Customer Reviews

The Reluctant Dragon

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the FULL-LENGTH motion picture which is about half live-action and half animation, typical of Disney wartime efforts like Song of the South and So Dear to My Heart. It's a great concept -- give the viewer a walking tour of the Disney Animation studio to learn how cartoons are made. There are 3 standout cartoon sequences, Baby Weems, How to Ride a Horse, and The Reluctant Dragon. The whole film was named after the Dragon for name recognition - it was a popular kids book at the time. Other reviewers are correct, there are no extras. For the record, this entire full length movie is also available on the Disney DVD "Treasures: Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studios" tin box set, where there are a few extras included. The only problem I have with BOTH the DVD being reviewed here and the box set, is that (aside from the film's opening) there are only 3 chapter stops, and those are in mid-scene without any rhyme or reason. It would have been more useful to have a chapter stop at the beginning of each of the 3 cartoon sequences. Perhaps they're saving that for the "Special Edition"! (Don't hold your breath) As it is, you cannot easily access the beginning of any of these cartoons without endlessly scrolling through the rest of the film. However, I believe the whole live action movie is very worthwhile, providing an entertaining slice-of-life peek into the inner workings of the studio at that time. Right now, the ONLY way to easily see the short cartoon "The Reluctant Dragon" is on the 2009 Disney DVD release "Disney Animation Classics Volume 6, The Reluctant Dragon." For the record, "How to Ride a Horse" is also available on the tin box set "Treasures: The Complete Goofy," and on the single-disc DVD Classic Cartoon Favorites Vol. 7, "Extreme Adventure Fun."

This movie - The Reluctant Dragon - was THE perfect birthday gift for our 6 year old grandson. His other grandparents took him to see the play and thoroughly enjoyed it so we thought this would be a memory extender of his GRAND time! It has proven to be a favorite!

In 1941, Walt Disney released a feature-length film that answered the ultimate question - what goes on at the Disney studios? The Reluctant Dragon showed nearly every element of making an animated film, and even included a couple of animated portions - a small piece with Goofy, a work-in-progress peek at a future short about Baby Weems, and a complete short film based on the Kenneth Grahame story that the film is named after.

Looking at the film now, it's definitely quite dated and very very scripted. However, it's absolutely great to see some vintage behind-the-scenes stuff from the Disney studios. And the Reluctant Dragon short is as wonderful as ever.

The DVD is slightly disappointing, but that's to be expected from a Disney Movie Club/Rewards exclusive. I currently have two exclusives - this and DuckTales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp. Both are single-layer single-sided DVDs. Both take up less than 4 GB of data on the disc. DuckTales has a fun game that you probably won't play more than once and nice disc art, painted in with the new translucent paint Disney likes to use these days. DuckTales is presented in "family friendly" 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and French and Spanish language tracks and is divided into 12 chapters. A chapter insert is included, with advertisements for Disney TV cartoon shows on the flipside. The main menu is animated, while all submenus are static, and all are 4:3.

The Reluctant Dragon has virtually no bonus features, its original fullscreen aspect ratio, and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, along with a Spanish language track. The menus are static 4:3 screens with still images from the film, which really work nicely. There is no chapter insert in this DVD. The insert replicates the cover art, and on the flipside is an advertisement for other Disney Movie Club exclusives, many of which are also available through Disney Movie Rewards. There is no disc art here. Instead, the title and text are merely printed on the disc in grey ink or paint or whatever. Classy, but I do enjoy disc art, but not a major quibble.

The DVD DOES have a nice bonus that plays when you put in the DVD. After the Walt Disney Home Entertainment logo, a minute long intro for The Wonderful World Of Disney plays. If you don't want to see it, you can press the menu button on your remote and go to the main menu. I think it's a nice inclusion, although it'd be better if they'd made it play just before the movie starts.

The transfer is nice, but not amazing. There's plenty of grain throughout, and the black and white scenes, which are only present for the first twenty minutes, have quite a bit of dirt and scratches. The color sequences fare much better, still with a bit of grain but not nearly as much dirt and scratches. It's acceptable and still probably the best this film has ever looked on video. The opening credits and animation are all slightly windowboxed so that you don't lose anything due to overscan on your television set.

Sellers on eBay or Amazon would have you believe that you need to pay anywhere from thirty to fifty dollars for this DVD. I say no. You can get this either through the Disney Movie Club for about twenty dollars. (If you haven't joined yet, you can also get it as part of the "3 for 1.99" offer newbies get.) If you and/or friends who don't give a flip about Disney Movie Rewards buy quite a few Disney movies, you can also save up 750 Disney Movie Rewards points and get it through them for no charge for the DVD or shipping, and although they say to expect a 6-8 week delivery time, both of my DVDs have come in about a week.

If you absolutely HAVE to have this DVD and don't want to join Disney Movie Rewards/Club, it's currently available in the Walt Disney Treasures: Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studio set, which costs $28.49, along with lots of other short films and various bonus materials. That set, like all Disney Treasures sets, won't be available for very long, however, so if you want it, don't wait too long. Or you can buy this DVD on here, if you don't want to join the DMC, don't want to own a Treasures tin, and don't buy or know anyone who buys enough Disney movies to get the 750 points required to "purchase" the DVD on DMR.

To sum it all up, despite a lack of bonus materials and not much restoration work, this DVD is still a satisfactory presentation. Despite flaws in the transfer, it's still very pleasing and offers some vintage behind-the-scenes material and classic animation. I wholeheartedly recommend it.