Professor Balthazar
So little, yet so imaginative :)
It is interesting how some things from childhood rest so vividly in your memory. I remember the feeling of excitement about my favourite cartoon as it was yesterday. The whole day would fly by in anticipation of the new adventures of Professor Balthazar. If we consider the volume of content that was offered to my generation in the nineties, then this fact is even more important for this story.
In my head, the Professor represented a distant friend in the box who could solve all the problems that are set before him so I thought he could solve mine, too. But in fact every night his problems became my problems, as well. I truly sympathised with him and felt every one of his emotions. Really, I could not sleep without watching an episode and then dreaming about all of his famous inventions. I wanted to come up with something useful one day, just as he did.
Image credit: Professor Balthazar Association
Who is Professor Balthazar?
Professor represents a friend, a kind grandfather or a neighbour who lives and works for others. He is happy when others are happy, and miserable when others are miserable. Unselfishness is his main personality trait. He is also happy to share his knowledge and talents with others. Or how his creators describe him: "Professor Balthazar is a scientist, benevolent lover of nature and all living beings, protector, a fighter for good and against evil, ecologist, promoter of tolerance, peace and love, witty, imaginative, humble and unobtrusive, friendly and dedicated“.
Since Balthazar is a scientist, he is the one whom dear fellow citizens come to for a solution. He is the one who will walk from one end of the room to another whole night in his nightgown, in order to come up with some brilliant idea or invention that would make life easier for everyone and once again bring peace to the city.
How was this fantasy created?
This legendary Croatian cartoon is very special. It resembles the imagination of small children and images in their head in the best way possible. There is no colour that does not appear in one episode, and the main colour you can see is called - colourful! Beautiful landscapes, colourful hills, small houses and vivid characters are the original signature of the true masterpiece.
A cartoon is a co-production of Zagreb Film and Windrose Dumont-Time" from Cologne. Until 1978 they produced four seasons (the first three seasons consisted of thirteen episodes of 10 minutes length, and the fourth season had twenty episodes in the duration of 5-6 minutes). Zagreb film, which is mainly engaged in the production of animated films, has received more than 400 awards at festivals around the world so far. Among them is the award of the American Film Academy - Oscar for the best animated film in 1961 for the movie ''Surogat'', by Dusan Vukotic. He thus became the first non-American author to receive this award.
This fact supports the high quality, imagination and creative concept of Croatian creators of animated films. Whatsmore, Zagreb Film, led by the reputation of the Zagreb School, started the World Festival of Animated Film in 1972, which is one of the four largest world expositions of the animated film, along with Annecy (France), Hiroshima (Japan) and Ottawa (Canada), and is known for his slogan Z is for Zagreb.
Image credit: Professor Balthazar Association
What does Professor Balthazar actually do?
In each episode, the story takes place in Balthazartown whose residents are sympathetic people of various professions and humanised animals equally living in the city. Titles of the episodes are always very imaginative (for example, The Nightwatchman Must Fall, Bim Bam Bum, For Heaven's Cake, Doctor Do not Little, Somewhat Over The Rainbow etc) and they represent a specific problem which must be resolved in a specific episode.
After consultation with concerned citizens and careful thinking, the best part comes! Professor quickly runs to his magical machine, inserts some data and the machine starts to calculate in a very complex way. What comes out are few drops of fluid that go into the tube. After that, Professor comes with the tube to a certain point where he drips the liquid and corrects the problem or invents a whole new thing. The aim is to make life easier for everyone in the city so that all of them could be satisfied and happy. The most important thing is that everyone is equal and that everyone deserves a high quality of life.
Image credit: Professor Balthazar Association
The cartoon which has entered everyday life!
The series had a great commerce echo and was purchased in more than 30 countries, mainly in the Scandinavian countries and Germany. It was the first European animated TV series for children in which the hero was a man, a message had ecological and pacifist elements, and was liberated of violence. This popular figure experienced a comic publication, as well.
Since Professor has a lot of fans and lovers of his "work", Croatia has established the Professor Balthazar Association. Its aim is to preserve and promote the brand of Professor Balthazar as a socially responsible brand and to promote the value of knowledge, creativity and integrity in children and young people, students and young scientists.
They make a huge contribution to the development of knowledge and innovation by diverse projects and programs together with the public and private sector. They are also recognised in international business circles. Even the Croatian scientific Institute Ruder Boskovic has laid a cute statue of an animated scientist in his backyard, as a symbol of the encouragement and promotion of science, research and innovation.
Image credit: Professor Balthazar Association
The universal message for all the people in the world!
The Professor teaches us that the best way to find a solution is a constructive dialogue with all stakeholders on an equal basis. He is full of understanding and a great lover of all living beings. He is also an expert who believes in science and knowledge, and he drives his inspiration from nature and its laws in full respect of the environment and its development.
Consequently, you can see how Professor Balthazar was ahead of its time on one hand. This cult cartoon will remain forever in the hearts of all those who saw it as a kid. On the other hand, those who peek into his world a little bit later remain enchanted and in love with the Baltazartown as a symbol of the place where all things are solved by using knowledge, love and tolerance.
Header image credit: Professor Balthazar Association
Author: Josipa Žižić