And they've made two remarkable leaps of their own -- back to hand-drawn animation, although with elaborate computer assists, and away from talking-creature cuteness.

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Once foreign box office receipts are added to the US tally, the hand-drawn animation is expected to have turned a profit in its first week.

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Again, the CGI is seamless, and kudos to the hair and make-up department, but there was more warmth and wonder back in Disney's hand-drawn animation.

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Disney has virtually abandoned old-fashioned, hand-drawn animation it is closing its Florida studio and the feature-animation business will pare down to 600 employees, compared with 2, 200 at the peak in 1999.

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There are also hand-drawn animation sequences in-between levels, which are impressive, but during a level the only difference between playing the game and a cutscene is your lack of control over the camera and the letterbox format.

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