Victory Through Air Power

History and Review By Michael J. Ruhland

Year Released:1943

Michael's Movie Grade: A


                                                            History
The Disney Studio became very involved in the war effort, when the U.S.A. entered World War 2. They made many training films for the army, and made many short films about the war effort for civilians (many staring Disney's already famous cartoon characters). They had also provided animated inserts for Frank Capra's Why We Fight series. However this film was a departure from those not only because it was a feature, but because it was not funded by the U.S. government, and actually was mainly made to try to change the military's approach to fighting the war.

 Walt Disney had read Major Alexander de Seversky's book Victory Through Air Power, and became convinced that this book was saying something that needed to be said. The book spoke of how aerial strategy was the only way The Allies could win World War 2. Walt felt he needed to make a film based on this book, so that hopefully people would listen.  

At this time Walt Disney was looking more and more into the world of live action film-making, though it would not be until 1950's Treasure Island that the Disney studio would make a film with no animation. However during this period almost all of the Disney features featured some live action. Even though the majority of the movie was animated, this film would feature live action sequences of Alexander de Seversky lecturing about the importance of air power to win World War 2. The rest of the film would be animated scenes showing visually what he was talking about. Like in The Reluctant Dragon, the studio had not yet found it's live action crew. The live action scenes would be directed by a man who never worked for Disney before and never would again. This man would be H. C. Potter, who directed such films as The Time of Your Life (1948), and Hellzapoppin' (1941). At the same time the animated sequences would be directed by Disney regulars James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, and Jack Kinney.

Since this film was so different from what people expected from Disney or animation, Disney's current distributor RKO did not want to release it. Because of this Victory Through Air Power became the first Disney film to be released through United Artists.

Victory Through Air Power lost money at the box office, because for obvious reasons it was not what people expected from a Disney film or an animated film. It also received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom felt it offered nothing other than propaganda. However one fan of the movie was Winston Chruchill, who was from this film very inspired to put more emphasis on air power in his war strategy, so the film accomplished what Disney set out to do, help The Allies win the war.  

                                                                     Review
Even if this is far from what one expects from a Disney film, it is an incredible achievement.

The animation in this film is incredible. This film really showcases the power and artistry of the Disney animators. For a type of film the animators were not used to making, this turned out not only surprisingly well, but a work that holds up as well as the best that they have done. During a time when most American animation was funny cartoons (Even if they were great ones), this must have come as a shock to people who might have been unfamiliar with the range of subjects and genres animation could cover, and how well it could do something that people wouldn't expect it to. That it could be art equal to live action film.

Major Alexander de Seversky seems very likable in this film, and never makes his message feel too heavy handed. This keeps the film from feeling as dated as it could feel, and keeps your mind open to what he has to say.

While Victory Through Air Power is not for everyone, and may in fact turn off some Disney fans,it is a great achievement that should be watched by people who want to watch something different from Disney, and for history buffs.

                                                     Film Credits

Sequence Directors: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney

Live Action Director: H.C. Potter

Based on the book Victory Through Air Power by Major Alexander de Seversky

Writers: Perce Pearce, T. Hee, Erdman Penner, William Cottrell, James Bodrero, Vernon Stallings

Cast: Art Baker (Narrator), Major Alexander de Seversky (Himself), Billy Mitchell (Himself)

Producer: Walt Disney

Music: Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith, Oliver Wallace, Sidney Fine, Arthur Morton, Frederick Stark, Clifford Vaughan

Cinematography: Ray Rennahan

Art Directors: Richard Irvine, Tom Codrick, Don DaGradi, Cliff Devirian, Don Griffith, Bill Herwig, Karl Karpé, Charles Philippi, Elmer Plummer, Herbert Ryman, Glenn Scott

Story Sketches: Marc Davis

Set Decoration: William Kiernan

Production Manager:  Daniel Keefe

Assistant Directors: Jack Bruner, Lou Debney, Lloyd Richardson

Sound Recordists:  Lodge Cunningham, C.O. Slyfield

Supervising Animator: David Hand

Background Artists: Dick Anthony, Nino Carbe, Claude Coats, Al Dempster, Ray Huffine, Joe Stahley

