When I tell people what the next film in this Disney+ review series is, their reactions have been split between (1) blank and (2) with a furrowed eyebrow like Joey Tribbiani doing math in his head. "The Reluctant Dragon" has that effect on people.
The film, released in 1941, appears on lists as the fourth full-length animated feature from Walt Disney, although it begins with a several live-action sequences featuring actor/writer Robert Benchley as a version of himself.
Eventually, we get to see four animated segments: one featuring locomotive Casey Jr. (of "Dumbo" fame later), "Baby Weems," Goofy's "How to Ride a Horse" and (spoiler alert) "The Reluctant Dragon."
The basics: As the story goes, Benchley is out to pitch a movie, based on "The Reluctant Dragon" children's book by Kenneth Grahame, to Walt Disney himself. But there are several detours through the freshly minted Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif., and those stops serve as tutorials about how animation is produced.
The legacy: It's a heavily scripted behind-the-scenes glimpse at the early days of the studio, which has a look that was echoed in Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, particularly its backstage areas. In the live-action sequences, we see faces behind familiar Disney names such as animator Ward Kimball and actor Alan Ladd (later in "Shane," "This Gun for Hire"). We also see Clarence Nash, who voices Donald Duck, alongside Florence Gill, who turns in a memorable turn as Clara Cluck.
The flashback: Insert blank expression here.
Adult art of animation appreciation: Coming on the heels of "Fantasia," the stylings of "The Reluctant Dragon" fall flat. It's neither as complicated nor as sophisticated. I enjoyed the "Weems" short, which cleverly mixed the art of storyboarding with finished product, and a couple of pratfalls in the Goofy short made me laugh.
What brought me back to reality: When Benchley does finally connect with Mr. Disney, we see the haul that's he's collected during his informal studio tour. Amongst the items is a figurine of an African-American centaurette, the very character that did not appear in the Disney+ version of "Fantasia."
Also, there's a weird line earlier in the script: "And so, little Baby Weems, like jigsaw puzzles, mah-jongg and miniature golf, soon became just a memory."
Burning questions: Wait, why does Benchley go to such lengths to avoid his studio guide, whose job it is to deliver him to the big boss? Why is Mrs. Benchley (played by Nana Bryant, not the real Mrs. Benchley) so, so, so insistent that this meeting with Disney happen today, even without appointment? Why does the phrase "shilly-shally" appear twice in the script (not to mention a stray "dilly-dally"?)
Why is Uncle Walt sitting so awkwardly in the screening room?
The theme park angles: The live-action segments reminded me of the early mission of Disney-MGM Studios, the whole how-a-movie-is-made vibe. Remember watching animators hard at work in their glassed-in studios? The locomotive is a key part of the Casey Jr. Splash 'n' Soak Station at Magic Kingdom.
Where are they now+: This review series has given me a morbid fascination about what happened next to key participants. Barnett Parker, who voiced the title character, died just two months after the film's debut. (His earliest on-screen work was in silent films.)
Benchley died four years after "Dragon," yet has 42 film credits after his Disney appearance, according to IMDB.com. Random Benchley fact: His son Peter Benchley wrote the book "Jaws."
