In the end, Disney compromised and started to release its classic films on VHS, but it would pull them off of shelves after a while and put them back in the “Disney vault” for a few years, then bring trhem back.
Back in the days before home video, Disney would routinely re-release its popular animated classics in theaters every few years so that new generations could experience them.
The studio was originally apprehensive about the home video business, fearing it would cut in to those regular box office profits.
That process has remained largely intact since the 1980s.