Character Designer: Marc Davis

Ink and Paint Artist: Rae McSpadden

Animators: Edwin Aardal, Jack Boyd, Hugh Fraser, Ollie Johnston, Bill Justice, Ward Kimball, John Lounsbery, John McManus, Joshua Meador, George Rowley, John Sibley, Norman Tate, Harvey Toombs, Bill Tytla, Marvin Woodward

Color Director: Natalie Kalmus

Associate Color Director: Morgan Padelford

                                                  Resourses Used
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036497/?ref_=rvi_tt
The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin

-Michael J. Ruhland

Saludos Amigos

History and Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland

Year Released: 1942

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

                                                 History
In 1941 the U.S. Government hired Walt Disney, and his studio to create films about Latin America to help with the U.S.A.'s current Good Neighbor Policy. The Good Neighbor Policy was founded by the Roosevelt Administration to improve relationships between the U.S. and Latin America. For this assignment the Disney staff was offered a tour of Latin America. Because of this some of the film was a live action travelogue, this was footage the Disney staff took themselves during their tour.

However most of the film was taken up by 4 cartoon shorts, these shorts were originally meant to be released by themselves, but because of fear about each one only appealing to a small portion of Latin America, the were all released together with the live action travelogue used as a wrap around. As such these cartoons are much less extravagant than the average Disney feature, and they look much more like Disney's short subjects. Also because of this each short had a different director. The 4 directors were Jack Kinney (El Gaucho Goofy), Wilfred Jackson (Aquarela do Brasil), Bill Roberts (Lake Titicaca), Hamilton Luske (Pedro).

An important change to Disney Animation occurred during this trip. Mary Blair sister in-law of animator Preston Blair, went along for the trip. Inspired by Latin America she made many water colors paintings of the landscape. Walt loved these paintings and for this film made her an art director for this film. Often times she would provide concept art for these films, that the other artists would use as references. Although she worked on repetitively few films, and her art rarely appeared directly on screen, if you know her art, her influence is unmistakably. Other than work on films, Mary Blair also helped make the designs for the It's A Small World ride. Rather than me try to explain visual art with words, watch the video below.

Saludos Amigos became the first Disney film to be released in South America, before in the U.S.A..
The film was a box office success in both places though. Because of this Walt decided that his studio should be making more features like this one, at least for the time being. These became known as Disney's package features.

                                                                               Review

Since this film is multiple segments put together, in this section I will review each segment and give them each their own grade, along with the movie's grade as a whole, which you can see near the top of this post.

Live Action Wraparounds: These wraparounds are quite educational, and provide an interesting background to the cartoons. However on their own they are not very entertaining, but they serve their purpose fairly well. Grade: C

Donald Duck Visits Lake Titicaca: Donald Duck cartoon features some really good jokes, and some great cartoony animation, but is uneven. A few educational moments are featured however they don't fit in well with the slapstick humor, and really slow the cartoon down. Grade: C

Pedro: Definitely the low point of the film, This cartoon is just plain boring. The characters do not give any feeling of sympathy, and the story contains no suspense. One really good joke about Pedro learning anatomy, but other than that if you skip this segment when watching the movie, I would fully understand. Grade: D

El Gaucho Goofy: The highlight of the film. Every Jack Kinney directed Goofy cartoon is well worth watching, and this is no exception. While maybe not his best Goofy cartoon (and that says how good his others are) this is a very fast and funny cartoon. Nearly all the jokes work here, and are pulled off with amazing execution. Full of great slapstick this cartoon will definitely put a smile on your face. Grade: A

Aquarela do Brasil: Probably the most inventive segment of the film. The opening of this cartoon is highly beautiful and imaginative, and Disney at it's best. While the rest of this cartoon may not be as great as the opening, it is still highly entertaining, and introduces a fun character by the name of  José Carioca (Who would play a bigger part in The Three Caballeros). Well worth your time. Grade: B+


                                                             Film Credits

Directors: Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts

Writers: Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Ted Sears, William Cottrell, Webb Smith, Homer Brightman, Ralph Wright, Roy Williams, Harry Reeves

Voices: Fred Shields (Narrator), Clarence Nash (Donald Duck), Pinto Colvig (Goofy), José Oliveira (José Carioca)

