Destino

The short animated film “Destino” represents a historic collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí that began at a party in 1945 at Jack Warner’s house. The two artists, who admired each other’s surrealist work, decided to create a film together. Disney was eager to collaborate with great artists, wanting to keep breaking new trails as he had with the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence in “Fantasia.”
Dalí began work on “Destino” in 1946, creating 22 paintings and over 135 storyboards, drawings, and sketches. He envisioned it as “a magical exposition on the problem of life in the labyrinth of time.” However, the project was shelved after just eight months due to low funds and concerns about marketing the film after World War II.
The dream was finally realized decades later when Roy E. Disney, Walt’s nephew and Director of Animation, decided to complete the project while working on “Fantasia 2000.” A team of twenty-five artists at the Paris-based Disney animation studio, directed by Dominique Monfery, worked to fulfill the original vision. The completed six-minute-and-forty-second film was released on June 2, 2003 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
“Destino” earned numerous accolades, including an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film, Animated in 2004. The graphic works and original artwork from this collaboration are now represented by Park West Gallery.