When you think of female leads in Disney shows and movies, who do you think of? Cinderella, Mulan, Hannah Montana, Gabriella Montez? Our screens have been blessed with multi-talented actresses and singers for decades, and it makes you wonder who might’ve been the one to start it all. At the beginning of Walt’s career at his first animation studio, Laugh-O-Gram Studios, he focused on the progression of cartoon animation as drawing was where his talents lied. As the filmography grew for the studio, but the financial decline set in, he had to think of a new, fresh idea to present to distributors in order to keep going after Laugh-O-Gram closed due to bankruptcy. Walt’s love for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland came into play, and Walt developed his own series based on the character: the Alice Comedies. It would be a hybrid of animated scenes and backgrounds with a live-action actress playing the role of Alice, interacting with the imaginary world. This little girl would be the Walt Disney Company’s first human star, and would become a Disney Legend for her work. Her name is Virginia Davis.

Virginia’s Early Disney Career

Virginia’s childhood career choice came as no surprise to her parents in Kansas City, Missouri. From the time Virginia could walk, she expressed interest and passion in dancing and performing. Her father was a travelling salesman, often gone for months at a time, so her mother took the initiative to get Virginia in front of some cameras. Her mother got her into a television commercial for Warneke Bread. Virginia also went to Georgie Brown’s Dramatic School, where she excelled in dance and practiced every single afternoon. The Warneke Bread commercial is what caught the attention of Walt Disney, as it was one of the advertisements that would play between his cartoons. He was struggling to keep his animation studio in Kansas City running. Walt approached Virginia and her parents, pitching a one-reel silent film that would star Davis as Alice. Though Walt was not yet known to a wide variety of audiences, it was an opportunity that Davis could not pass up.

Virginia Davis and Julius the Cat. Image from: https://www.dlrp.fr/31-decembre-virginia-davis/

Alice’s Wonderland and the Alice Comedies

The very first Alice film, Alice’s Wonderland, was a low budget silent film that was done all by Walt and his team. They tried to stretch their resources as much as possible, and some sections of the film were done at Virginia’s home. Instead of hiring another actress, they also acquired Virginia’s aunt Louise to play her mother who tucks her into bed at the end of the film. Walt would be the principle director, often just verbally telling Virginia where to go and how to react. There were no formal rehearsals and no strict scripts - just Walt following a story along in his head and trying to make it come out on the screen. The first film, Alice’s Wonderland, would act as a test shoot for Walt to show distributors to try and sell the idea. He took it to Hollywood once Laugh-O-Gram officially went under, but his only condition to studios who wanted to show the Alice Comedies was that Virginia remain in the title role. Walt and his team worked out of his uncle’s garage in California, and Virginia and her parents flew out to live in the state as well. Her father was able to be a salesman there, and her mother could take care of her.

Virginia Davis filming with the Disney Brothers Studio. Image from: https://www.disneyhistory101.com/studios/2018/8/28/disney-brothers-studio

Soon, Winkler Pictures picked up the Alice Comedies and would show it in their theatres around Hollywood. Virginia would often make appearances at the matinee shows to surprise the children. From March 1924 to February, 1925, she would work for Disney once or twice a week shooting, earning about $100 a month in the beginning. She starred in 13 Alice Comedies pictures. After number 13, she pulled out as her contract had ended, and the terms of the new contract stated that she wasn’t allowed to work on anything else. She and her family didn’t want to be tied down, and Charles Mintz, head of Winkler Pictures, also showed an unfavourable attitude toward Virginia and having to pay her. He was more interested in the cartoons than trying to keep her on board. Though Virginia departed, Walt continued on to make 57 total Alice Comedies features.

Alice’s Wonderland intro card. Image from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013823/

Virginia’s Post-Disney Career

Virginia went back to school after her run with the Disney company, and graduated at 14 years old. She accelerated her education in order to make her big break into Hollywood and motion pictures. Her love for film as a child followed her into her teens, and she even wrote to Walt when she was 16 years old. He invited her to the studio for a tour, and she made her way into the ink and paint department in the 1930s for 6 months.

She also did a few more minimal tasks for the studio, like becoming the reference model for Daisy Duck for the 1940 cartoon short Mr. Duck Steps Out. She was planned to be the reference model and voice for Snow White, but turned the job down due to an insufficient salary. She did however provide some of the background voices on the film during the test, and played some of the little boys on Pleasure Island in Pinocchio. She was also set to star as Alice one more time in 1951’s Alice in Wonderland, but again turned down the job because of the contract terms.

After her time with Disney, she went on to star in 15 other movie projects, many of them as a dancer, going back to her dancing roots as a child. Her long term career began when she received a degree from the New York School of Interior Design, and then became a highly successful realtor in Connecticut and California. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Virginia would make visits back to Disney, participating in the Disneyana Conventions.

The Legacy of Alice in Wonderland

The character of Alice and story of Wonderland symbolizes great strength and perseverance on the side of Disney. The Alice Comedies are what brought Walt, Roy and the team out of bankruptcy, it’s what brought them to Hollywood, and it’s what lead to the creation of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Subsequently, Mickey Mouse came from this butterfly effect, and so on. Alice in Wonderland came out at a time when the studio needed another surge in popularity, and it has become a legendary film full of legendary actors. Virginia has played a massive role in the development of the Disney company, and remained gracious all throughout her final years. Virginia Davis passed away on August 15, 2009.