Producer: Walt Disney

Songwriters: Saludos Amigos: Ned Washington (Lyrics), Charles Wolcott (Music).  Aquarela do Brasil:  Ary Barroso (Music and Lyrics).  Tico Tico No Fubá:  Zequinha De Abreu (Music and Lyrics)

Music: Edward H. Plumb, Paul J. Smith, Charles Wolcott

Production Supervisor: Norm Ferguson

Art Supervisors: Lee Blair, Mary Blair, James Bodrero, John P. Miller, Herbert Ryman

Live Action Cameramen: Lee Blair, Walt Disney, Larry Lansburgh

Background Artists: Ken Anderson, Dick Anthony, Claude Coats, Al Dempster, Merle Cox, Yale Gracey, Hugh Hennesy, Art Riley, McLaren Stewart, Al Zinnen

Backgrounds inspired by F. Molina Campos

Layout Artist: Ken Anderson

Ink and Paint: Jeanne Lee Keil

Animators: Paul Allen, Les Clark, Andy Engman, Hugh Fraser, Bill Justice, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Dan MacManus, John McManus, Joshua Meador, Fred Moore, Milt Neil, Wolfgang Reitherman, John Sibley, Bill Tytla, Hamilton Luske, Paul Murry, Art Palmer, Harvey Toombs


                                              Resourses Used

The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036326/?ref_=ttsnd_snd_tt

-Michael J. Ruhland

Bambi

History and Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland

Year Released: 1942

Michael's Movie Grade: A+



                                                                     History

Bambi was intended to be Disney's second feature film, but due to the many problems that arouse in the process of making the film, it ended up being it's sixth. One of the reasons for this was it's uniqueness among the other Disney films, made thus far. Despite the talking animals Bambi was set in a more real world than their previous more fantasy based films had taken place. This was a new and scary venture for the studio and one they would not take lightly.

In 1933 director Sidney Franklin (The Good Earth, The Dark Angel) had bought the rights to the book Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, to make into a film. However he could never get the film to be the way he wanted it to be. So in 1935 Franklin had contacted Walt Disney to see if he was interested in the rights to Bambi, Walt was. Even though the supervising director of Bambi would now be Disney director David Hand, Sidney Franklin would work on the film as a consultant. Walt and Sidney had two vastly different ideas of how Bambi could work as a film. Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas (Two animators on Bambi, and future nine old men) wrote in their book Bambi: the Story and the Film, " Where Sidney Franklin saw poetry, beauty, philosophy- the wind brushing softly against the tall grass, the warm sun on the meadow, the grandeur of the forest and majesty of the creatures who lived and died there- Walt saw an entertaining cast that would give him an opportunity to fully utilize the talents of his staff, as well as his own, in giving life and character traits to everything that lived in the forest."

Walt originally urged the film to be much less seriously than the book. He wanted more gags and humorous situations and less serious drama. He felt with all the animal characters that Bambi would work better as a silly comedy than a serious animated drama. Unfortunately with this none of the serious scenes really worked because they would be too out of place, and would not create the necessary emotionally response from the audience.

After reading a rough draft Sidney Franklin offered an important piece of constructive criticism. This was that for a film about Bambi, the character of Bambi was no longer the star of the movie. The audience had to see the world from Bambi's own eyes, and understand his character. The change was heavily assisted by a new design for the Bambi character by animation legend Marc Davis. Bambi was now not only a very cute character, but a much more realistically rendered one. This would set up the new approach the film would take. Another artist who would change the approach of the film is background artist Tyrus Wong. His Chinese influenced art style would bring a unique blend of naturalistic and stylized art to the film. Unfortunately this would be the only Disney film he would work on. The film would now be much more of a drama, and definitively less of a fantasy than any previous Disney film, feature or short.  

One change Walt insisted on making to Bambi, was to reduce the dialog. He felt the movie was bogged down by too much unnecessary dialog. Walt felt that the images, and the animation could tell the story better than dialog could. As such there is only about 1,000 words spoken throughout the entire 70 minutes of Bambi's running time. This may sound like a lot on paper, but is in fact very little, especially compared to most modern movies. This dialog was not spoken by well known actors (like modern animated features), but by child actors without much previous experience. None of them were well known names. Even though Cammie King Conlon (voice of Faline) had appeared in Gone With the Wind, that and a forgotten live action film based off the Blondie comic strip called Blondie Meets the Boss were the only other films she acted in ever as she never acted in another film (A brief but impressive resume).

