Destino

Normally, when I review a film, like everyone else, I give it a rating. However, occasionally I have come upon experimental films so unusual and so non-commercial that doing so would be impossible...and this is definitely the case with "Destino". It's a very surreal film based on story boards designed by Salvador Dali and so it's NOT the sort of thing the average viewer would enjoy...and it coming from Disney must have come as a real surprise to those who have seen it. It seems that back in the 1940s, Walt Disney and Dali wanted to collaborate and a few seconds of film were actually animated. But the project was abandoned and only recently did Disney's nephew, Roy, discover the film and commissioned a team of artists to complete the animated short. It's well animated but odd in every possible way and a film best seen and heard instead of describing. Well worth seeing if you don't mind experimental artsy films...I sure did.

Originally conceived as a joint project between Disney and Dalí back in the 1940's, this short animation never got to the stage of being completed for various reasons and instead existed as paintings and storyboards Dalí made with Disney animator John Hench. These were on display at the Tate Modern as part of the exhibition "Dalí & Film" and I did like the fact that I could see the creation of the film and then step next door to watch it and see how close it came to the original design from over fifty years before.

Watching it is a strange but enjoyable experience because it is at once Disney and Dalí and this is a combination that I didn't think sat all that well together thematically or visually. I did get used to it but it did jar with me to see a woman with a typical modern Disney face, suddenly becoming part of a Dalí's creation. Perhaps this was the intension but it did feel a bit like someone was flicking a switch somewhere to go Dalí then Disney then back again – not so much a combination of styles as the two being placed next to one another in one piece. This feeling aside though, it is a quiet engaging and enjoyable film that I enjoyed immensely visually. Dalí's vision is brought to life really well and the images from his storyboard and paintings generally are instantly recognisable.

Again I did wonder if the film would have been quite so "Disney" if it had been made in 1946 with the man himself directly involved – at times I did feel that I was watching Pocahontas and it did take away from the experience a little bit. Fortunately the storyboards prevent it going too far from the original images and as such it is interesting and imaginative; the CGI is a blessing and a curse though. On one hand it makes all this possible but on the other it seems significantly less real than Dalí's actual paintings – I'm not sure quite why but I think the colours are too simple and the imagery lacking in the detail that some of his work has.

Overall though, it is still an enjoyable and enchanting film and a chance to see Dalí's images flowing across the screen. Perhaps a little too Disneyified for my tastes, it is still well worth seeing for the chance to enter a Dalí painting and follow a story about loss and love.

At one time Disney and Dali wanted to collaborate for one of the former's compilation animated films (one could image this with Donald Duck, right?) and it kind of fell apart for reasons unknown. Thankfully Roy Disney picked up the mantle in the 21st century - after Fantasia 2000 the spark was reignited - and the results are rather extraordinary: it's like going into Dali's art gallery and seeing characters walk around.

One might almost be taken aback, if one knows Dali's art, how close a lot of this is to paintings he made. He is co-writer on the script, however, so I have to think this was how he intended it (a script was written for the short, it's hard to dismiss that at least). Par for the course for the co-creator of Un chien Andalou, the film has only the closest thing to a 'story' insofar as as there's a man, and a woman, and they want to be together, and passion ignites... except they're in a world full of uninhibited things, like ants which turn into men, eye-balls in tuxedo suits, and, at one (very clever) point in the background, a moon walking on spider legs.

It's not very long, only about seven minutes long, but the film never stops to amaze with how it presents its unique creature-creations and sights down long, distorted hallways with squared designs, and the distortions that can be provided by modern-day technology. The only thing holding it back from top-10-OMG-masterpiece terrain is that some, not all though, of the CGI animation isn't convincing. The characters themselves look great, as do several of the amalgamation-beings (eyeballs, insects, 'things', statues), but here and there a touch of the smooth look of CGI doesn't totally flow with the rest of the film. But this is a nitpick only for me.

What also carries this, and I have to think this was one of those elements in place when the film had its inception, is the song: Destino is passionately sung and performed, and it carries the viewer along with the images, just as the tango did in 'Andalou' - you can't really have what's on the screen without the melody, only here it's not as ironic or whimsical. It's a gorgeous experience, and I'm glad Disney decided to finish what it started, especially for a creator like Dali who had so few film projects realized in his time.

I discovered this wonderful film on a cruise this winter, it was shown by Park West Galleries as part of a seminar. For me it was love at first site and I quickly fell in love with not only the movie but the art work Salvador Dali produced as concepts for it.

In the end I purchased a set of seven lithographs that Dali created and to my joy the set came with a copy of the film Destino. I can say that am am undoubtedly a proud owner and love the great addition to my collection.

Some have called this film uninteresting, to this I am at a loss for words. to see the brain child of Walt Disney and Salvador Dali come to life is incredible. I admit, children and those who view Dali's work as 'weird' will probably not enjoy this short masterpiece.

If you ever get a chance to see the film do not hesitate to do so. Even if you do not like the premise the film is a tribute to the brilliant minds of both Walt and Salvador.

There is no other way to visually match the haunting and lyrical piece, Destino. Utilizing a stunning array of Dali's most iconic pieces, this short tells a very emotional tale. It has left me without words to describe it. Simply, it is beautiful, breath-taking, stunning, and almost lyrical in the fluid change of the figures and icons.

The melody will haunt you for days as you struggle to fully grasp this masterpiece.

However, it is at times too Fantasia-like, too Disney, and not enough Dali. It can be taken as a superficial composition, but I like to think of it as more, as though Dali knew something that we do not and this short serves to inform us of his secret.