An Ode to Pooh: Melancholy Ramblings on the State of Hand-Drawn Animation

Pooh and Christopher Robin head off into the sunset.

It’s the question on the lips of every animation buff’s lips: Is hand-drawn animation on its way out? Let me get this out of the way, as you likely already know my perspective on the matter: I certainly hope that it isn’t.

As of this writing, I’m eagerly anticipating the release of the Blu-Ray release of Disney’s 70-year-old classic Dumbo, a movie I haven’t seen in probably over a decade — I can’t even remember the last time I did see it, in fact! But outside of film, animation, and Disney uber-fans, is there any truth to former Disney dictator Michael Eisner’s supposition that, much like black and white movies, these movies no longer appeal to general audiences?