Among the many legends in Eastern European animation history, as well as in the best amongst Zagreb Film, Zlatko Grgic remains very high up there. In addition to making the cult favorite Professor Balthazar, his short films of the famed Croatian studio have stood the test of time in displaying sharp commentaries through surreal and darkly comedic twists. Zagreb has even named an award after him: the Zlatko Grgic Prize for best first production apart from educational institutions. In order to pinpoint his finer efforts, it's time to look back at his award winning satire, The Musical Pig.
The whole short takes a rather dark spin on the singing animal story common in Golden Age animation like Chuck Jones' One Froggy Evening & Tex Avery's I Love to Singa. A pig with a magnificent singing voice wants to share his talents to those who'd be willing to listen, but is instead always viewed by people as pork. By poking fun at how human beings tend to view animals as sustenance rather than something worth appreciating, Grgic and co-writer Borivoj Dovnikovic bring to light the sad reality of how little pure art and talent is appreciated by the general public. Perhaps subtlety mocking film critics at the time who were put off by the then abstract direction that animation was going in that period, a lot of emphasis is displayed in showing how little humanity is left in the world over a hog who is begging to be heard. In a world that has people arguing over their own personal problems while no care or attention is given to the needed, The Musical Pig remains surprisingly timeless through just how bleak reality is once it crumbles all over one's hopes and dreams.
In many ways, the grim nature shown throughout the short feels understandable given where it was created, yet it never becomes too mean-spirited enough to take away from it's more comedic tone. While the subject matter sounds unfortunate, the neverending search for someone to hear you out is quite optimistic in its own regard. For a time when Zagreb allowed a lot of creative freedom for a whole studio of artists in an otherwise heavily controlling system, it's amazing to see where Grgic and others were heading in letting their own voices be heard, around the world no less. Maybe there's more to that pig than just its voice after all.
