The Reluctant Dragon is a 1941 American live-action/animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Alfred Werker, and released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 27, 1941. Essentially a tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios facility in Burbank, California, the film stars Algonquin Round Table member, film actor, writer and 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 black-and-white, and 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 (presented as a storyboard), 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.
Overview
Opening
The film starts at Robert Benchley's home as he plays in his swimming pool, shooting darts at toy ducks. 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.
Studio operations tour by Benchley
After his arrival, Benchley dodges an overly officious studio guide named Humphrey (played by Buddy Pepper). As he wanders around the studio, Benchley stumbles upon a number of the Disney operations and learns about the traditional animation process, some of the facets of which are explained by a staff employee named Doris (Frances Gifford).