Destino is the cartoon life of Salvador Dali. Architects of the Imagination: A Collaboration between Salvador Dali and Walt Disney
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".
The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco recently opened an exhibition “ Disney and Dalí: Architects of the Imagination” (“Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination”). At first glance, it seems that these two masters have little in common: in one, mice dance and sing about love, in the second, long-legged elephants appear in the background, and in foreground The clock melts. However, numerous exhibits at the exhibition tell a completely different story: even though they were not yet personally acquainted, Walt and Salvador were well aware of each other’s existence and longed to meet.
They had a chance 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 their different styles and directions in creativity. This 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 invited outside artists to bring something new and fresh to your work.
Due to war and financial problems, the result joint creativity Dali and Disney were able to fully realize themselves only 60 years later, after the death of both geniuses. It is strange to see such a union, but it is real thanks to modern technology finally became available to the public. Just 6 minutes - and the traditional Disney love story turns into a surreal novella and the impossible.
Salvador Dalí considered Walt Disney a surrealist, which may be why the Great Mystifier collaborated with the Great Animator in 1946. Viewers were able to see the result only in 2003.
The cartoon has gained worldwide fame, but viewers are wondering: what is directly “from Dali” and what is a Disney product? Well, the answer is surreal, like the fate of “Destino” itself!
Salvador Dali came to America in 1945, but not for a multi-occasion. The visit took place. The “King of Horror” needed scenery for the film, but Dali was furious at the film adaptation of his ideas: instead of pianos suspended from the ceiling, there were pathetic imitations! So, at the exhibition of his paintings in the Bignu gallery, the surrealist also presented to the public a “pseudo-newspaper” “Dali News” with an exposure of Hollywood and... an announcement of an upcoming project with Walt Disney. A pleasant meeting between two creators determined the fate of the new idea: their interests coincided.
The animator, in the wake of his innovative 1940 work “Fantasy,” became fascinated by the idea of the synthesis of animation and high art. And Dali was constantly looking for new opportunities to realize his dreams and fantasies. And, although the artist requested a huge amount for the work, setting the conditions and copyright, the contract was signed. An elated Dalí spoke of creating “a film in new ways” in which “…Thanks to Disney’s mastery, it will be possible for the first time to see a clock in motion.” And things started to move!
Salvador Dali had at his disposal a director, animators John Hench and Bob Cormack, and music. The animation was conceived for the ballad “Destino” by the Mexican Armando Dominguez, and Dali was captivated by the word itself, translated as “fate”. Her turns in Dali’s imagination were constantly changing, new images and paintings appeared.
“The girl walks along the road and... finds herself riding a huge elephant with the legs of an arthropod insect, surrounded by various monsters... We see a pyramid... next to the church, floating above a pond formed by two human palms, from which two cypress trees grow. Naked people ride bicycles around the pond. 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 Dali paintings - he wanted to “revive” the 1939 work “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 into the personal world of Salvador Dali’s surrealism!
Disney, who originally defined "Destino" as " ordinary story the love of a girl and a boy,” was stunned by the fantasies and works of Dali presented.
The artist created 22 paintings and about 135 sketches, and John Hench produced an 18-second cartoon segment. Because after World War II, Disney was worried about the question: would 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 legendary cartoon studio - "Fantasy - 2000", discovered Dali's work in the archives! He was inspired by the idea of finishing the work of the Masters also because, according to a long-standing contract, the original works of the artist would 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, “that same” colleague of Dali, agreed to personally work with a team of 25 artists. The diaries of Senor Salvador's wife, Gala, were found, where the thoughts and fantasies of her husband were recorded. 5 paintings and sketches by Dali were used, as well as new works by artists. In the fall of 2003, 58 years after the start of work, Destino premiered at the French Film Festival in Annecy.
The original 18-second scene remains unchanged in the cartoon, so look out for the turtles!
Salvador Dalí considered Walt Disney a surrealist, which may be why the Great Mystifier collaborated with the Great Animator in 1946. Viewers were able to see the result only in 2003.
