Credit: Inside the MagicThe late, great Walt Disney and Salvador Dali collaborated on a project, Destino. But actually finishing it led to a creative battle for the ages between two fantastic minds.
Disney and Salvador Dali Project: Destino
Disney and Salvador Dali collaborated on the project Destino, an animation that came when Disney Animation had the best animated short film of its time. Unfortunately, the Disney and Salvador Dalí project was cut short due to these differences.
Problems With the Animation Collaboration
From Fantasia to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney was flush when it came to having the best animated short film. It appears that before Roy Disney got involved, Salvador Dalí met at a party hosted by Jack Warner.
These famous glitterati events hosted everyone from Aldous Huxley to Mark Connolly; needless to say, it was a veritable utopia of short film icons.
The Destiny of Destino
Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí were planning to elaborate on the Mexican folk song “Destino” to create a ‘surrealist journey through time, love, and baseball.” After World War II, it entered production, with the first of Dalí’s collaborators being John Hench.
There were many different ways to take the iconic Mexican folk song, find its essence, and elaborate on it. From the works of Mexican songwriter Armando Dominguez to a host of other artists, this animated short film was a proverbial Disney studios hot potato.
Related: Disney Forced to Cut and Limit Content Due to Foreign Policy
How World War II Impacted Perception
According to a news source, “The 1940s was one of the bleakest in the Disney studio’s history. Expensive bombs lost markets, and an animators’ strike frustrated many of Walt’s hopes, Destino among them.”
Animation Battles: Walt Disney Studio Animations and CEO Politics
Destino was a hot topic when Eisner was the CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Roy Disney was in his golden years, but it didn’t stop him from ousting two former CEOs of Walt Disney Animation. The force behind his (eventual) success? Destino.
Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí are both artistic geniuses. But together, they lacked the chemistry to move forward. Much, much later, Roy Disney, also known as Roy E Disney, picked up the pieces and put together Destino. Thus, the Salvador Dalí piece remerged and, with it, the litigious spirit.
Walt Disney Family Museum: A Legacy Lives On
Roy Disney learned about the legal debates surrounding the Destino piece and jumped at the chance to finish his uncle’s surrealism efforts. John Hench was off-limits, but animators at Disney innovated nonetheless. They used a two-level technique to make shadows that hold onto the light. It generated perceptions of surrealistic animation and shows that Disney Studios have a long and proud place in animation history.
Have you ever seen Destino? Share your thoughts with the ITM team in the comments below!