Memories of Marc Davis
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Few artists have had as great an impact on the world as Marc Davis and received such little acclaim. Marc's work has stirred the imaginations of billions of people through his ground breaking animation, painting, and storytelling. Yet only in the past few years has he been getting his due out among the general public.

With the growth of Disneyana clubs, Marc, and his wonderful wife Alice, have been called again and again to speak to their fans, many of whom had no idea how much of their favorite Disney ride or movie sprang from Marc's vision. Until recently I was one of those fans.

As a fan of Disneyland I knew of Marc Davis as an imagineer. I loved his kitchsy sketches of the country bears that became the driving force behind the attraction. I knew his vision was central to the bits that became Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. But until I heard the man speak, and saw the spark and twinkle in his eye as he remembered the process that went into creating these dreams come true (and all the dreams that never made it past the bean counters and other scourges of imagination) I had no idea how truly important he was.

Just a small sampling of his work includes: In animation -- Alice, Cinderella, Bambi, Tinker Bell, Sleeping Beauty, and the devilish Cruella De Vil. In theme parks -- “It's a Small World,” “The Enchanted Tiki Room,” “Carousel of Progress,” “America Sings,” “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” and “World of Motion” at EPCOT.

Marc Davis also had a life outside Disney. He taught the art of animation at the Chiounard Institute (where many a great animator was weaned) and was a patron of Cal Arts. Marc also was an accomplished artist beyond his animation and imagineering work. In fact an exhibit of his non-Disney work is currently on display at the Larry Smith Fine Arts Gallery in Los Angeles. I’ve seen examples of his work and find it inspiring and accomplished. To my non-trained eye, it’s up there on the level of a Picasso.

I never got the chance to know Marc personally, I met him once and had seen him speak twice. It is, of course, too little too late. But I still felt extremely moved when I heard the sad news. It’s a bit like having an old eccentric grandfather, with whom once a summer you built fantastical sandcastles at the beach and whom told ghost stories around the campfire, die.

I’m a bit worried about this, and other recent deaths, signal the beginning of the end of the last ties to Walt. Therefore, the work of people like Rick West, Paul F. Anderson, The Janzen brothers, Roberta Brubaker, and others (including LaughingPlace.com) becomes so important.

Me personally, I’ve lost another link to my grandfather, Imagineer Vic Greene. He and Marc worked together on many attractions. I was waiting for Marc to recover from his recent illnesses before arranging an interview. Now that chance is gone as well.

As always, there are lessons to be learned in death, as in life. Marc Davis used humor as medicine against the turmoil of everyday life. If we all had a little more light hearted view of the world it would, no doubt, be a better place. In addition, Marc will always be remembered as a great storyteller. In his death let us find inspiration for telling our own stories.

Soon we will wake up to face another day and realize again that he’s gone to his crypt in the great haunted mansion in the sky, finally joined the pixies in Never Never Land, sunning on the Caribbean beach of dreams, or whatever other euphemism you care to use. His passing leaves the world less colorful than it was the day before. Thankfully he has left us his beauty and humor in the form of his work. This weekend I'll be going to Disneyland to enjoy the marvelous magical encounters he helped create for us all to experience and wishing he was still around to create more.