When Dalí Met Disney: The Lost Animated Masterpiece That Took 58 Years to Arrive
From forgotten sketches to Oscar-nominated animated brilliance.
If you're a cinephile like me, you’ll be amazed by the story of Destino, the short film born from a dream collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí.
Conceived in the 1940s, abandoned for decades, and finally revived in the 2000s, it proves that true art can wait for its moment.
The Unlikely Beginning: Dalí & Disney
In 1945, Disney invited Dalí to co-create a surreal animated short about time and love. Dalí produced over 100 sketches and paintings with Disney animator John Hench. A brief test was made, but postwar financial problems forced Disney to shelve the project.
For nearly fifty years, Destino slept in the archives, remembered only as a 'lost' collaboration between two creative giants.
The Revival of a Forgotten Dream
In 1999, Roy E. Disney rediscovered the project and gave it new life. Under director Dominique Monféry, a Paris team of 25 animators built the short from Dalí’s art and Hench’s notes, mixing hand-drawn animation with subtle CGI while keeping the 1940s spirit intact.
Finished at last, Destino premiered at the Annecy Festival in 2003, won awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award. Its dreamlike imagery perfectly united Dalí’s surrealism with Disney’s lyricism
I believe, Destino is a proof that some visions outlive their creators. A masterpiece that only destiny could deliver, 58 years late but right on time.
