Professor Balthazar,
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Zagreb Film - Cartoon Series
The creator of Professor Balthazar is Zlatko Grgiæ (1931-1988), and the name was coined by Zdravko ©talter. His name is written in Croatian as profesor Baltazar.
Zlatko Grgiæ in 1967, Zagreb, in creative mood working on Shoe Inventor - the first film from the Professor Balthazar series; source [Sudariæ]
About twenty people participated in this project, and we mention just a few more names from this very creative team: Ante Zaninoviæ, Boris Kolar, Milan Bla¾ekoviæ, Zlatko Bourek, and Tomica Simoviæ - the author of lovely music.
The team that started the Professor Balthazar series in 1967 in Zagreb: Zlatko Grgiæ (on the left), Ante Zaninoviæ, Boris Kolar, Zdravko Pavièiæ; source [ Sudariæ].
Zlatko Grgiæ and Tomica Simoviæ (on the left) going to a Zagreb pub to discuss the adventures of professor Balthazar and the accompaning music. Source [Sudariæ].
From Shoe Inventor, 1967; source [ Sudariæ].
Professor Balthazar is popular throughout the world even today. The episodes have been shown with great success in many countries, like Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Iran (!), USA, Australia, New Zealand, etc. The Professor is especially popular in Scandinavian countries.
57
episodes have been created between
1967 and 1978,
with duration 5 to 10 minutes each.
We provide the titles in Croatian and
their translation into English.
Series I, 1967-1969, Zagreb:
Izumitelj
cipela Hanibalove Alpe Horacijev uspon i pad Leteæi Fabijan Martin na vrhu O mi¹u i satovima Roðendanska prièa Sreæa u dvoje Tetke Pletke Viktorov jajomat Vjetrovita prièa Zvjezdani kvartet |
Shoe Inventor |
Series II, 1971-1972, Zagreb:
Alfred noæni èuvar |
Alfred the Night Guard |
Series III, 1977, Zagreb:
Amadeusove
u¹i |
Amadeus's Ears |
Series IV, 1978, Zagreb:
Baltazarova ljubav |
Balthazar's Love |
For a detailed information see Animirani filmovi - Zagreb film [PDF]
Professor Balthazar's Lab
Professor Balthazar, like every true professor, is always ready to answer questions, even those addressed to the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Croatia:
In Croatia, and especially in his native Zagreb, there are more and more complaints concerning the disappearance of Professor Balthazar from TV programs:
Source: www.u7i15.com
In 1997 the Republic of Croatia issued a nice stamp in 350,000 copies, devoted to the Zagreb School of Animated Film, see here.
Professor Blathazar should be acquainted with modern technologies for his students; source.
Solving extremely difficult problems...
Professor Balthazar is surrounded with books and friends.
The following photos come from a German web-site TV-Kult:
And the photos are accompanied with the following comment:
"Bal- Balthazar, Bal- Balthazar, Balthazaaar"
Professor Balthazar ist schon ein genialer Erfinder! Er baut die verrücktesten Maschinen, so hat sein Motorroller z.B. mechanische Füße, die den Roller antreiben - und zum Fliegen benutzt er eine umgebaute Waschmaschine, die Auftrieb durch ein buntes Windrad erhält.
Wenn er mal wieder mit einem Problem konfrontiert wird, geht er auf und
ab um sich eine Lösung auszudenken. Das kommentiert dann die
Stimme aus dem Off mit den Worten "Er überlegte... und
überlegte... und überlegte... und dann hatte er eine
Idee!".
Professor Balthazar läuft zu seiner fantastisch-bunten
Wundermaschine, die als Lösung letztendlich immer einen
Tropfen
eines wundersamen Chemiekaliencocktails ausspuckt, den der Professor
dann in einem Reagenzglas auffängt. Tropft er den Inhalt
dieses
Reagenzglases auf den Boden, entsteht wie durch Zauberei immer genau
das, was zur Lösung gerade benötigt wird. Meistens
ist es
eben doch wieder eine von seinen fantastischen Maschinen, die so aus
dem Wundermittel entsteht. Und die führt natürlich
dann dazu,
dass alles wieder gut wird...
