Marc Davis: Designer of Walt Disney’s Greatest Villain, Maleficent
Maleficent first appearance was in Walt Disney’s 1959 animated classic ‘Sleeping Beauty’
Maleficent made her theatrical debut in 1959. She has since been in shows at Disneyland, starred as the antagonist in TV shows and video games, and was even a large part of a book series. Animator Marc Davis designed a character that would get her own movie and a sequel starring Angelina Jolie.
“To bring Maleficent to life, we really looked a lot at the artwork of Marc Davis,” Executive Producer Don Hahn told D23. “There is a lot of Marc Davis walking around in the movie ‘Maleficent.’”
Davis found inspiration for Maleficent in an art of the Middle Ages book from Czechoslovakia that he had in his own library. It had a religious painting with a character in a black robe with flames on the fabric. He used the idea of a bat and horns from the devil to fill out the design.
Eleanor Audley provided the voice for Maleficent and gave Davis’ Maleficent strength, majesty, and power. Audley’s voice was “monumental” and “enormously impressive.” She inspired the size of Maleficent.
Davis may be best known for his injection of humor into Disneyland. Before he got his hands on it, the Jungle Cruise was a straight forward safari. Davis added the visual jokes. He took a larger role designing the visual jokes in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and continued his work with the Haunted Mansion.
The first scene Davis animated, which he got credit for, was Snow White dancing. He also worked on Tinkerbell, Alice, and Cruella DeVil. His work in animation and on Disney attractions shows that Davis was a multi-talented and multi-faceted artist.
“I think that’s the whole thing with creativity is if there’s something new to do out there, why not give it a try,” Marc Davis said in Disney Family Album. There is quite a difference between the evil of Maleficent and the humor of the Jungle Cruise.
