Merrill De Maris

Birth : 1898-02-26, New Jersey

Death : 1948-12-31

History

Writer who worked on Disney Comic Strips for King Features Syndicate. De Maris helped Floyd Gottfredson with many of his early Mickey Mouse comic strips; they co-created famous characters like Phantom Blot, Chief O'Hara and Detective Casey. In 1942 they gave Minnie Mouse a full name as Minerva Mouse, for the four-month comic strip story "The Gleam". He also helped Carl Barks with one of his Donald Duck stories, titled Too Many Pets. De Maris also participated at the Disney Studio on the story adaptation for 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. -Wikipedia Entry

Movies

Snow White

Original Film Writer

Live-action adaptation of the 1937 Disney animated film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'.

Wynken, Blynken & Nod

Story

An elaborate dream fantasy based on the popular children's poem of three children playing and floating among the stars. The three sleepy children sail in their shoe-boat; they stall briefly on a cloud, then have various troubles with their fishing lines (one lands a fish-like star that ends up squirming in his pants).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Screenplay

A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jealous because she wants to be known as "the fairest in the land," and Snow White's beauty surpasses her own.

Little Hiawatha

Storyboard

The "fearless warrior" of the poem is a very small child whose pants keep falling down. He tries to shoot a grasshopper with his arrow, but the grasshopper spits in his eye. He tries to shoot a bunny rabbit, but the rabbit is too cute and pathetic. He tracks a bear, and runs after its cub and right into the mother. But the rest of the animals, thankful for him saving the rabbit, come to his rescue.

Don Donald

Story

Donald is courting Daisy (called Donna, here in her first appearance) Duck in Mexico. He arrives on a burro, which doesn't get along at all well with her; she convinces him to buy a car. They head through the desert, but the car breaks down, and throws Donald out, then takes off on its own with Daisy trapped inside the rumble seat. The car hits a rock, throwing Daisy into a mud puddle, to Donald's excessive amusement. Daisy pulls a unicycle from her purse, and rides off.

Three Blind Mouseketeers

Story

As the title implies, the three blind mice are musketeers. The cat sets a number of traps for them, which they all evade (apparently without realizing it) while he sleeps. The cat eventually wakes up and begins chasing them unsuccessfully, thanks to their teamwork.