It's a dirty, dark secret, but Walt and Disney were considering shutting down the animation studio near the end. It was simply unprofitable and expensive. Disne

It's a dirty, dark secret, but Walt and Disney were considering shutting down the animation studio near the end. It was simply unprofitable and expensive. Disney goes through massive cycles where they have boom and bust periods - that survives to this day. The leadership of the animation studio was a real issue here - they had no idea about how to mentor the next generation - it wasn't until Ollie and Frank explicitly worked to engage with the next generation after Bluth left Disney with the Illusion of Life that disney got serious about continuing animation.