IMDb > The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
The Reluctant Dragon
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The Reluctant Dragon (1941) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3)
The Reluctant Dragon (1941) -- Max Hare and Toby Tortoise are having a foot race. Max has much more style, and is generally cocky. He pauses for a short nap...
The Reluctant Dragon (1941) -- Benchley takes the audience on a tour through Disney studios. Alan Ladd plays one of the animators we meet along the way. The live-action footage was cut in later TV releases.
The Reluctant Dragon (1941) -- Benchley takes the audience on a tour through Disney studios. Alan Ladd plays one of the animators we meet along the way. The live-action footage was cut in later TV releases.

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   391 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Kenneth Grahame (story)
Ted Sears (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Reluctant Dragon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 June 1941 (USA) more
Tagline:
Sequences in MULTIPLANE TECHNICOLOR (original print media ad - many caps) more
Plot:
Humorist Robert Benchley learns about the animation process at Walt Disney Studios while trying to find the great man himself to pitch him the idea of making a cartoon about a shy dragon. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
Neglected Disney Classic more (13 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Robert Benchley ... Himself
Frances Gifford ... Doris (Studio Artist)
Buddy Pepper ... Humphrey (Studio Guide)
Nana Bryant ... Mrs. Benchley
Claud Allister ... Sir Giles (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Barnett Parker ... The Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Billy Lee ... The Boy (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Florence Gill ... Herself (Voice Artist)
Clarence Nash ... Himself / Donald Duck (voice)
Norman Ferguson ... Himself (as Norm Ferguson)
Ward Kimball ... Himself (Goofy animator)
Jimmy Luske ... Jimmy, Baby Weems model

Alan Ladd ... Al, Baby Weems storyboard artist
Truman Woodworth
Hamilton MacFadden (as Hamilton Mac Fadden)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
A Day at Disneys (USA) (TV title)
Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studio
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Runtime:
74 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Black and White (Sepiatone) | Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The Mickey Avenue/Dopey Drive signpost was built specifically for the movie, and was supposed to be removed afterward. It wasn't, and it still stands at the Disney studio. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Mrs. Benchley: [Reading] "So they set off up the hill, arm in arm, the knight, the dragon, and the boy. The lights in the little village began to go out one by one."
[Is interrupted by a toy rifle going off]
Mrs. Benchley: "But there were stars and a late moon as they climbed the downs together."
[Toy rifle again]
Mrs. Benchley: Robert, please.
[Pan to Robert Benchley lying on a raft in the pool, with the toy rifle]
Robert Benchley: Go on, I can hear in any position.
[Shoots a dart at a duck decoy in the pool]
Mrs. Benchley: [Continues reading] "And as they turned the last corner and disappeared from view, snatches of an old song were borne back on the night breeze. I can't be certain which of them was singing, but I think it was the dragon."
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Studio Tour (2002) (V) more
Soundtrack:
The Reluctant Dragon more

FAQ

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
Neglected Disney Classic, 23 October 2000
Author: Aleck Bennett from Silver Spring, MD

I happened upon this film during a late night when nothing else was on TV, and couldn't have been happier that I came across it.

In this, we're taken behind-the-scenes of Disney studios circa 1941, and given a humorous (and, I'm sure, highly fictionalized) tour of the studio and its various departments. While I've always been a fan of Disney's animation, I'd never been given a glimpse of the animators themselves, and I always thought that they deserved to be as well known as the Warner Brothers stable of talent. Well, here they're given a chance to hog the spotlight (as Disney himself doesn't show up until the final few moments of the film) and show off their talents.

Not only is this a good chance for you to see how some of your Disney favorites were brought to screen, the linking device with comic Robert Benchley is charming throughout, and the attitude is more than a little self-deprecating (playing up the notion that one is indoctrinated into the "Disney way of life" in working for the Mouse, Benchley's guide is portrayed as a militarily-garbed, wormy little walking Disney Rule Book). The animation itself is great (as is usual for Disney of this vintage) and the live-action work is funny in a way that most Disney live-action works aren't. All of this adds up to a most rewarding, and highly neglected, classic from the Vaults of Disney.

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