It may seem that an eccentric surrealist Salvador Dari and tireless romantic Walt Disney have little in common. However, in real life they were not only friends, they admired each other's work, and even collaborated together - and the result of this collaboration was an amazing cartoon "Destino".

Recently, the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco opened an exhibition “ Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination” (“Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination”). At first glance, it seems that these two masters have little in common: one has mice dancing and singing about love, the other has long-legged elephants in the background, and watches melt in the foreground. However, numerous exhibits of the exhibition tell a completely different story: even though they did not personally know each other, Walt and Salvador were well aware of the existence of each other and were eager to meet.

They happened to meet during the Second World War, when Salvador Dali fled with his wife from the horrors of bloodshed to distant America. It was then that the two geniuses met and almost immediately began to discuss how exactly they could combine such different styles and directions in creativity. That is how the cartoon “Destino” was born. Exhibition curator Ted Nicolaou describes Disney as "a man who is willing to experiment with the most different ways Disney regularly brought in outside artists to bring something new and fresh to their work.

Because of the war and financial problems, the result of the joint work of Dali and Disney could be fully realized only 60 years later, after the death of both geniuses. It is strange to see such a union, but it is real and thanks to modern technology finally made available to the public. Just 6 minutes - and the traditional Disney love story turns into a surreal and impossible novel.

Salvador Dali considered Walt Disney a surrealist, and maybe that's why in 1946 the Great Mystifier collaborated with the Great Animator. The audience could see the result only in 2003.

cartoon acquired worldwide fame, but the audience is wondering: what is there directly “from Dali”, and what is a Disney product? Well, the answer is surreal, like the very fate of "Destino"!

Salvador Dali came to America in 1945, but not because of a multi-occasion. The visit took place. The "King of Horrors" needed scenery for the film, but Dali was furious with the film adaptation of his ideas: instead of pianos suspended from the ceiling, they were pathetic imitations! So, at the exhibition of his paintings in the Binyu Gallery, the surrealist also presented to the public the “pseudo-newspaper” Dali News with the exposure of Hollywood and ... the announcement of the upcoming project with Walt Disney. A pleasant meeting between the two creators determined the fate of the new idea: their interests coincided.

The animator, in the wake of his pioneering work of 1940 "Fantasy", was carried away by the idea of ​​​​synthesis of animation and high art. And Dali was constantly looking for new opportunities to embody his dreams and fantasies. And, although the artist requested a huge amount for the work, setting conditions for copyright, the contract was signed. Inspired, Dali spoke of creating a "film in new ways" in which "... Thanks to the craftsmanship of Disney, for the first time it will be possible to see the clock in motion." And things moved on!

Salvador Dali had a director, animators John Hench and Bob Cormac, and music at his disposal. The animation was conceived to the ballad "Destino" by the Mexican Armando Dominguez, and Dali was captivated by the word itself, in translation - "fate". Her turns in Dali's imagination were constantly changing, new images and paintings appeared.

« The girl is walking on the way and... finds himself riding a huge elephant with the legs of an arthropod insect, surrounded by various monsters... We see a pyramid... next to a church floating over a pond formed by two human palms, from which two cypresses grow. Riding around the pond on bicycles naked people. They all disappear into the pond" - Dali's words about the future cartoon from an interview with Arts magazine.

Some moments were reminiscent of the ideas of existing paintings by Dali - he wanted to "revive" the work of 1939 "Swans reflected in the form of elephants", include the image of "a girl jumping over a rope", others famous paintings. After all, the artist did not create a cartoon, but a means of immersion in the personal world of Salvador Dali's surrealism!

Disney, who originally defined "Destino" as "the usual love story of a girl and a boy", was overwhelmed by the fantasies and works presented by Dali.

The artist created 22 paintings and about 135 sketches, and John Hench prepared an 18-second cartoon segment. For Disney, after the Second World War, was worried about the question: will the idea be commercially successful? Alas, eight months after the start of work, the “birth” did not take place: Disney postponed the project for financial reasons. However, half a century later, Walt Disney's nephew Roy, working on new version of the legendary cartoon of the studio - "Fantasy - 2000", found Dali's achievements in the archives! He got excited about the idea of ​​finishing the work of the Masters also because, under a long-standing contract, the original works of the artist will belong to the Disney studio only after the completion of the cartoon.

