Humorist Robert Benchley learns about the animation process at Walt Disney Studios while trying to find the great man himself to pitch him the idea of making a cartoon about a shy dragon.Humorist Robert Benchley learns about the animation process at Walt Disney Studios while trying to find the great man himself to pitch him the idea of making a cartoon about a shy dragon.Humorist Robert Benchley learns about the animation process at Walt Disney Studios while trying to find the great man himself to pitch him the idea of making a cartoon about a shy dragon.
Norman Ferguson
- Norm Ferguson
- (as Norm Ferguson)
Jim Luske
- Jimmy - Baby Weems Model
- (as Jimmy Luske)
Hamilton MacFadden
- Hamilton MacFadden
- (as Hamilton Mac Fadden)
Ernie Alexander
- Baby Weems' Father
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Mickey Avenue/Dopey Drive signpost was built specifically for the movie, and was supposed to be removed afterward. It wasn't, and it still stands at the Disney studio.
- Crazy creditsThe animation credits include caricatures and signatures of the crew.
- Alternate versionsTypically releases of this film have the sequences How to Ride A Horse and the title featurette as separate films with the live action footage excised.
- ConnectionsFeatured in L'ami public numéro un: L'usine à rêves (1962)
Featured review
I am sure a lot of younger folks watching it will be disappointed. That's because the story of the "Reluctant Dragon" only makes up a tiny portion of this movie. So, if you expect to see a full-length cartoon, you are in for a big surprise.
The film is a behind the scenes look at the Disney Studio, though I must confess that it's VERY heavily orchestrated to give a happy look to the workers--even though at the time a VERY divisive strike was taking place. To make this image of one big happy family, many of the animators and other workers at the studio are actually portrayed by actors! This is dishonest but interesting as you see a very young Alan Ladd pretending to be a Disney animator! In addition, you'll see the prolific character actor John Dehner along side Ladd--but you might not recognize Dehner, as he's VERY skinny here! However, I must confess that despite being a faux look, many of the techniques were real and it still was very satisfying to watch.
This is all part of an over-arching story involving the witty Robert Benchley. His wife nags him to go talk to Walt Disney about making a cartoon out of his story, "The Reluctant Dragon". But, Benchley's heart isn't in it and he mostly just wanders about the studio--watching the workers doing their craft and interacting with them. In addition, you see a rough version of a cartoon about a genius baby and, at the end, the story of this dragon--which is downright adorable. In fact, the film is worth seeing just to see this great dragon tale--it's among the studio's best work, albeit short in length.
The whole package is great--well worth seeing--especially if you are interested in the craft of animation. And, some of the scenes are shot in some of the most vivid color of the era. A nice film in every way--just not what the kiddies might be expecting!
The film is a behind the scenes look at the Disney Studio, though I must confess that it's VERY heavily orchestrated to give a happy look to the workers--even though at the time a VERY divisive strike was taking place. To make this image of one big happy family, many of the animators and other workers at the studio are actually portrayed by actors! This is dishonest but interesting as you see a very young Alan Ladd pretending to be a Disney animator! In addition, you'll see the prolific character actor John Dehner along side Ladd--but you might not recognize Dehner, as he's VERY skinny here! However, I must confess that despite being a faux look, many of the techniques were real and it still was very satisfying to watch.
This is all part of an over-arching story involving the witty Robert Benchley. His wife nags him to go talk to Walt Disney about making a cartoon out of his story, "The Reluctant Dragon". But, Benchley's heart isn't in it and he mostly just wanders about the studio--watching the workers doing their craft and interacting with them. In addition, you see a rough version of a cartoon about a genius baby and, at the end, the story of this dragon--which is downright adorable. In fact, the film is worth seeing just to see this great dragon tale--it's among the studio's best work, albeit short in length.
The whole package is great--well worth seeing--especially if you are interested in the craft of animation. And, some of the scenes are shot in some of the most vivid color of the era. A nice film in every way--just not what the kiddies might be expecting!
- planktonrules
- Sep 24, 2011
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- A Day at Disneys
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $872,000
- Runtime1 hour 14 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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