Professor Baltazar Ready for a Trip around the World
The most famous character of the Zagreb School of Animated Film, professor Baltazar, is once again ready to conquer the global market. All 59 animated episodes, created between 1967 and 1971, have been digitalized, while a range of merchandising - educational toys and gift-items for children, as well as parents, is also in the pipeline.
The newest Croatian product, now ready for the global market, was recently presented in Rovinj at the conference “Licensing Factory New Europe”, which brought together some of the leading global experts from the licensing industry. The product is the famous cartoon character professor Baltazar, who was created at the Zagreb School of Animated Film and kept numerous generations of youngsters in Croatia glued to the TV. A total of 59 episodes depicting his adventures were made between 1967 and 1971. All of them have now been digitalized and are ready for distribution on the global market.
The charming scientist, professor Baltazar, gained great popularity amongst children thanks to his ingenuity and positive energy, which he used to successfully solve all the problems experienced by his fellow citizens in the city of Baltazargrad. The series of cartoons featuring Baltazar was one of the most successful projects of Zagreb Film – the Zagreb School of Animated Film, whose work has also been recognized beyond Croatia’s borders. The school’s golden period was between 1957 and 1962, when its authors received their first major international awards. Vatroslav Mimica won the Venice Grand Prix for his film “Samac” (Loner), while Dušan Vukotić won an Oscar for his film “Surogat” (Surrogate) in 1962.
Animafest, the World Festival of Animated Film, was born under the auspices of the school. It now has a thirty-year tradition and has become the second largest animation festival in Europe.
Apart from the world premiere of all the digitalized episodes featuring professor Baltazar, which are already airing in the morning hours on the second channel of Croatian Radio and Television as part of the “TV Kindergarten” program, a great selection of merchandising, educational toys and picture-books, as well as gift-items for children and parents alike, will be available in stores around Croatia before Christmas.