The animated film Surogat was created in 1961 by Dušan Vukotić, in the modest studios of the Zagreb Film Animation Studio on Vlaška Street in Zagreb. Just a year later, this roughly ten-minute work won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, becoming the first non-American animated film to receive the honor.
The story follows a triangular little man living in a world where everything is inflatable. It depicts the time the hero spends on the beach, effortlessly inflating the objects of his desire—a mattress, a boat, a car, and even a girlfriend—only to have them disappear just as easily in the end.
With its cheerful yet satirical tone, the film invites viewers to reflect on the consumer habits of modern society, which often blurs the line between reality and virtual substitutes for reality.
The animation of Surogat was light-years ahead of the then-dominant Disney style, which only added to its remarkable success. The Oscar, however, was not the only award Surogat received. It also won numerous major prizes at festivals in Belgrade, Bergamo, Cork, San Francisco, Oberhausen, and others.
The creator of this animated film, Dušan Vukotić (1927–1998), was the most awarded animator in Yugoslavia. He was a member of the “Zagreb School of Animation” and worked as a director, screenwriter, animator, comic book artist, and caricaturist.
