NEW YORK -- Animation has come a long way from the days of "Pinocchio" and "Dumbo."

Computer-generated cartoons like "Toy Story" and "Shrek" not only revolutionized and redefined the kinds of movies that kids fall in love with and watch over and over again nowadays, they also have made mom and dad's beat-up VHS copies of the old Disney classics look as ragged and dull as poor Cinderella before her makeover.

But there's still plenty about those old Disney classics to love; their fairytale stories are timeless. If only someone cared enough to give them a facelift. Finally someone has.

Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" isn't the greatest film the old hand-drawn studio ever put out, but it's where the 21st century incarnation of the Mouse House decided to begin. Now out on Blue-Ray, as well as a platinum edition standard DVD, the newly spiffed up version of "Sleeping Beauty" is one of the most delightful surprises of the year.

To begin with, the film's never looked better. The rich palette of colors pops off of your TV screen, seemingly giving the old tale a fresh new breath of life. Of course, everyone knows the story by now – the young princess Aurora, betrothed to the handsome Prince Phillip, is cursed by the wicked and witchy sorceress Maleficent to suffer a cruel fate before her 16th birthday.

So, a trio of benevolent guardian fairies whisk her off and raise her in hiding in the forest. There, she frolics with the animals, beautiful and singsong sweet, until she's unwittingly reunited with her true love, now a horseback-riding hunk.

Granted, it's not the whiz-bang adventure that recent kiddie films like "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E" are. In fact, it takes its sweet time. But maybe that's not the worst thing in the world for an over-caffeinated kid.

"Sleeping Beauty" has always been a classic for a reason – and now, looking better than ever, it's easy once again to see why.

Now for a look at what else is new on DVD: in "Get Smart," Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway take aim at a '60s TV spy spoof; in "Trans-Siberian," Ben Kingsley torments a married couple on a snowy train trip; and in the "Bourne Trilogy," Matt Damon's terrific trio of action flicks gets a boxed set.