The Substitute (1961)
"Surogat" (original title)

Simple story about the man who comes to the beach and uses inflatable objects for all of his needs.

Director:

Dusan Vukotic

Writer:

Rudolf Sremec

Won 1 Oscar.

Storyline

Simple story about the man who comes to the beach and uses inflatable objects for all of his needs.

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Plot Keywords:

beach | satire | one word title | surprise ending

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

Yugoslavia Croatia

Release Date:

3 December 2010 (Greece)

Also Known As:

Der Ersatz

Company Credits

Production Co:

Herts-Lion, Zagreb Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

10 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into International Festival of Animation (1977)

User Reviews

Great short, even if I found the ending quite obvious and predictable.

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