Tonight we bring you an animated short from 1961, known in America as Ersatz.  I first saw this nearly 60 years ago on a network television special that compiled recent OSCAR-winning shorts like this film and Moonbird by John and Faith Hubley and some work by The National Film Board of Canada.

It might be reasonable to assume that seeing this cartoon at an extremely young age shaped my view of the world and my healthy sense of absurdity.  Even today I can be heard muttering “De da DEE da dah dah” while shuffling around the house.

Ersatz (known in its original language as “Surogat”) was the first film produced outside the USA to win an Oscar for animated short subject. It was producedby Zagreb Film, then in Yoguslavia, by Croatian director Dušan Vukotić.  Tonight we take you to the inflatable world of Ersatz, one of the most influential animated shorts of all time.