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A Pixie Is Born
Contrary to what you may have read in a popular trivia
game, Walt Disney's original Tinker Bell was NOT based
on screen siren Marilyn Monroe. In reality, the saucy
pixie was based on singer-dancer-actress Margaret Kerry.
Although chosen for her dancing and pantomime
abilities, Margaret actually did a lot of acting for
the role. "The pouting and anger were fun to do,"
she recalled in an interview with Libby Slate for Disney
Magazine. "The wonderful directors (animators
Marc Davis, Wilfred Jackson and Gerry Geronimi) would
communicate so quickly, and if not, they would draw
a sketch."
"Tinker Bell was isolated on a great
big soundstage that went on forever. There was no one
for me to react to... I had to conjure up everything,"
Margaret said.
On Disney
Sound Stage One with the camera rolling and Marc Davis
directing, Margaret acts out the scene in which Tinker
Bell, stuck in Wendy’s dresser drawer, is trying
to figure out how to escape!
Davis
Delivers
The cute, curvy character of Tinker Bell, seen in the
movie “Peter Pan,” was a creation of Marc
Davis who was already famous for creating young Bambi,
Thumper, and animating Cinderella and Cruella de Vil
among others. He developed many of the beloved Disneyland
attractions including Pirates of the Caribbean, the
Haunted Mansion, and It’s a Small World. Davis
is a Disney Legend and one of Disney’s Nine Old
Men.
Using the footage of Margaret’s
live-action work as a reference, Davis and his team
of animators brought the little sprite to life and into
the hearts of people everywhere.
Today, anyone who has met
Margaret can still see the famously independent pixie-like
person with her small frame, sparkling eyes and happy
laugh. Margaret recognizes herself readily as did her
late husband, Jack Willcox. While viewing the film Peter
Pan, Jack leaned towards her and said, “Margaret,
I’d recognize those thighs anywhere.”
Click here
to view a slide show of some of the memorable moments
from Margaret's performance as Tink, with notes from
Margaret herself!
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