Professor Balthazar – Izumitelj cipela/The Inventor of Shoes (1967)

Filed under: Animation, 1960s, Color, Professor Balthazar, Technicolor, Yugoslavia (Croatia), Zagreb Film,

Professor Balthazar – Izumitelj cipela/The Inventor of Shoes

Directed by:

Zlatko Grgić

Producers:

B. Šicar

Animated by:

Zlatko Grgić

Music by:

Aleksandar Bubanović

Tomica Simović (credits)

T. Brunšmid (supervisor)

M. Prebil (sound)

Backgrounds by:

Branko Varadin

Studio:

Zagreb Film

Release date:

15/05/1967

Running time:

9 min

Color process:

Technicolor

Synopsis

The episode begins by the narrator juggling back and forth on which of two stories he should tell: that of a long camel, or a creature named “Double Bertie,” before abandoning both to tell a third: the story of an eccentric inventor named Professor Balthazar, who often saw many of his inventions blowing up in his face. One day, Balthazar makes a discovery, inventing shoes that can move on their own. The professor then offers his invention to help multiple townsfolk: a postman, Florian, to deliver the mail all over town without tiring, an athlete, Leopold, to conquer the high jump, a fisherman, Albert, to catch some fish, and even a flightless bird named Tony to help him fly with the other birds. Amidst yet another invention mishap, Professor Balthazar lands himself in the hospital, but his generosity is repaid in kind by the townsfolk he helped.