Unfortunately, when it was released in 1942, Bambi lost money at the box office. It also received mixed reviews from critics, many stating that with Bambi Disney was getting too far away from the cartoon reality that had made the studio famous. This was a big blow to the studio, and especially to Walt Disney, who considered this to be one of his personal favorite Disney films. Walt and the rest of the studio began to wonder whether they could continue to make animated features the way they had.

                                                               Review

Bambi, is probably the most poetic film Disney ever made and one of the best coming of age stories ever to put on film. Bambi is also one of Disney's most unique films, and that is probably for the best considering it is one of their greatest achievements, and it is unlikely that any similar film could even come close to reaching the artistry of Bambi. The best way to describe this film would be with one word, Beautiful. However I am going to write a full review anyway.

Bambi is one of Disney's most atmospheric films, in fact the only competition it has in that department is maybe Fantasia. The atmosphere is just as much of a character as Bambi, his mother, Thumpher, Flower, or any other character in the film. The background and music truly take on a life of their own. However none of this overshadows the story or characters, but rather enhances them. The passing of time and the seasons, has never been shown so beautifully, nor has the majesty of nature ever been captured so masterfully on film than it has in Bambi. Not even Disney's own live action nature films come anywhere close to this. Some scenes don't even advance the plot or characters, such as the Little April Showers scene (Which is one of the most beautiful things Disney has ever done), but they just add such a great atmosphere that they in fact enhance the story rather than stop it.

As most people know this film features one of the most emotional scenes Disney has ever done. However this would not have worked if the story hadn't have drawn you into it's characters and atmosphere as masterfully as it has done.

Anyone who just writes off Bambi as a movie with cute cuddly animals for kids needs to watch the film again and see how powerful and majestic it really is. Bambi is not just a good movie, but a great work of cinematic art.

                                                    Film Credits

Supervising Director: David Hand

Sequence Directors: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Norman Wright

Based on the book, Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten

Writers: Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, Vernon Stallings, Mel Shaw, Carl Fallberg, Chuck Couch, Ralph Wright

Songwriters: Frank Churchill (Music), Larry Morey (Lyrics)

Voices: Donald Novis (Love is a Song singer), Hardie Albright (Adolescent Bambi), Bobby Stewart (Baby Bambi), Donnie Dunagan (Young Bambi), John Sutherland (Adult Bambi), Tim Davis (Adult Thumper, Adolescent Flower), Peter Behn  (Young Thumper), Stan Alexander (Young Flower), Sam Edwards (Adult Thumper), Sterling Holloway (Adult Flower), Cammie King Conlon (Young Faline), Ann Gillis (Adult Faline), Paula Winslowe (Bambi's Mother / Pheasant), Will Wright (Friend Owl), Margaret Lee (Thumper's Mom), Clarence Nash (Bullfrog), Fred Shields (Great Prince of the Forest), Mary Lansing (Aunt Ena, Mrs. Possum), Thelma Boardman (Girl Bunny, Quail Mother, Female Pheasant), Marion Darlington (Birds), Eddie Holden (Chipmunk), Otis Harlan (Mr. Mole)

Producer: Walt Disney

Music: Frank Churchill, Edward Plumb

Art Directors: Tom Codrick, Robert Cormack, Lloyd Harting, David Hilberman, John Hubley, Dick Kelsey, McLaren Stewart, Al Zinnen

Assistant Directors: Jack Atwood, Mike Holoboff, Bob Ogle

Character Maquettes: Wah Chang

Atmosphere Sketches: Jules Engel, Lew Keller, Harold Miles, Sylvia Moberly-Holland, Maurice Noble, Zack Schwartz, Glenn Scott, Gustaf Tenggren

Sound Effects: James MacDonald

Sound Director: C.O. Slyfield

Effects Animator: Miles E. Pike

Camera Operator: Max Morgan

Supervising Animators: Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, Travis Johnson

