The Reluctant Dragon (1941)

• Directors
  • Alfred L. Werker
  • Hamilton Luske(cartoon sequences)
  • Jack Cutting(cartoon sequences)
• Writers
  • Kenneth Grahame(based on the story by)
  • Ted Sears(screenplay)
  • Al Perkins(screenplay)
• Stars
  • Robert Benchley
  • Frances Gifford
  • Buddy Pepper

  The very first Disney feature to include live-action footage, this behind-the-scenes documentary about the studio's animation process includes the cartoon short of the title, which in later years was often exhibited separately from this film. Robert Benchley stars as himself, a visitor to the Disney lot, where he intends to pitch an animated version of the children's fairy tale The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame to Walt Disney himself. Benchley wanders away from his studio-appointed guide and tours the facilities himself, where he sees various new cartoons in the process of being storyboarded, including a Baby Weems short. Benchley also meets Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck, and a young animator (played by Alan Ladd) before being corralled to Disney's screening room, where he is shown the company's new short, none other than The Reluctant Dragon.