Oliver Goltz (geb. 1966) schrieb am
18.10.2007:
Ganz dunkel noch in Erinnerung, wie ich als ca 5 jähriger vor
dem
Fernseher saß und völlig fasziniert war von Prof
Baltasars
Erfindungen
marko (geb. 1968) schrieb am 28.04.2007:
Ich habe Prof.Balthazar als Kind sehr gerne gesehen und sollte
wiederholt werden denn das Kinderprogramm war früher besser
als
heute
christian hornbostel: habs gefunden!!! hier kann man sicherlich alle filmen kaufeeeen!!!!
Schmidt, Andrea (geb. 1966): Ich fand die Sendung und auch die Anfangsmelodie der Sendung total toll. Bal..... balthasar.....bal.....balthasar.....bal....balthasar....balthasar
It seems that Professor Balthazar was an inspiration even in fashion (source):
Here is an explanation for those who can
read
Swedish:
Mönstret
pa den här klänningen
fran "Mina" paminner mig lite om ett skivomslag fran en av "James
&
Karins" skivor (ni vet "älgarna demonstrerar"). Men
även lite
om nagot som skulle kunna vara taget ur exempelvis professor
Balthazar. Det
känns riktigt 70-tal iallafall, och jag
älskar klänningen. Fast den är lite
väl dyr
för min planbok just nu. -Hej kurslitteratur för 1000
spänn! För den som har lust att punga ut med 820 pix
finns
den pa Asos.
Balthazar socks in Croatia
www.professor-balthazar.com
Many thanks to my dear friend Eugen Divjak
for this information.
Profesor Baltazar - Bim i Bum
Profesor Baltazar - Alfred noæni èuvar
Profesor Baltazar - Vjetrovita prièa
Profesor Baltazar - Viktorov jajomat
Profesor Baltazar - O mi¹u i satovima
Profesor Baltazar - Martin na vrhu
Profesor Baltazar - Maestro Koko
Profesor Baltazar - Leteæi Fabijan
Profesor Baltazar - O mi¹u i satovima
Profesor Baltazar - Tetke Pletke
Profesor Baltazar - Izumitelj cipela
Profesor Baltazar - Horacijev uspon i pad
Profesor Baltazar - Hanibalove alpe
Profesor Baltazar - Roðendanska prièa
Profesor Baltazar - Zvjezdani kvartet
There have been attempts to create 3-dimensional version of Professor Balthasar, like this one in Denmark (source):
Der blev i 1970'erne lavet 60 afsnit af tegnefilmserien "Professor Balthazar" af den kroatiske tegner/forfatter Zlatko Grgic for Zagreb Film.
And here are some comments in Dutch :
'Professor Balthazar' is een geniale uitvinder. Hij bouwt de gekste machin's; zo drijven mechanische voeten zijn motorscooter aan en om te vliegen gebruikt hij een omgebouwde wasmachine, die door een kleurrijk windwiel wordt aangestuurd. Als hij weer eens met een probleem wordt geconfronteerd, rust hij niet voordat hij een oplossing heeft bedacht.
'Hij dacht na... en dacht na... en dacht na... en dan, "EUREKA!", had hij een idee!' Professor Balthazar loopt naar zijn fantastische wondermachine, die als oplossing uiteindelijk een druppel van een wonderbaarlijke chemicaliëncocktail uitspuugt, die de dokter dan in een reageerbuis opvangt. Als hij de inhoud van de reageerbuis op de grond laat vallen, dan ontstaat er als bij toverslag altijd precies dat, wat als oplossing nodig is. Meestal is dat weer een van zijn fantastische machines, die uit het wondermiddel ontstaat. En zo loopt alles altijd weer goed af...
Professor Balthazar books
published in Danish.
Professor Balthazar is without any doubt the most famous Croatian
professor.
Professor Balthazar is popular in Portugal:
DESENHOS ANIMADOS
O "Professor Baltazar" foi criado em 1967 pelo croata Zlatko Grgic (1931-1988). Foram produzidas 4 séries entre 1967 e 1978 pela "Zagreb Film", com um total de 59 episódios. Em 1999, foi produzida uma nova série a 3 dimensões, mas não teve o mesmo sucesso que a antiga série.Source:
desenhosanimadospt.blogspot.comMany thanks to Mr. Hrvoje Keko, Zagreb - Croatia / Porto - Portugal.
