10 Great Disney Movies You've Probably Never Heard Of

The Reluctant Dragon is a unique film in the Disney line-up. It's not a traditional, fully formed narrative like the rest of the entries in this article. Instead, it acts as an insight into the animation process of the 1940s with a live-action exploration of the Disney studio combined with some incredibly charming shorts written for the film.

The loose narrative follows famous humorist - of the time - Robert Benchley, as he is taught about the process of Disney's animation procedures. He also searches for the man himself to pitch his idea for a cartoon he has come up with about a shy and mild-mannered dragon.

There are plenty of well known Disney staff members in the title, including Walt Disney himself, which helps to make the film feel authentic. Its dated release also makes the title feel like a time-capsule for the period, filling it with a classic charm.

It features four short animations, one centred on Casey Junior from Dumbo, another called Baby Weems which was shown as a storyboard, a Goofy "how to" on riding a horse, and finally, an extended short adapting Kenneth Grahame's The Reluctant Dragon, for which the film is named.

It isn't a well known Disney classic, but it is such a charming way to explore the company of old back when animation was their primary focus.