(Walt Disney Studios, 1942) Original concept drawing of Bambi and Thumper by legendary Disney animator Marc Davis for Bambi, which depicts the bunny poking up from the forest underbrush to say hello to his fawn friend. Accomplished in graphite and charcoal on 7 x 5.25 animation paper, the lower left of which bears the WDP [Walt Disney Productions] stamp. Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 17.75 x 14.5. The consignor notes that the piece was sold in the Courvoisier Art Program and is marked Seq. 43 along the bottom border. In fine condition.
One of Disney's Nine Old Men, the legendary core animators of early Disney films, Davis joined Disney in 1935 as an apprentice animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He continued to work on classic films like Bambi, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland, and then later transferred to Disney’s Imagineering team where he contributed whimsical story and character concepts for Disneyland attractions like the Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Davis is probably best known as the father of some of Disney’s most memorable animated women, including Cruella De Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and Tinker Bell from Peter Pan.
