Le succêdanê

Ersatz, an exceptional piece of work from Zagreb Films, was the first non-American work to win the Academy Award for Animated Short (though it was not the first for an independent studio-depending on definition, that honor would go to UPA or John Hubley's Storyboard, Inc) and deserved to win. It's lively, amusing, well-animated and stretches the envelope. Clearly influenced by UPA, as were most of the Eastern Europeans, I loved this the first time I saw this some 25 years ago, although I found it predictable in spots, including the ending. I saw it again recently and it still holds up. It's available on a tape produced by Rembrandt Films, called The Best of Zagreb Films: The Classic Collection, which may well be in print. Copies are certainly still floating around. Well worth tracking down. Most highly recommended

Dušan Vukotić's "Surogat" (alternately called "The Substitute" or "Ersatz" in English) is a satire on civilization's superficiality and humanity's preference for convenience at every turn. The cartoon features a man who brings a collection of inflatable objects to the beach. Literally everything is a blow-up object.

Part of what this short demonstrates is that animation doesn't have to simply be cute stuff for children. It's merely another form of filmmaking. Indeed, animation is one of the best mediums for holding society's problems and shortcomings up to ridicule. But also, the short shows that a cartoon doesn't need a high budget to be good. You can bet money that Vukotić didn't get to spend as much on this short as, say, Walt Disney spent on his average cartoon. Nonetheless, Vukotić had the talent necessary to make a good cartoon. The former Yugoslavia turned out some impressive cinema (as have its breakaway countries). Here we get a sense of how the Western Bloc's shortcomings were just as prevalent in the communist countries. It definitely deserved its Oscar win for Best Animated Short.

I hope to see more of Dušan Vukotić's cartoons.

Zagreb Film is often well known for their classic animated shorts that showcased a minimalist visual style reminiscent to the cartoons of UPA. Say whatever you will about the shorts themselves, the one undeniable thing about them is how original and creative they are, especially for the time of Croatia during the Cold War. In 1961, co-founder of Zagreb Film, Dusan Vukotic, won an oscar for his short film The Substitute, and I think it was very well deserved.

The short is a dark comedic tale of a man who uses inflatable substitutes as everyday objects while going to the beach, such as a scantily clad woman, a buff surfer, and even a shark. From that premise alone, it's no surprise that this short is quite ridiculous in its tone. Given that the short consists of hijinks revolving around the man and his inflatable commodities, it could be a satire on both the modern 50s era and how people tend to overcomplicate the complicates of life. As weird as that sounds, it's not too far off from how we use our own appliances today.

In addition, the artwork is quite unique to look at, even if it is rather simplistic. The characters and props are designed in an overly abstract geometric format while still resembling the real world. Essentially, the characters have been reduced to their basic shape structures, such as triangular noses and circular stomachs. The ocean by the beach also displays a more textured approach that is created in various hues of blues. No matter how limited your animation may be, it will always pay off if it is presented in a stylized manner.

Overall, I highly recommend this short for its creative concepts, hysterical visual gags, abstract design and alleged social commentary. Let's be honest, a human using inflatable substitutes as everyday things is practically the same as using electronics and social media for work and real life commodities, so the short seems very ahead of its time in that regard. Even if you're put off by the artwork, it's worth checking out for the comedy and pathos alone.

Regardless how good this cartoon is, I was amazed at how incredibly annoying the opening music was. Fortunately, the actual cartoon turned out to be much better, so don't give up just because the opening music is dreadful! As to the cartoon, you'll probably first notice its minimalist style. In many ways it looks like a Calder mobile and cartoon morphed into one. The odd lines and shapes are very artsy and very indicative of the 1960 "modern" look. To me, a lover of classic cartoons, the style looked just cheap and you could tell by the art work and cel count that it was not a high quality film.

Now despite these aesthetics, the film is actually pretty good--mostly due to a bizarre and very captivating story. An odd little man goes to the beach and begins pumping up little shapes until they become full-sized and apparently normal items--such as beach chairs, tents, etc.. Now here's where it gets weird....he also begins pumping shapes and they become ladies and the picture enters Weirdsville! However, you also find yourself laughing and looking forward to what's coming next.

A clever idea with less than terrific art work.

A character arrives at the beach and thanks to his air pump, creates loads of useful inflatable things to make his day enjoyable. He has a tent, a table, chair and even a barbecue. He makes his own fish, then a fishing rod then after supper - complete with wine, he creates his own lady friend. She's not so keen on him though and when she runs off with an equally blown up lifeguard to a nearby island, he must pursue and thwart their ardour. You just know what's going to happen at the end, but even if the style of animation is a bit basic, the build up to that denouement is quite entertaining. Quirky, and worth ten minutes, I'd say.