The Reluctant Dragon is an interesting Disney movie, that from what I can tell not many people have even heard of. I don’t think it’s anything revolutionary, but it definitely does something different that I haven’t really seen in a Disney movie since. It’s a blend of live-action and animation, but not in the same way as something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Rather, it switches between live-action and animated sections.

The easiest way to explain this is to say what The Reluctant Dragon actually sets out to do. Basically, the movie is two different things: a behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and a collection of a few Disney shorts. The live-action segments follow a man named Robert Benchley. Mr. Benchley’s wife reads the children’s story The Reluctant Dragon one day, and convinces her husband that he needs to pitch the story to Walt Disney for an animated movie. So, Mr. Benchley goes to Walt Disney Animation Studios, and winds up exploring all of the different departments there before he goes to see Walt Disney himself. There’s a fake “story” going on here, but most of the movie is an excuse to show off how Disney makes their movies.

The other part of the movie shows off four different animated shorts. These are interspersed throughout the movie to showcase the different parts of production, and how they play into the animated shorts. The final product of The Reluctant Dragon is then shown as the final short to close out the movie.

For me, the highlight of the movie is the live-action stuff. I thought it was really cool getting to see how these animated movies come together, and while I’m pretty sure not everything being shown is 100% accurate, it was at least cool to see how certain things are done. Examples of this include getting to see how they do the sound effects for the cartoon, and how they actually animate the characters against the backgrounds. Anyone that is interested in a behind-the-scenes look at these sorts of things is sure to enjoy the movie for this purpose.

However, if I’m being honest, the animated shorts took me out of the movie a bit. I kept just wanting to see more of the behind-the-scenes process, and so the animated shorts just felt like diversions from that. Plus, if I’m being totally honest, I didn’t find any of the shorts to be all that enthralling. They’re not terrible or anything, but they definitely pale in comparison to a lot of the other things that came out of Disney.

This kind of movie might not be for everyone, but I thought it was pretty good. I’d definitely give it a shot if you’re a fan of Disney, because it provides an interesting peek behind the curtain. I think that this is kind of a forgotten Disney project, so hopefully I can help spread the word here that it’s worth watching. The animated shorts are nothing special, though, so if that’s your only reason for watching this then I’d maybe consider passing on it. Otherwise, it’s a pleasant treat.

3.5/5