Salvador Dali. Design for Destino

New world on a turtle

Roy Disney was lucky: 95-year-old John Hench, Dali's "same" collaborator, agreed to personally work with a team of 25 artists. There were diaries of the wife of Senor Salvador - Gala, where the thoughts-fantasies of her husband are recorded. 5 paintings and sketches by Dali were used, as well as new works by artists. In the autumn of 2003, 58 years after the start of work, the premiere of "Destiny" took place at the French Film Festival in Annecy.

The original 18-second scene remains unchanged in the cartoon, so look for turtles!

Home / Dali and Disney / Destino (“Fate”)

Destino- cartoon fate Salvador Dali

Watch "Destino" online:

When 2 brilliant personalities intersect in one time period, interaction between them is inevitable. Fate wanted not only to settle Salvador Dali and Walt Disney in the same era, but also to introduce them. Disney, the recognized genius of animation, was so intrigued creative genius a Spaniard who suggested that Dali create a cartoon that would be the epitome of surrealism.

The artist liked the idea and in 1945, together with the Walt Disney team, he began work on the cartoon Destino (“Destiny”), the plot of which is based on the ballad of Armando Dominguez. As a result of the 8-month work of Dali and the artist Disney studios John Hench created an 18 second clip and a huge number of drawings and sketches.

Dali at work

Salvador Dali at work at Walt Disney Studios, circa 1946 (left) Dali's oil painting for "Destino" was later combined with the finished video sequence (right)

On the left is a completed oil painting by Salvador Dali expressing the concept of "Most". She served as a source of inspiration for the master. On the right - Dali's work as it appears in the cartoon: with additions introduced during digital processing to expand and deepen the space of the picture, an animated figure and two supporting elements

Three abstract works written by Dali in preparation for the creation of "Destino"

Another oil painting by Salvador Dali, which later added an animation of a baseball player and a baseball

But in postwar period The creative ideas of Salvador Dali did not come true: the Destino project was closed at the direction of the studio owner, Walt Disney. The officially announced reason is the company's financial difficulties due to the fact that during all the years of the Second World War the animator carried out government orders, which almost did not bring income to the studio.

The rebirth of Destino

For more than half a century, the materials for Destino lay “on the table”. The idea to complete the project started by Dali belongs to Ray Disney, the nephew of the legendary cartoonist. He invited Baker Blodworth to become the producer of the picture, and the Frenchman Dominique Monfary to direct. The 25-member art team included John Hench, who was 95 years old by then. With his help, and also thanks to the entries from the diary of Salvador Dali's wife, the realization of the plans of the brilliant surrealist became possible. Destino premiered in 2003, a year before the maestro's centenary, at the Annecy French Film Festival.

It is not known what Destino would have been like if Dali had managed to complete it. The team of Roy Disney turned out a cartoon completely in the "Disney" style and at the same time very surreal. A kind of tribute to the memory of Salvador Dali: a film with a touch of sadness and inevitability, leaving a piercing aftertaste of love.

1. The name "Destino" became prophetic for the cartoon. Translated from Italian (as well as Spanish and Portuguese), destino means "fate". The picture, indeed, has an unusual and very interesting fate.

2. In 1940, John Hench took part in the creation of another fateful cartoon: he is a member of the Fantasy cartoon team and one of the "parents" of the famous Mickey Mouse. Curiously, the rebirth of Destino is also associated with Fantasia: Roy Disney thought about recreating the cartoon while working on Fantasia 2000, the sequel to the legendary film.

3. Destino uses an original 18-second clip created over the 8 months the cartoon was drawn by Salvador Dali and John Hench. The episode with the two turtles and the girl with the pearl head is easy to spot: it stands out a bit from overall picture higher rhythm and bright colors.

4. One of the reasons Dali agreed to participate in the creation of the cartoon was that he considered Disney to be a surrealist. This is how he described his first meeting with the animator: "I came to Hollywood and got up close and personal with the great American Surrealists: the Marx Brothers, Cecil DeMille and Walt Disney."

5. "Destino" was awarded the Grand Prix of the Melbourne Film Festival in the category of short films and was nominated for an Oscar.

Did you like the site? Do you want to say thank you? Put a direct active hyperlink in the form close codeShow resultHide result

at the rental c: 02.06.2003