Background Artists: Dick Anthony, Merle Cox, Ray Huffine, Travis Johnson, Ed Levitt, Bob McIntosh, Art Riley, Stan Spohn, Joe Stahley, Tyrus Wong

Layout Artists: Curt Perkins, Glenn Scott

Ink and Paint Department: Jeanne Lee Keil

Assistant Animators: Lee J. Ames, Blaine Gibson, Bill Melendez, Willis Pyle

Animators: Preston Blair, Jack Bradbury, Marc Davis, Phil Duncan, Art Elliott, Bernard Garbutt, Ken Hultgren, Bill Justice, Don Lusk, Joshua Meador, Ken O'Brien, Art Palmer, George Rowley, Louie Schmitt, Retta Scott, Edwin Aardal, Jerome Brown, Paul Busch, Lars Calonius, Brad Case, Ugo D'Orsi, Russ Dyson, James Escalante, Paul Fitzpatrick, Joseph Gayek, George Goepper, Franklin Grundeen, Harry Hamsel, Joe Harbaugh, M. James, Lynn Karp, Jack Kinney, Paul B. Kossoff, Dan MacManus, Fred Madison, Murray McClellan, John McManus, Art Moore, James Moore, John Reed, Hazel Sewell, Sandy Strother, Don Tobin, Harvey Toombs, Don Towsley, Noel Tucker, Karl Van Leuven, Jim Will, Vernon G. Witt, Cornett Wood, Cy Young, Robert W. Youngquist

Consultants: Don Graham, Rico Lebrun, Sidney Franklin

Live Action Models: Jane Randolph, Donna Atwood

                                             Resourses Used
Bambi: the Story and the Film by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas

The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin

The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born (DVD special feature)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034492/?ref_=ttsnd_snd_tt

-Michael J. Ruhland

Dumbo

History and Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland

Year Released: 1941

Michael's Movie Grade: A+


                                                     History

With the financial failures of Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Reluctant Dragon, Disney was still in need of a money maker. From Pinocchio, and Fantasia, Disney had also learned how much a huge budget could hurt the chances of making money off of a film. For both these reasons. Dumbo was a made much cheaper than the average Disney feature film, this was also helped by it being much shorter as well. This film would essentially be a longer, and higher quality version of Disney's Silly Symphonies cartoon shorts. However since Dumbo was based off fairly short and simple source material, this was also probably an artistic decision as well as a financial one.

Rumor has it that the Disney writer Joe Grant found the story of Dumbo in a cereal box and felt it would make a good film. Dumbo was the first fully animated Disney feature to not have to be heavily re-written from it's original draft. Unlike Snow White or Pinocchio, Dumbo's script came along fairly easily, and the finished film is very close to Joe Grant and Dick Huemer's original script. However there is a hilarious deleted scene where Timothy explains why elephants are afraid of mice. This scene was cut to help the movie flow better, however here it is along with a deleted song sequence as well, both of these rare exceptions in a film where very little was cut:

Dumbo would also be Ben Sharpsteen last time as a supervising director on a Disney feature. He would direct a two more Disney animated shorts (The New Spirit, and Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line), two True-Life Adventure (Live-Action Nature Documentaries) shorts (Water Birds, Switzerland), one People and Places (Live-Action Educational Films) short (Lapland), and become a producer on Disney's True Life Adventures series.

Again as in previous animated features animators were cast by character. While some of the casting seems natural, such as Ward Kimball being the supervising animator for the crows and Fred Moore for Timothy Mouse, one main choice is kind of unexpected. This choice was to use Bill Tytla being the supervising animator for the character of Dumbo, himself. Tytla had already proven himself as one of the great Disney animators, but this character was quite different than the ones he had previously been assigned, such as Grumpy. Stromboli, and Chernabog. Tytla based his animation of Dumbo off of his then infant son Peter. However his work on this film contains some of his most respected work.

Dumbo was finally the box office, and critical hit Disney was looking for. Despite the strike going on at the time (The clowns in the film as supposedly caricatures of the employees striking), Dumbo was considered a good and fun experience in the minds of most people working on the film. Critics that did not like Fantasia, and The Reluctant Dragon viewed Dumbo as a return to form for Disney. This film also helped Disney get out of the financial problems they got themselves into. This is what Disney had been waiting for after the success of Snow White.
















