Mary Blair is animating all your children's classics
I've been reading The Queens of Animation for the nonfiction books podcast I co-host and I have been consistently ASTOUNDED throughout it, particularly by the accomplishments of the women at Disney. This week we're highlighting Mary Blair, who is responsible for so intensely many awesome things from your childhood.
Mary Blair moved to California as a preteen and won a scholarship to an art institute in Los Angeles. She was pretty sure she was going to be a "serious artist" and not an animator, but THANK GOD she came to Disney, because she is responsible for the look ("color styling") of movies like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Cinderella.
Mermaid Lagoon, Skull Rock, the mischievous pixie that is Tinker Bell, these are all 100% Mary Blair. (x)
The iconic color styling of It's a Small World is also because of her. To truly blow the mind of some of you nerds, she was also responsible for that factor in the film version of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Truly a genius.
To learn more of the details of her life, check out The Queens of Animation or the beautiful children's book Mary Blair's Unique Flair: The Girl Who Became One of the Disney Legends.