The Reluctant Dragon (1941 film)
| The Reluctant Dragon | |
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Original theatrical poster for The Reluctant Dragon
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| Directed by |
Alfred Werker (live action) Hamilton Luske (animation) Jack Cutting, Ub Iwerks, Jack Kinney (sequence directors) |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Written by |
Live-action: Ted Sears Al Perkins Larry Clemmons Bill Cottrell Harry Clork Robert Benchley The Reluctant Dragon segment: Kenneth Grahame (original book) Erdman Penner T. Hee Baby Weems segment: Joe Grant Dick Huemer John Miller |
| Starring |
Robert Benchley Frances Gifford Buddy Pepper Nana Bryant |
| Music by |
Frank Churchill Larry Morey |
| Edited by | Paul Weatherwax |
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Production
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| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $600,000 |
The Reluctant Dragon is a 1941 American live action and animated film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Alfred Werker, and released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 20, 1941. Essentially a tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios facility in Burbank, California, the film 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 twenty minutes of the film are in grayscale and black-and-white, the remainder is in Technicolor. Most of the film is live-action, with four short animated segments inserted into the running time: a black-and-white segment featuring Casey Junior from Dumbo; and three Technicolor cartoons: Baby Weems, Goofy's How to Ride a Horse, and the extended-length short The Reluctant Dragon, based upon Kenneth Grahame's book of the same name. The total length of all animated parts is 40 minutes.
The film starts at Robert Benchley's home as he plays in his swimming pool, shooting darts at toys. It turns out that he is delaying in trying to sell the rights of The Reluctant Dragon to studio head Walt Disney. Benchley's wife finally convinces him to approach Disney so they drive to the Walt Disney Studios. There, she leaves him at the studio gate while she goes shopping.
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