Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Executscan Expected more

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Wizard-8 "The Reluctant Dragon" got a somewhat hostile response from critics when it first came out. To some degree, I can understand the negative reaction. For one thing, it often comes more like an advertisement for the Disney company instead of an original story. Also, while the movie promises to answer some questions to its audience about how cartoons are made, it doesn't go into that much depth about the subject. And some of what it presents is wrong, from hiring actors to play cartoon staff to suggesting that the audio for a cartoon is made after the animation is done. It also doesn't help that while Robert Benchley was a funny guy elsewhere, the material given to him as the movie's pseudo-host just isn't that funny. But if you are an animation buff and/or a Disney buff, the movie does have its rewards. There are occasional legitimate peeks into the Disney company at the time, and those peeks do have some interest. And while the live action footage is mostly disappointing, the animated sequences do deliver - not just the title cartoon, but also "Baby Weems" and the Goofy cartoon. I don't know if kids would sit still for the entire movie, but those certain adults I mentioned at the start of this paragraph should find the movie has its rewards.

utgard14 The film stars Robert Benchley as a man whose wife encourages him to pitch an idea to Walt Disney about adapting a children's book into a movie. So Benchley goes to the Disney Studios, where he wanders around and gets a behind-the-scenes look at the animation process. He's treated to a brief bit of Donald Duck, Bambi, and the storyboarding of a cartoon in production called Baby Weems. He also gets to watch a new Goofy cartoon, How to Ride a Horse. Then he meets Walt Disney and gets to see a 20-minute cartoon based on the book Benchley wanted to be adapted, The Reluctant Dragon.The first 20 minutes or so of the live-action part of the movie is in black & white then it changes to beautiful Technicolor. It's a nice time capsule that shows us the goings-on at the Disney Studios back in the day and how they made cartoons. I found a lot of this fascinating. I absolutely loved the "paint mill" part! Robert Benchley is always funny. Walt Disney himself appears (wearing a groovy suit). Alan Ladd, Frances Gifford, and Frank Faylen all play Disney employees. The two major cartoons are the Goofy short and The Reluctant Dragon itself. The Goofy short is amusing. The Dragon cartoon, which is I imagine why most people went to see this, is about a boy who befriends a shy, poetry-spouting dragon that doesn't like to fight. Well, for some reason, the boy is intent on getting the dragon to fight elderly knight, Sir Giles. Even after Sir Giles and the dragon meet and realize they both have a love of poetry in common, the boy still pushes for the fight. Finally the fight takes place, sort of, with Sir Giles and the dragon putting on a show for the villagers. I have to admit I didn't get the point of most of this. Why was the boy so intent on getting the dragon, whom he seemed to genuinely like, to fight? Once Sir Giles proposes the idea of faking the fight, he seems okay with it. So what was the point of pushing for the fight in the first place? Just let the dragon be! I know I'm probably looking too closely at it but it just seemed weird to me. Anyway, it's easy to see why this story wasn't enough for its own feature. It's animated nicely and has a sweet charm and humor about it, but the story needed reworking for sure. The dragon is impossible to dislike. Love his "Ode to Upside-Down Cake." This movie was a flop at the time of its release, which is understandable. It was a very different kind of movie for Disney. Still, it's a joy to watch if you like little glimpses back in time as well as great old Technicolor and some nice cartoons. There are no hidden Pinocchios here or anything but they are pleasant with lovely animation. Robert Benchley is great fun. This probably isn't for everybody, and will especially turn off people expecting it to be a feature-length cartoon, but I liked it.

johnstonjames EEK! a mouse! this movie is so off the wall and gets trippier every time i see this weird little piece of Disney nostagia. it probably doesn't deserve 10 stars like 'Fantasia' or some of the other Disney feature length classics from the 40's, but it's so good and such excellent cinema, not to mention a classic gem, that i had to give it the very best rating.this film really is a pseudo tour of the original Burbank studio (i consider the Burbabk studio to be Walt's first because he didn't create the Hyperion building he only leased it). it's not a real documentary or actual tour, it's really live-action, animated entertainment in disguise. it's main goal seems to be to entertain the viewer than actually inform them on the real life workings of the studio. almost every process they depict is fictionalized to some degree.and the whole effect is very entertaining. not to mention very magical, whimsical and colorful. they really make the 1940's Burbank studio seem like a fairy tale fantasy world. the film even has a magical switch from B&W to color a la 'Wizard of Oz'. and the scene where Clarence Nash and the voice of Clara Cluck perform is hilarious and fun. the film's central character, Robert Benchley playing himself, is bumbling and funny doing his usual comedy routines. and of course, there is an appearance by a thirtyish looking Walter E .the title cartoon 'Reluctant Dragon', is some of the funniest and best animation ever produced by the studio. the animation is every bit as accomplished and imaginative as any 'Silly Symphony'.every Christmas (dont know why xmas)i sit down and watch this and am always amused. it's one of cinema's best photographed and clever, psychedelic mind blowers.

zordon42 I just loved this cartoon, and I hope that video stores have it, so that I may rent it or buy it. what I liked about this cartoon was the voices and the songs that the dragon, esp. the song that the dragon sang while he was taking a shower; and my favorite scenes were when the dragon and sir giles were in the cave and they were both shouting and carrying on as if they were doing battle, when actually they were having tea!