The Reluctant Dragon (1941)

Directors:

Alfred L. Werker
Hamilton Luske

Writers:

Kenneth Grahame (story)
Ted Sears (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 June 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Comedy

Tagline:

Sequences in MULTIPLANE TECHNICOLOR (original print media ad - many caps)

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.

Plot Keywords:

Dragon | Disney Studios | Art Class | Horse | Tour

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

A Day at Disneys (USA) (TV title)
Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studio

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone) | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

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.

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."
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Studio Tour (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Reluctant Dragon

Neglected Disney Classic

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.