Marc Davis

Marc Fraser Davis (March 30, 1913 – January 12, 2000) was a prominent artist and animator for Walt Disney Studios. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, the famed core animators of Walt Disney's animation studio.

Some of the animated characters Davis mainly designed and animated are Thumper and Flower from Bambi (1942), Brer Rabbit from Song of the South (1946), the title character of Cinderella (1950), Alice of Alice in Wonderland (1951), Tinker Bell in Peter Pan (1953), Aurora and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959), and Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1961).

Davis also played a key role in the creation of many Disney attractions such as the Enchanted Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Ford's Magic Skyway, Carousel of Progress, "it's a small world", Jungle Cruise, Nature's Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, America Sings and the unbuilt Western River Expedition, as well as creating the characters featured in those attractions.

His wife Alice Davis created the original costumes for the Audio-Animatronic figures in the Ford Magic Skyway, "it's a small world" and Pirates of the Caribbean.

In 1989, he was named a Disney Legend. He was also the recipient of the much coveted Mousecar.

Davis died in January 2000; that same month, the Marc Fraser Davis Scholarship Fund was formally established at the California Institute of the Arts.

In 2014, the book Marc Davis: Walt Disney's Renaissance Man was published by Disney Editions Deluxe.

Quotes

 * On Disneyland rides: "We really don't have a story, with a beginning, an end, or a plot. It's more a series of experiences building up to a climax. I call them experience rides."