- This brand new two-book set on Disney legend Marc Davis will delight Disneyland fans, especially those who love the classic rides.
- This book set gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of beloved Disneyland attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and Country Bear Jamboree.
- Imagineer Christopher Merritt and Pixar's Pete Docter ("Inside Out,""Up,""Monsters, Inc.") collaborated on this ambitious and awe-inspiring project.
- Weighing almost 11 pounds and including over 1,500 images, this book set is worth the $109 price tag.
If you don't know the name Marc Davis, you certainly know his work.
Marc Davis was one of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men, Disney's core team of animators who joined the studio in the 1920s and '30s, and arguably one of the most important figures both in Disney films and Disney Parks. Davis began his journey working on "Snow White," Disney's first feature, and continued to create unforgettable characters that we all know, love, and sometimes loathe including Tinker Bell, Maleficent in "Sleeping Beauty," and Cruella de Vil in "101 Dalmatians" as well as the title characters in "Alice in Wonderland,""Bambi," and "Cinderella."
After Davis' long and illustrious career in animation, Walt Disney gave him a new assignment. He moved the incredibly talented Davis to WED Enterprises (later known as Walt Disney Imagineering) to work on attractions at Disneyland including the Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and Country Bear Jamboree.
This transition from animation to amusement park is where the new book "Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks" takes off. Imagineer and theme park designer Christopher Merritt, along with director and chief creative officer of Pixar Pete Docter, spent years working on this ambitious project published by Disney Editions — and their efforts paid off.
"I think it's one of the best books ever done on the topic of Disney in general and perhaps the best so far on the subject of Imagineering," prolific Imagineer Tom Morris, who is now retired, told Business Insider. "It's the book I always dreamed of having when I was a kid," he added.
Whether you're a kid, art-loving adult, theme park aficionado, or lifelong Disney fanatic and Marc Davis devotee like myself, this book will speak to you.
I caught up with the authors, Christopher Merrit and Pete Docter, to talk about their stunning new book and Davis' remarkable legacy.
The books
This massive two-volume set (weighing about 11 pounds) is a unique and intimate look at a creative genius. "Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks" is a fascinating, fully illustrated deep dive into Davis' work at Disney Parks and includes a staggering amount of images. There are more than 1,500 from the Walt Disney Imagineering archives, most of which were previously unpublished.
"The book features Marc's amazing drawings and paintings, and the text is essentially by Marc himself, pulled from many lectures he gave about his work and process," Docter told Business Insider. "There are many unpublished photos showing Marc at home and work, Marc with Walt Disney, and the attractions as they took shape. It's really an incredible volume, not only of Marc's artwork but also of his thinking and process."
The massiveness of the book
"We felt that if we were going to do this, we wanted to get as much as we could into readers' hands," Docter told me. "The combination of Marc's words and the incredible concept art is pretty powerful to see together in one place."
"The team at the Imagineering Art Collections did a tremendous amount of work as well, photographing over 700 pieces of Marc's artwork to make it the most color-accurate it has been in a publication to date," Merritt said. "I'm beyond impressed with how good it looks when you are holding the books in your hands."
The volumes truly are visually stunning, and it's hard to put it down. With each turn of the page, there is another treat for the eyes — from early concept sketches that would later become the Haunted Mansion to ideas for Pirates of the Caribbean to an incredibly exotic assortment of fantastical birds that never made it into Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. It's captivating to see the concepts that became the rides we know and love as well other ideas that would never be.
How the book came about
Imagineer Chris Merritt was in a unique position to tell Davis' story. Merritt met Marc and Alice Davis in 1990. Then a student at CalArts as well as a Jungle Cruise skipper at Disneyland, Merritt wrote Davis a letter in hopes of interviewing him for a student paper.
"To my surprise, not only did he say yes, but he also invited me up to his house to spend the day with him and his equally talented wife, Alice. At age 20, it was a bit of a gob-smacking experience for me!" Merritt said.
Marc and Alice Davis later became mentors to Merritt. He'd often visit them while attending CalArts, adding that he would "pepper them with questions about their work on classic Disneyland attractions." He wisely began to record these conversations.