Professor Balthazar is popular even in Iran:
Baltazar shop in the city of Varazdin, Croatia
Baltazar fast food restaurant in the city of Rijeka, Croatia
DVDlab company from Rome, directed by Predrag Radanovic originating from Zagreb, is finishing digital restoring of the popular Zagreb Film series of "Professor Balthazar". To this end, about 400 kg of negatives of the original series has been transported from Zagreb (ie from Hrvatske kinoteke and the arhives of Zagreb film) to Rome in January 2007. Soon it will be possible to see 49 restored episodes on TV and DVD in English.
Baltazar grad - Balthazar City
Below is a demo of digital film restoration process with MTI Correct DSR, which compares the old and restored versions. This is a part of 9 minute film Hanibalove alpe (Hannibal's Alps, 1968). We could mention that the accompaning voice in this restored (English) version is unfortunately male, while in the Croatian original it is female. Let us point out that the whole (unrestored) original series is already available for some time on ten excellent DVD's in Croatian and in English. Long live Professor Balthazar!
Within the building of Zagreb Film, Vla¹ka street 70, one can see nice dolls representing professor Balthazar:
The entrance to the building of Zagreb Film is recognizable by its symbol - a horse:
In 1998 the School of Animated Film (©kola crtanog filma) has been founded for children attending primary schools in Zagreb, under the direction of Zagreb Film:
Professor Balthazar is without any doubt the most successful project of the Zagreb School of Animated Film.
Blathazar Tramway in Zagreb, the first in the history of Mankind!
Yoko Nishii in the city of Vinkovci, Croatia, Sep 2018,
in her traditional Japanese kimono, with Professor Balthazar in her
hand.
The name of The Zagreb School of Animated Film was coined by Georges Sadoul, a famous French film theorist, already in 1959 during the Cannes Festival. According to www.taborfilmfestival.com, Sadoul described "...the unique artistic-philosophical style of animated films that emerged from the Zagreb Film Studio."
Du¹an Vukotiæ, Zagreb; Source [Sudariæ].
Here we mention a famous Croatian animated film Surrogate (or Ersatz) by Du¹an Vukotiæ (1927-1998), which was the first European film ever to win the prestigeous American OSCAR for Animation (1962).
Dusan Vukotic, Zagreb, with his 1962 OSCAR for animated film Surrogate (Ersatz), created in 1961
As we see, Vukotic's 1961 Surrogate (or Ersatz) precedes Grgic's Professor Balthazar for six years. It is also worth mentioning that the composer of music is the same - Tomica Simovic:
tiii-ra taaa-ta-ta-ta tiii-ra-taaa-ta-ta...
yes, da, oui, si, ja! Ersatz is the best cartoon movie... (source [ Sudariæ])
Standing in marked opposition to globally dominant Disney realism, the films of Du¹an Vukotiæ were hugely influential. Beginning his animation career in Zagreb in the early 50's, a lack of ease with Disney style drawing led him to stylistic and thematic innovations that helped spawn a movement. Using satire and parody in conjunction with denaturalized spaces and strange visuals approaching abstraction, his films moved beyond pure entertainment to explore the full potential of animation as an educational tool. Vukotiæ's film Surrogate won the animation Oscar in 1962. Source: Ottava International Animation Festival , 2007
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Another Vukotic's very nice and poetic film:
If you come to the city of Zagreb, do not miss to visit the Zagreb Municipal Museum (in Croatian, Muzej grada Zagreba). Its permanent display, Section 34, is devoted to the Zagreb School of Animated Film.
TV Programs - Animation THE GREATEST CARTOONS FROM THE EUROPEAN MASTER COLLECTION, 4 x 60 minutes For the first time in more than a decade, the extraordinary animation from the world renown American Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science's "OSCAR" - winning Zagreb Film Studio, as well as the internationally acclaimed Sofia Animation Studio, are available for broadcast and home video. Both libraries have been packaged into 4 hours for children and 1 hour for adults. The Zagreb series is from a collection, which won more than 400 international awards, and pioneered a unique style, called the "Zagreb School" of animation. 1. Vol.
1 - THE CLASSIC COLLECTION 2. Vol. 2 - LAUGH
AT YOUR OWN RISK 3. Vol. 3 - BE
CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR 4. Vol. 4 - FOR
CHILDREN ONLY Source: Global Telemedia, inc. |
Professor Balthazar series is available on 10 DVDs, 50 min each, issued by Zagreb Film - highly recommended! Please, contact Zagreb Film, and indicate if you want Croatian or English version:
Sources and related articles:
Darko ®ubriniæ, Zagreb, 2008
Croatia - its History, Culture and Science