Destination D - 75 years of Animation - Animating the Disney Parks

Destination D continued with Animating the Disney Parks hosted by Becky Cline (director of the Walt Disney Archives) and Tim O'Day (Disney historian).  The panel discussed the careers of key animators who worked on Disney theme parks.  Tony Baxter (Walt Disney Imagineering senior vice president), Tom Morris (Imagineering vice president of creative development), and Eddie Sotto (former Disey Imagineer) joined the panel.
Tony Baxer mentioned that there is approval to improve the Fantasyland Alice in Wonderland attraction, which after Peter Pan, Baxer feels is the best dark ride.  Personally, I'm hopeful that Imagineering can improve the attraction after the quick safety improvements.
 

Coat's background work on Pinocchio

Big Rock Candy Mountain

 The first animator the panel discussed was Claude Coats.  They discussed his role on Haunted Mansion, Storybook land, Adventures thru inner space, primeval worlds, and rainbow caverns.  Coats was able to successfully get color water to stay separate, keeping the beautiful color.  Baxer also related that he wanted to do the color water from rainbow caverns for Big Thunder Mountain, but it wasn't approved.  The panel also discussed that Coats understood that the dark rides have to happen at night.  You can't paint the sky and see the lines of walls meeting, it won't work.  However, make the sky black, and you can't see lines and the audience believes it's night.

What Claude Coats did for the envirment on attractions, Marc Davis did for character on attractions.  The D23 audience was treated to a video of Marc Davis that had only been shown once at an event after his passing away.

Herb Ryman understood the importance of details.  When working on Disney World, a bridge was needed to connect Liberty Square to the hub.  Ryman's idea was to use the Concord bridge rather than just a bridge because the cost would come out the same, but using the Concord bridge as a model would provide a historical context.  They also discussed Ryman's role in New Orleans square.  It was designed to be specifically vague.

The panel was running long so they quickly touched on John Hench's annual Mickey Mouse portraits.

They Made the Magic: Marc Davis

One of Disney's nine old men, Marc Davis's 34 year Disney career was impressive.  He was born March 30, 1913 in Bakersfield, California but he moved around a lot as a child eventually returning to California during the depression.  Walt once referred to him as a renaissance man.  He joined Disney in 1935 and was assigned as assistant to Grim Natwick to animate Snow White.  Natwick called Davis "an expert animator even at that young age."  Davis said the first thing he can really take credit for the model sheets for Snow White in her ragged costume wearing Dutch wooden shoes and did some work on the dance scene.  Davis went down to the Carthay Circle theater the night of the premiere but tickets were too expensive and it was too cold, so he left.  Joe Grant asked Davis to joining the model department but he went onto story and character development on Bambi.  Davis was responsible for many classic characters: Flower, Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, and Thinker Bell.  After completing 101 Dalmations he joined WED to work on the 1964 World's Fair, and the theme parks attractions: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, America Sings, and the Country Bear Jamboree.  Davis has a window in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.  He retired in 1978, became a Disney legend in 1989, and died in 2000.
For more information see the 50 most influential Disney artists blog.  Beginning in 1994 Marc Davis Lectures have been held in the field of animation.