Inspired by these conservations from decades ago, Merritt began working on the book about five years ago while he was on assignment working on Shanghai Disneyland. "I was Skyping with Alice Davis occasionally and told her about this idea I had, and she very sweetly said, 'Oh my yes, Marc would be so pleased!'" (Marc passed away in January of 2000.)
Merrit then approached Docter who was eager to work on the project with him. The two have been friends since their days back at CalArts although their paths went to different arms of the Disney company.
"He's always been interested in Imagineering history and artists," Merritt said of Docter. "He also had a similar relationship with Marc and Alice, although he was asking Marc more animation-related questions, while I was pestering him with questions like, 'Just how did you stage the situations in Pirates of the Caribbean?'"
"I got to know Marc and Alice out of enthusiasm for both of their work," Docter said of the couple. "They were such giving people that I can't remember visiting without having been fed. So, when Chris approached me with the concept of a book dedicated to Marc's work at Imagineering, it was a no-brainer."
In June 2018, Docter became the chief creative office of Pixar while also directing his upcoming film "Soul," but he still found time to be involved in the project.
"Pete got on board to be part of this book very early on, and I made a deal with him," Merritt told me. "I would do the legwork of transcribing and getting everything together, if he would serve as my editor and help me get things shaped into a narrative that the average reader could access. Obviously, he's incredibly talented as a storyteller and getting to the heart of making something work." With films such as "Monsters, Inc.,""Up," and "Inside Out," as well as a couple of Oscars, we'd have to agree.
Merritt and Docter began compiling other recordings and transcribing various lectures to create a rich and full picture of Marc Davis' career, in his own words no less.
"We really wanted to put this book in his voice, and give the reader a similar experience to what Pete and I had when we were lucky enough to visit with them in our 20s," Merritt explained. "Our hope is that the reader feels like they are getting a personal lecture from him, explaining his design theories and sharing stories about working directly with Walt Disney on Disneyland."
Beyond compiling all of Davis' interviews, Merritt was intent on including as many rare images as he could. "Between scouring the collections at the Imagineering Art Library and Show Documentation files, the Walt Disney Archives and Photo Collection at the Studio, contacting photographers who took photos at WED Enterprises in the 1960s, private collectors and all the items Marc and Alice saved at their home, well, it was daunting to say the least," Merritt recalled. "We even found a treasure trove of photographs at the Library of Congress that, to me anyway, are jaw-dropping. They show Walt Disney, Marc Davis, and his core team of Imagineers not posing for the camera — but actually hard at work creating the attractions millions of guests are still enjoying today."
Marc Davis' legacy
Not only do millions of Disney Parks guests enjoy Davis' contributions to this day, but Davis continues to have an impact on those that make the magic today. "Marc's focus on creating specific, caricatured, real characters and situations is something that completely lit me up as a kid, and continues to inspire today," Docter told me.
Merritt also continues to cite Davis a guiding light. "I think of Marc every day when I'm at work as a concept and show designer," he said. "I'm constantly asking myself, 'How would Marc have staged this? Where would he have put things in order to make things most clear to guests? What are the opportunities for humor here?' Funny situations and just how you stage them — that was Marc's specialty. He was a master of color and environmental design and what I like to think of as 'flow' in an attraction, but he was the undisputed master of the funny gag in our classic shows and rides."
"He's a titan of the industry, and I'm hoping not just Disney fans, but theme park designers get a lot out of these books as well," Merritt said.
The bottom line
If you'd like to learn more about the making of iconic attractions at Disneyland or take a deep dive into the creative process, this would be a wonderful addition to your bookshelf. If you're already a Marc Davis fan, then this book set is required reading.
Pros: The Disney Publishing team did a fantastic job at reproducing and printing Davis' work; it really is visually stunning. As far as content, what better way to learn from a master than in their own words? It's a wonderful opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at what went into all those classic Disney attractions.
Cons: The book set is an investment. But if you're a Disneyland or theme park fan, it will be worth every penny. The set is also huge, so you'll need to make some room on the coffee table.