                                                        



                                              

                                         Review

Dumbo is not only one of Disney's best films, but one of the greatest family films ever made, and one of this author's all time favorite movies. This film is as near to a perfect film as anyone will ever see. Dumbo is as good as it gets.

This film is one amazing scene after another. Baby Mine is one of the greatest tear-jerkers to ever appear on screen. Than that is followed by Pink Elephants on Parade, possibly the most inventive and imaginative sequence in Disney history, and one of the best fantasy sequences in film history. Than that is followed by the whole scene with the crows. While this has been called racist by many people, it is not, but is rather a spot on tribute to such great black musicians as Cab Calloway, and Louis Jordan , and Ward Kimball's animation and the vocal performances of Cliff Edwards (also the voice of Jiminy Cricket), Nick Stewart, James Baskett, and Jim Carmichael, provide us with one of the most energetic musical performances in film history. Yet with all these great scenes back to back the film never seems rushed, but flows perfectly. Much of this is due to the emotion of the characters and the story. This is especially emphasized with Bill Tytla providing some of the most effective animation in his career (and that is saying a lot). Since Dumbo is a mute character, he has to express his emotions all visually, and thanks to Bill Tytla, and his team of animators, he becomes one of the most sympathetic characters in Disney, and maybe even film history.

I can not praise this film enough, and if you haven't seen it you have no excuse not to, this was, is, and will always be a masterpiece.  


                                         Film Credits
Supervising Director: Ben Sharpsteen

Sequence Directors: Samuel Armstrong , Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, John Elliotte

Based off a book by Harold Pearl, Helen Aberson

Writers: Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, Otto Englander, Bill Peet, Aurelius Battaglia, Joe Rinaldi, Vernon Stallings, Webb Smith

Producer: Walt Disney

Songs: Frank Churchill (Music), Ned Washington (Lyrics)

Voices: Edward Brophy (Timothy Mouse), Sterling Holloway (Stork), Verna Felton (Mrs. Jumbo, Elephant),  Cliff Edwards (Jim Crow), Nick Stewart (Crow), James Baskett (Crow), Jim Carmichael (Crow), Billy Bletcher (Clown), Eddie Holden (Clown), Billy Sheets (Clown, Joe), Herman Bing (Ringmaster), Noreen Gammill (Elephant), John McLeish (Narrator), Harold Manley (Kid), Tony Neil (Kid), Chuck Stubbs (Kid), Sarah Selby (Elephant), Dorothy Scott (Elephant), Hall Johnson Choir (Choir), Malcolm Hutton (Clown), The King's Men (Chorus), Betty Noyes (Baby Mine Singer)

Music: Frank Churchill, Oliver Wallace, Edward H. Plumb

Art Direction: Don DaGradi, Dick Kelsey, Ernie Nordli, Kendall O'Connor, Charles Payzant, Herbert Ryman, Terrell Stapp, Al Zinnen, Robert Cormack, John Hubley

Assistant Directors: Larry Lansburgh, Richard Lyford, Lloyd Richardson

Effects Animators: Jerome Brown, Paul B. Kossoff, Sandy Strother, Don Tobin

Supervising Animators: Art Babbitt, Ward Kimball, John Lounsbery, Fred Moore , Wolfgang Reitherman, Bill Tytla, Frank Thomas

Character Designers: James Bodrero, John P. Miller, Maurice Noble, Elmer Plummer, Martin Provensen, John Walbridge

Background Artists: Claude Coats, Al Dempster, John Hench, Gerald Nevius, Joe Stahley

Layout Artist: Kendall O'Connor

Assistant Animators: Bill Melendez, Clarke Mallery

Animators: Jack Campbell, Les Clark, Hugh Fraser, Walt Kelly, Hicks Lokey, Joshua Meador, Milt Neil, Art Palmer, Don Patterson, Ray Patterson, William Shull, Grant Simmons, Claude Smith, Howard Swift, Harvey Toombs, Don Towsley, Bernard Wolf, Cy Young, Stephen Bosustow, Basil Davidovich, Ed Fourcher, Franklin Grundeen, Van Kaufman, Eric Larson, Art Moore, Paul Murry, Ed Parks, Warren Schloat, Retta Scott, Karl Van Leuven

