"Yes, the first job I had at the studio was Snow White. I don't like the term particularly, but I got stuck with the human characters. They just didn't have that many people who could draw humans"

The quote from Marc Davis uses a remarkable insight into the early days of animation at Walt Disney Studios and highlights both the difficulties and accomplishments of this pioneering era. Marc Davis, among Disney's legendary "Nine Old Men," is assessing his preliminary assignment at the studio, which was working on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the very first full-length animated feature. This was a revolutionary job launched in 1937, setting new standards for animated films and developing character animation as a legitimate art kind.

Davis's remark about being "stuck to the human characters" underscores a significant challenge in animation at the time: properly and expressively drawing human figures. In animation, producing believable human characters is infamously challenging due to the requirement for subtle subtleties in motion and expression to communicate authenticity. This trouble is contrasted with animating caricatured or elegant characters, which enable greater poetic license and exaggeration.

Davis's statement, "They just didn't have that lots of people who could draw people," suggests that within the studio, there was a shortage of artists proficient in reasonable human portrayal. This specialization became a vital requirement as more complex stories in animation called for relatable human lead characters.

His usage of "I do not like the term particularly" potentially alludes to the difficulty or the pigeonholing that animators faced when designated specific kinds of characters or tasks. Regardless of this, Davis handled the obstacle successfully, contributing significantly to the film's success. His work on Snow White laid the groundwork for more nuanced character animation, influencing future tasks and animators.

In summary, this quote from Marc Davis encapsulates a turning point in animation history, reflecting both the technical challenges faced by the artists of the time and the development needed to overcome them. It highlights the specialized abilities that added to making "Snow White" a landmark accomplishment in movie.