Zagreb Film is often well known for their classic animated shorts that showcased a minimalist visual style reminiscent to the cartoons of UPA. Say whatever you will about the shorts themselves, the one undeniable thing about them is how original and creative they are, especially for the time of Croatia during the Cold War. In 1961, co-founder of Zagreb Film, Dusan Vukotic, won an oscar for his short film The Substitute, and I think it was very well deserved.
The short is a dark comedic tale of a man who uses inflatable substitutes as everyday objects while going to the beach, such as a scantily clad woman, a buff surfer, and even a shark. From that premise alone, it's no surprise that this short is quite ridiculous in its tone. Given that the short consists of hijinks revolving around the man and his inflatable commodities, it could be a satire on both the modern 50s era and how people tend to overcomplicate the complicates of life. As weird as that sounds, it's not too far off from how we use our own appliances today.
In addition, the artwork is quite unique to look at, even if it is rather simplistic. The characters and props are designed in an overly abstract geometric format while still resembling the real world. Essentially, the characters have been reduced to their basic shape structures, such as triangular noses and circular stomachs. The ocean by the beach also displays a more textured approach that is created in various hues of blues. No matter how limited your animation may be, it will always pay off if it is presented in a stylized manner.
Overall, I highly recommend this short for its creative concepts, hysterical visual gags, abstract design and alleged social commentary. Let's be honest, a human using inflatable substitutes as everyday things is practically the same as using electronics and social media for work and real life commodities, so the short seems very ahead of its time in that regard. Even if you're put off by the artwork, it's worth checking out for the comedy and pathos alone.