Even the way we saw it, with an imprinted time code to discourage pirating (not that it ever does), "Destino" plays like an even more bizarre lost segment of "Fantasia." In fact, the time code only added to its abstract nature.

It's a simple girl-meets-boy, girl-loses-boy, girl-gets-boy-back love story set against a lovely Mexican ballad and infused with all that you might expect from Dali — ballerinas, giant telephones, marching ants that morph into Frenchmen riding bicycles, two giant faces that resemble Disney and Dali, melting clocks, turtles with faces on their backs, a giant hourglass, eyeballs in tuxedos, a woman's head turning into a baseball that is thrown to and hit by a batter. …

Well, maybe you wouldn't expect all that.

It's weird and wonderful, equal parts bewildering and bewitching. In short, "Destino" is very Dali.

But Disney's influence is also evident, especially in the female character, who could be one of the many so-called Disney Princesses. That may be off-putting to Dali purists, but let's remember this is a collaborative effort between two great, albeit dissimilar artists.

So where is it? Why hasn't it been released?

Some Internet sites say it will come out in 2010 on a disc that will include a documentary about the unlikely Dali-Disney pairing, but the Disney Studio declined to comment on the subject.

Of course, that could change tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Or go on the right cruise and you may get to see it up close and personal.

E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com