The cartoon has gained worldwide fame, but viewers are wondering: what is directly “from Dali” and what is a Disney product? Well, the answer is surreal, like the fate of “Destino” itself!
Salvador Dali came to America in 1945, but not for a multi-occasion. The visit took place. The “King of Horror” needed scenery for the film, but Dali was furious at the film adaptation of his ideas: instead of pianos suspended from the ceiling, there were pathetic imitations! So, at the exhibition of his paintings in the Bignu gallery, the surrealist also presented to the public a “pseudo-newspaper” “Dali News” with an exposure of Hollywood and... an announcement of an upcoming project with Walt Disney. A pleasant meeting between two creators determined the fate of the new idea: their interests coincided.
The animator, in the wake of his innovative 1940 work “Fantasia,” became fascinated by the idea of the synthesis of animation and high art. And Dali was constantly looking for new opportunities to realize his dreams and fantasies. And, although the artist asked for a huge sum for the work, setting conditions and copyright, the contract was signed. An elated Dalí spoke of creating “a film in new ways” in which “…Thanks to Disney’s mastery, it will be possible for the first time to see a clock in motion.” And things started to move!
Salvador Dali had at his disposal a director, animators John Hench and Bob Cormack, and music. The animation was conceived for the ballad “Destino” by the Mexican Armando Dominguez, and Dali was captivated by the word itself, translated as “fate”. Her turns in Dali’s imagination were constantly changing, new images and paintings appeared.
“The girl walks along the road and... finds herself riding a huge elephant with the legs of an arthropod insect, surrounded by various monsters... We see a pyramid... next to the church, floating above a pond formed by two human palms, from which two cypress trees grow. Naked people ride bicycles around the pond. 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 Dali’s existing paintings - he wanted to “revive” the 1939 work “Swans Reflected in the Form of Elephants”, to include the image of a “girl jumping over a rope”, and other famous paintings. After all, the artist did not create a cartoon, but a means of immersion into the personal world of Salvador Dali’s surrealism!
Disney, who originally defined Destino as “an ordinary love story between a girl and a boy,” was stunned by the imagination and work of Dalí on display.
The artist created 22 paintings and about 135 sketches, and John Hench produced an 18-second cartoon segment. Because after World War II, Disney was worried about the question: would 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, while working on a new version of the studio's legendary cartoon, Fantasia 2000, discovered Dali's work in the archives! He was inspired by the idea of finishing the work of the Masters also because, according to a long-standing contract, the original works of the artist would 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, “that same” colleague of Dali, agreed to personally work with a team of 25 artists. The diaries of Senor Salvador's wife, Gala, were found, where the thoughts and fantasies of her husband were recorded. 5 paintings and sketches by Dali were used, as well as new works by artists. In the fall of 2003, 58 years after the start of work, Destino premiered at the French Film Festival in Annecy.
The original 18-second scene remains unchanged in the cartoon, so look out for the turtles!
We have already published a demo screen version of two geniuses: Salvador Dali and Walt Disney. And now, finally, we can imagine the full official version cartoon
In 1946, Dali and Disney signed a contract to produce the surreal cartoon "Destino". But between a brilliant painter and an equally brilliant animator, “disagreements” were inevitable.
Salvador Dali asked for a fabulous sum and insisted that the cartoon should not be the property of Disney until completion. Financial problems prevented Disney from finishing work on the cartoon. post-war years animator created a large number of paintings commissioned by the government and earned almost nothing. "Destino" was recreated from hundreds of storyboards, drawings and sketches created in 1945-1946.
They were kept in the archives of Walt Disney's nephew, Roy. By the way, he joined the team of 25 animators who worked on the cartoon. The collaboration between the Disney studio and Dali began in 1940 with the cartoon “Fantasia” (which became an animation classic); it was then that the founder of the famous studio decided that interaction with artists would help elevate animation to the rank of “high art.”
After 60 years of torment, "Destino" was completed...
Destino can be translated from Italian in two ways: it is rock, essence, fate, but it is also a destination.
