: "I have a whole building over there filled with animators and that's all they can do. His mastery of drawing and painting led him to champion animation, followed by three-dimensional characters and storytelling. Davis was creative and skilled, able to set himself apart from the distinguished group of veteran animators. Introduction Īs one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men," Marc Davis's importance to the Disney Studio is immediately evident. Marc Davis began his Disney career in 1935 as an animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was responsible for many Disney characters, becoming so well regarded for his work on female characters that he was called "ladies' man".
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As a student, he spent his days sketching zoo animals in the evening, he studied animal anatomy at the public library. ĭavis studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He found when he drew that the other kids wanted his art, and the bullies wouldn't beat him up. As a child, schoolyard bullies were an impetus for Davis to start drawing. The family moved a lot, so Davis was in 26 schools before he was in high school.
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Davis was born in Bakersfield, California, on March 30, 1913.