The Reluctant Dragon (movie)
The Reluctant Dragon is a 1941 American combined live action and animated movie. It was produced by Walt Disney. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 27, 1941. The movie gives a tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
| The Reluctant Dragon | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alfred Werker (live action) Hamilton Luske (animation) Jack Cutting (sequence director) Jack Kinney (sequence director) Ub Iwerks (sequence director) |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Written by | Live-action: Ted Sears Al Perkins Larry Clemmons Bill Cottrell Harry Clork Robert Benchley (uncredited) Erdman Penner T. Hee Baby Weems segment: Joe Grant Dick Huemer John Miller |
| Based on | The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame (The Reluctant Dragon segment) |
| Starring | Robert Benchley Frances Gifford Buddy Pepper Nana Bryant |
| Edited by | Paul Weatherwax |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date | June 27, 1941 |
Running time | 74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The movie stars radio comedian Robert Benchley and many Disney staffers such as Ward Kimball, Fred Moore, Norman Ferguson, Clarence Nash and Walt Disney, all as themselves.
The first third of the movie is in black-and-white. The last two-thirds are in Technicolor. Most of the movie is live-action. There are four short animated parts. There is a black-and-white part with Casey Junior from Dumbo in his first appearance. There are three Technicolor cartoons: Baby Weems, Goofy's How to Ride a Horse, and The Reluctant Dragon. The Reluctant Dragon is based on Kenneth Grahame's book of the same name.
Notably, The Reluctant Dragon was Disney's first attempt at focusing on live action characters, being Disney's first live action movie. As such, it was the first Disney movie to not be in part of the Disney Canon. Other than Casey Junior, the Disney characters introduced are Bambi as a painted cel and Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, John Darling, Michael Darling, Aunt Sarah and Si and Am as statues. The characters would later appear in their respective future Disney animated movies.