Painter: Phyllis Bounds Detiege

                                    Resourses Used


http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Essays/DumboRollABook/DumboRollABook.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033563/?ref_=rvi_tt

The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin

Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo (DVD special feature)

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Reluctant Dragon

History and Review written by Michael J. Ruhland












Year Released: 1941

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

                                                 History

After the finical disappointments of Pinocchio and Fantasia in 1940, 1941 found the Disney Studio in need of a more cheaply made feature film. This came in the form of The Reluctant Dragon. One way to do this (and the one they chose) was extensive use of live action. One thing this meant though was the need of a live action director. When the studio would later be making many live-action films they would have their own list of live-action directors, such as Robert Stevenson (Mary Poppins, Darby 'O Gill and the Little People), and Norman Tokar (The Apple Dumpling Gang, Rascal), and for some live action films Walt would even promote animators into the director's chair such as David Swift (Pollyanna, The Parent Trap), and James Algar (The True Life Adventures series). For this film though they used a director who had never worked at Disney before and never would again, Alfred L. Werker, a director who had been working since the late silent-era, and had a claim to fame as the director of  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes(1939), the second in the series of Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone, and Nigel Bruce. There was also need of live action actor, of course later as well Disney would have it's own list of regular actors and actresses, such as Hayley Mills (Pollyanna, The Parent Trap), Bobby Driscoll (Song of the South, So Dear to my Heart, also the voice of Peter Pan in Peter Pan), Janet Munro (Third Man on the Mountian, Darby 'O Gill and the Little People), and Fred MacMurray (The Shaggy Dog, The Absent Minded Professor). However this film would also star an actor who would not work in another Disney film. This was comedic character actor Robert Benchley, who was in films such as Foreign Correspondent (an underrated Hitchcock masterpiece), and his own series of classic short comedies.

However the whole film was not live action, The plot involved Benchley walking around the Disney studio. Here he would see how cartoons were made. Along the way he (and we) would see various cartoon shorts. These would not be extravagantly detailed as previous Disney feature animation was. Therefore the studio could do animation in this film without spending the big budgets that hurt their last 2 features financially. One of these cartoon segments was How to Ride a Horse, the first of the hilarious series of "how to..." cartoons staring Goofy. Supposedly John McLeisch, the narrator of this segment did not know he was narrating a comedic cartoon, but a series instructional film. He was surprised to learn that was not the case, but took it in good humor. You may notice in this cartoon Goofy does not speak, this is because his first voice actor, Pinto Colvig was working elsewhere and simply was not free at this time. With this segment The Reluctant Dragon marked the feature film debut of Goofy, also included in the movie is Donald Duck's feature film Debut.

The live action tour of the studio though was highly inaccurate. According to this film everyone at the Disney studio was as happy as could be. In reality the studio was on the verge of a strike that would change Disney history. While there are some real Disney employees in this movie, many where actors hired to play employees. Included among these actors was a young Alan Ladd (Shane, The Blue Dahlia)  before he became famous. For more information on the Disney strike watch the video below:

Even with the lower budget, The Reluctant Dragon lost money. Audiences just expected what they had previously got from Disney feature films, and they were not happy to learn that this was something much different. Disney was in need of a money maker desperately.

Review

While this may not be the most elaborate Disney movie, it is extremely fun. This film does not even try to be what Snow White was, but rather a silly little comedy with bits of Disney history put in, and at being this the movie really succeeds. 

It is easy to see why Robert Benchley was popular in his day. He is very likable throughout the whole film, and can be quite funny at times. 

This film will hold much intrigue for Disney buffs. Just looking in the background of the live action scenes is more than entertainment enough for Disney buffs. Looking in the background you can spot maquettes and initial drawing for Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. The Reluctant Dragon was released in 1941, Peter Pan in 1953, and Lady and the Tramp in 1955. This of course shows how long of a time was/is spent making Disney films. Stuff like this will make sure people like me will love this movie.