Destino full version
Short cartoon Destino was created by The Walt Disney Company based on the idea and drawings of Salvador Dali. The video is accompanied by music by Armando Dominguez. The cartoon was started in 1945, and finished only 58 years later, in 2003. Post-war economic difficulties prevented the project from being realized when the greatest madman of the 20th century himself was working on it.
Still from "Destino".
Destino means fate, destiny, rock in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Galician. IN English language a word with this meaning sounds almost the same - Destiny.
The animated film reveals another facet of the talent of the most famous surrealist, the creator of paranoid-critical realism.
Destino, Walt Disney Pictures, USA, France, 2003.
Director: Dominique Monferi
Producers: Roy Edward Disney, Baker Bloodworth
Screenwriter: Salvador Dali
Composers: Armando Dominguez, Michael Starobin
Animators: Salvador Dali, John Hench
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Story by: Salvador Dali and John Hench
Music by: Armando Dominquez, Michael Starobin
Edited by: Jessica Ambinder-Rojas
Directed by: Dominique Monfery
Running Time: 6:40 minutes
Release Date: 2003
Technique: 2D animation
Produced by: Baker Bloodworth
Executive Producer: Roy Edward Disney
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Salvador Dali at work at Walt Disney Studios, circa 1946.
The storyboard for Destino was drawn over a period of eight months in late 1945 and 1946 by Salvador Dali and Disney artist John Hench.
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Salvador Dali and Walt Disney.
Disney was given a 17-18 second test animated sequence in 1946, but then decided to postpone Destino indefinitely.
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Dali at Walt Disney Studios
The project was closed by Walt Disney due to the company's financial difficulties. Throughout the years of World War II, the studio fulfilled government orders, which brought in almost no income.
Apart from a short episode, all that remains of the idea sent to the archive great amount drawings and sketches.
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Dali's preparatory work for Destino.
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Work written by Dali in preparation for the creation of Destino.
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Dali's oil painting for Destino. When creating the film, it was combined with video footage
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Preparatory drawing for Destino
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In 1999, Disney's nephew Roy Edward Disney / Roy E. Disney worked on the musical animated film Fantasia 2000, filmed 60 years after the legendary Fantasia. And John Hench was one of the animators for the 1940 film Fantasia, and he was also one of the fathers of Mickey Mouse.
Roy Disney decided to bring to life the forgotten project of the great surrealist and Hench. For this purpose, a small branch of Disney in Paris was involved. The producer of the cartoon was Baker Bloodworth, and the director was French animator Dominique Monfréy, who performed for the first time in this capacity. Using the help of Hench himself, who by that time was 95 years old, as well as the diaries of Dali’s wife Gala, a group of twenty-five animators “deciphered” the drawings of Dali and Hench and brought their plans to life.
The result was a cartoon using hand-drawn animation techniques using computer graphics. The original 18-second footage is included in the film in the scene with the two turtles - Dali and Gala.
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A baseball player and a baseball were added to Salvador Dali's creation.
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A few more shots from Destino:
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Personally, I don’t particularly like Dali, although he, of course, has a lot of interesting and deep works. I’m not particularly fascinated by the nightmares from the depths of the artist’s subconscious, which are so attractive to the public. At one time, superimposed on advertising escapades they brought Dali worldwide fame, wealth, and then immortality. And this is good, because we need different artists and creativity, especially genius ones. Well, what about Dali? great creator, you can't argue with that.
Of the surrealists, Rene Magritte is closer to me with his relaxed absurdity, devoid of horror, but this is not about him.
In conclusion, three statements by Dali from the many aphorisms spoken and written by him for long life. The first two can be safely recommended as psychological advice.
* If you start playing at being a genius, you will certainly become one!
* All my efforts, every day, always, are subordinated to a single goal: to be able to be Dali.
* There are extremely rare cases in my life when I humiliated myself by dressing in civilian clothes. I always preferred to wear Dali's uniform.
Quotes - from the book "Salvador Dali: Thoughts and Anecdotes", translator Polyak O., editor Khotinskaya N.O., Text publishing house, 2010.
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Dali's preparatory drawing for Destino, used in the closing credits of the cartoon.
