Private company

Zagreb Film

Logo: Suradnik13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

Croatian film company

Zagreb Film is a Croatian film company principally known for its animation studio. From Zagreb, it was founded in 1953. They have produced hundreds of animated films, as well as documentaries, television commercials, educational films and several feature films.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1953Founded1

Zagreb Film is a Croatian film company principally known for its animation studio. From Zagreb, it was founded in 1953. They have produced hundreds of animated films, as well as documentaries, television commercials, educational films and several feature films.2

The story

History

Zagreb Film was founded in 1953 with the main profile of an animated films production company. Since then, more than 600 animated films, 14 feature films, about 600 documentaries and 800 commercials as well as 600 educational films were produced in this studio.

The company operates at three locations; one with ateliers for artists, shooting equipment, small theater and one with film warehouse, video multiplication room and administration. The third location is used for commercial purposes. During all these years, Zagreb Film received more than 400 awards on Festivals all over the world. Among them is the Academy Award - Oscar for the best animated short film in 1962 where Dušan Vukotić had become the first European animator to win the Oscar award for Surogat (Ersatz). Wealth of genres and different styles that were growing in Zagreb was the reason for Georges Sadoul, the French film theorist, critic and historian to coin the term Zagreb school of animation, what became the trademark for top grade and innovative animated films made in Zagreb. Besides artistic films Zagreb film produced films and TV series like Inspektor Maska, Professor Balthazar, The Little Flying Bears and Maxi Cat. Most of these films were distributed internationally. The biggest global success was with the famous character of Professor Balthazar.

1950s and 1960s

Inspektor Maska (1962–1963)

Professor Balthazar (1967–1978)

1970s

Adam (1970)

Maxi Cat (1971–1973)

Ptica i crvek (1978–1984)

From Wikipedia’s article on Zagreb Film, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

The Little Flying Bears (1988), co-production with CineGroupe

Dream Doll (1979), co-production with Bob Godfrey Films and Halas and Batchelor (Oscar nominee)

Man: The Polluter (1973), co-production with the National Film Board of Canada

From Wikipedia’s article on Zagreb Film, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1953Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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