The cartoon shorts placed in the film are some of Disney's best shorts. Baby Weems is a near perfect cartoon. It is cleverly done in limited animation to look like a story board. The story is charming clever, and funny.  How to Ride a Horse is a hilarious first entry into a hilarious series of shorts. Both of these segments are worth an A just on their own. the title cartoon is not as effective as the two others I mentioned, but is still well worth watching with some very funny moments. 

Overall a very good film, that all Disney buffs should see.

                                                                  Film Credits

Live Action Director: Alfred L. Werker

Cartoon Directors: Hamilton Luske, Jack Cutting, Ub Iwerks, Jack Kinney

Producer: Walt Disney

Writers: Ted Sears, Al Perkins, Larry Clemmons, William Cottrell, Harry Clork, Erdman Penner, T. Hee, Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, John P. Miller, Robert Benchley, Berk Anthony

Reluctant Dragon Cartoon based off a story by Kenneth Grahame

Live Action Cast: Robert Benchley (Himself), Frances Gifford (Doris), Buddy Pepper (Humphrey), Nana Bryant (Mrs. Benchley), Florence Gill (Herself), Clarence Nash (Himself), Norman Ferguson (Himself), Ward Kimball (Himself), Jimmy Luske (Himself), Alan Ladd (Storyboard Artist), Truman Woodworth (Herself), Hamilton MacFadden (Himself), Maurice Murphy (Storyboard Artist), Frank Churchill (Himself), John Dehner (Storyboard Artist), Walt Disney (Himself), Lester Dorr (Slim), Frank Faylen (Himself), Henry Hall (Studio Policeman), Verna Hillie (Sculptor),  James MacDonald (Sound Effects Man), Fred Moore (Himself), George Offerman Jr. (Art Student), Steve Pendleton (Head of Security), Wolfgang Reitherman (Himself), Gerald Mohr (Studio Guard)

Voices: Claud Allister (Sir Giles), Barnett Parker (Dragon), Billy Lee (Boy), Clarence Nash (Donald Duck), Ernie Alexander (Father), Leone Le Doux (Baby Weems), Eddie Marr (Walter Winchell), Linda Marwood (Mother), Gerald Mohr (Baby Weems Narrator), John McLeish (How to Ride a Horse Narrator), Raymond Severn (Baby Weems), Val Stanton (Courier), J. Donald Wilson ( The Reluctant Dragon (Cartoon) Narrator), Jack Young (FDR)

Reluctant Dragon Song: Charles Wolcott (Music), T. Hee (Lyrics), Erdman Penner (Lyrics)

Music: Frank Churchill, Larry Morey

Cinematography: Bert Glennon, Winton C. Hoch

Film Editing: Paul Weatherwax

Art Direction: Ken Anderson, Yale Gracey, Hugh Hennesy, Lance Nolley, Gordon Wiles, Charles Philippi

Set Decorator: Earl Wooden

Production Manager: Earl Rettig

Sound Department: Frank Maher

Special Effects: Ub Iwerks, Joshua Meador

Effects Animators: Edwin Aardal, Jerome Brown, Brad Case, Ugo D'Orsi, George De Beeson, Russ Dyson, Andy Engman, James Escalante , Art Fitzpatrick, Harry Hamsel, Joe Harbaugh, Jack Huber, Paul B. Kossoff, Fred Madison, John McManus, Art Palmer, Miles E. Pike , John Reed, George Rowley, Sandy Strother, Reuben Timmins, Don Tobin , Noel Tucker, Vernon G. Witt, Cornett Wood, John McDermott

Background Artists: Ray Huffine, Art Riley, Ray Lockrem, Bob McIntosh, Mique Nelson

Animators: Jack Campbell, Walt Kelly, Ward Kimball,  Fred Moore, Milt Neil, Claude Smith, David Swift, Harvey Toombs, Stephen Bosustow, Chester Cobb, Rex Cox, Ed Fourcher, George Goepper, Paul Murry, Frank Onaitis, Frank Oreb, John Sibley, Louis Terri, Judge Whitaker, Bernard Wolf

Color Director: Natalie Kalmus

Caricatures in Opening Credits: T. Hee

                                                               Resourses Used

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034091/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ec2eItriL4


-Michael J. Ruhland