Are Disney classics fading away among Pixar flix?

With the release of "Toy Story 3" on DVD Tuesday, a wonderful movie to say the least, it got me thinking - have kids these days ever experienced a 'real' animated Disney movie? Ya know, hand drawn, not in 3-D.

Let's rewind a bit.

"Toy Story" came out in 1995. Fifteen years ago, it was the first of its kind - Disney/Pixar had never collaborated before to make a full-fledged feature film entirely in CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery). And not only did the technology draw people in, the characters - so easy to fall in love with - made the movie. Yes, boykid Andy was a central figure in the film, but it was his 'play-things' that we fell in love with. From Buzz to Woody to Slinky Dog, viewers all had their favorites.

Four years later, and only one other Pixar film made in between ("A Bug's Life"), a "Toy Story" sequel came along that held up to the original, giving us Jessie the cowgirl and Bullseye the horse.

Today, Pixar is a household name, know for always raising the bar with new and creative characters and storylines that both kids and adults can enjoy together. "Finding Nemo"; "Cars"; "WALL-E"; "Up" are just a few of the wondrous creations Pixar has brought us over the last 15 years.

And a long-overdue second sequel, "Toy Story 3" brought us back to the beginning and did so in a way that pulled our heart strings and still had us wanting more from the toy chest.

And while "Toy Story 3" captured everyone's kid-inside-them, the 2-D classics those of us not of the so-called Generation I (Internet) era were brought up on, seemed to be forgotten.

Disney's traditional animation era peaked just as I was growing up, from 1989-1999. "Aladdin"; "The Lion King"; "The Little Mermaid"; "Beauty and the Beast"; and "Hercules" were just a few of the major blockbusters that Disney produced during that ten-year span. And I still get a kick out of these movies. "Aladdin," for instance, is one of the funniest movies of its time, due in large part to Robin Williams as the genie, I'm sure - but still, the music, the characters and the stories are jsut as good as any 3-D, CGI movie today.

So why is it that we no longer feel the need to produce in 2-D? Does it cost more money? Take up more time? Are kids' attention spans just not up-to-par with 2-D?

I can't answer that. But I can say that just because a movie doesn't make $1 billion worldwide, as "Toy Story 3" did (granted it had followers and anticipation on its side), doesn't mean it's a bad movie.

Disney tried to get back to its 2-D form last year with "The Princess and the Frog." I saw it - it was a really fun movie, great upbeat, jazzy music and a fun story. Critics raved about it, and it made a decent %104 million, only to fade away when it was released on DVD. It deserved better.

Hand-drawn animation is just as impressive as computer-animated, so why can't we enjoy both? Are we going to rid ourselves of regular movie viewing and only see 3-D movies within the next 10 years? I hope not. But then again, look what sound and color did for the movies - we don't watch silent films on the big screen anymore, do we? (Although a little Charlie Chaplin never hurt anyone.)

So do your kids a favor and introduce them to some oldies but goodies, or simply relive the classic Disney days yourself. You may have to scrounge up a VHS player, but all the better - "Hakuna Matata" right?