IN THE early 90s, Disney's animation division was at the height of its powers.

The Little Mermaid, which was released in the twilight days of 1989, signalled a return to form, made glorious by Beauty And The Beast, which is still the only animated feature to be nominated as Best Picture at the annual Academy Awards.

Aladdin soared, then The Lion King roared to the top of the box office to become the highest grossing film of its kind.

And then it happened - rapid advancements in computer animation, pioneered by Pixar (A Bug's Life) and DreamWorks (Shrek), which have rendered hand-drawn animation almost obsolete.

So it is with heavy heart that I come to review Home On The Range, Disney's last ever animated feature in the traditional, 2-D style.

Fittingly, this rootin' tootin' western musical bids fond farewell to the genre in fine style, with an old-fashioned tale of good versus evil.

Elderly widow Pearl is facing bankruptcy and will be forced to sell her beloved Patch Of Heaven dairy farm at auction unless she can come up with $750 by the end of the week.

The old lady is resigned to her fate but her plucky livestock are determined to save the farm from foreclosure (and themselves from a visit to the local abattoir).

New cow on the block Maggie (voiced by Roseanne Barr) comes up with a novel and beast-brained scheme to raise money: the animals will track down and arrest a dastardly cattle rustler named Alameda Slim (Randy Quaid), who has a $750 bounty on his head.

Fellow bovines Mrs Caloway (Judi Dench) and Grace (Jennifer Tilly) join Maggie on the quest to track down the notorious criminal, but they are not the only ones interested in Alameda.

Bounty hunter Rico (Charles Dennis) and his trusty steed Buck (Cuba Gooding Jr) also have their eyes on the reward money.

Home On The Range is a colourful and energetic slice of Wild West fun for the whole family, enlivened with some great action sequences and gentle comedy.

The characters are cast in the classic Disney mould, learning the value of friendship as they work together to reach their goals.

Supporting characters, including a trio of excitable, kung-fu kicking piglets and Jeb (Joe Flaherty) the surly goat, generate plenty of laughs, especially for the little 'uns