Pink Panther (character)

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The Pink Panther cartoon character is the main character in a series of animated short films. The character originally appeared in the opening and closing credit sequences of the 1963 live-action feature film The Pink Panther. The popularity of the character spawned a series of animated short films, and the character would appear in the opening sequence of every film in The Pink Panther series (except A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau). The cool cat starred in one-hundred twenty-four shorts (either theatrical or made-for-television), ten television shows and three prime-time television specials.

As of September 2007, the cartoons can be viewed on Cartoon Network's Boomerang.

The Pink Panther cartoon character.

DePatie-Freleng/United Artists cartoons

The animated Pink Panther character's initial appearance in the live action film's title sequence, directed by Friz Freleng, was such a success with audiences and United Artists that the studio signed Freleng and his DePatie-Freleng Enterprises studio to a multi-year contract for a series of Pink Panther theatrical cartoon shorts.

The first entry in the series, 1964's The Pink Phink, featured the Panther harassing his foil, a little moustached man resembling an animated version of the feature films' Inspector Clouseau, by constantly trying to paint the little man's blue house pink. The Pink Phink won the 1964 Academy Award for Animated Short Film, and subsequent shorts in the series, usually featuring the Panther opposite the little man, were successful releases.

In an early series of Pink Panther animated cartoons, the Pink Panther generally remained silent, speaking only in two theatrical shorts, Sink Pink and Pink Ice. Rich Little provided the Panther's voice in the latter shorts, modelling it on that of David Niven (who had portrayed Clouseau's jewel-thief nemesis in the original live-action film). Years later Little would overdub Niven's voice for Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther.

All of the animated Pink Panther shorts utilized the distinctive jazzy theme music composed by Henry Mancini for the 1963 feature film.

By the late-1960s, the Pink Panther cartoons were being shown Saturday mornings on NBC. Pink Panther shorts made after 1969 were produced for both broadcast and film release, typically appearing on television first, and released to theatres by United Artists. A number of sister series joined The Pink Panther on movies screens and on the airwaves, among them The Ant and the Aardvark, The Tijuana Toads (a.k.a. The Texas Toads), Hoot Kloot, and Misterjaw (a.k.a. Mr. Jaws and Catfish). There were also a series of animated shorts called The Inspector, with the bumbling Clouseau inspired Inspector and his Spanish-speaking sidekick Sgt. Deux-Deux, whom the Inspector is forever correcting. ("Deux" is French for "two", meaning the little man's name is both a pun and a play on words, "two" appearing two times in the name.) Other DePatie-Freleng series included Roland and Rattfink, The Dogfather (a Godfather pastiche), with a canine Corleone family and two Tijuana Toads spinoffs, The Blue Racer & Crazylegs Crane.

In 1976, the half-hour series was revamped into a 90-minute format, as The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show; this version included a live-action segment, where the show's host, comedian Lenny Schultz, would read letters and jokes from viewers. This version flopped, and would change back to the original half-hour version in 1977.

In 1978, after nine years on NBC, The Pink Panther moved to ABC, where it lasted one season before leaving the network realm entirely.

DFE films as the last studio to produce new theatrical cartoons, finally ending production on Pink Panther and the other series in 1980. That year, United Artists Television syndicated a half-hour, repackaged version of the series, complete with original theatrical intros, outros and NBC-produced commercial bumpers, to local stations. Due to contractual obligations, many stations showed the series in the evening, as opposed to mornings or afternoons.

A single cartoon preceded the main feature in older James Bond VHS releases. In late 2004 in the UK and later in February 2006 in the US, all of the Pink Panther cartoons were released on DVD from MGM Home Entertainment.

Later television shows and specials

After ending the Panther's theatrical run, DePatie-Freleng produced a series of three prime time Pink Panther television specials for ABC. The first of the specials was 1978's A Pink Christmas, which premiered on ABC during the panther's theatrical run for movie theaters. It featured the panther in New York being cold and hungry looking for a juicy holiday dinner. Two other primetime specials premiered after the theatrical shorts ended in theaters, 1980's Olympinks and 1981's Pink At First Sight. The three specials will soon be released on DVD on November 6th, 2007 from MGM Home Entertainment/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The studio was sold to Marvel Comics in 1981, and became "Marvel Productions". In 1984, the Pink Panther was licensed to Hanna-Barbera Productions, who produced the short-lived Saturday morning series The Pink Panther and Sons, in which the still-silent Panther was given two talking sons, Pinky and Panky.

Yet another new series of cartoons, called The Pink Panther, produced by MGM animation, appeared in 1993, and had the Pink Panther speaking with the voice of Matt Frewer (of Max Headroom fame). Unlike the classic animated shorts, not all episode titles contained the word "pink", although many instead contained the word "panther".

Fortunately, the Boomerang Cartoon network broadcasts a half-hour show of Pink Panther shorts along with the the Inspector shorts for viewers needing a "Pink" fix.

In 2008, there's a new show called "Pink Panther and Pals", where the panther and his friends as little kids. The show is made in Jordan's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

Comics and advertising

  • A long-running Pink Panther comic book title was published by Gold Key Comics (and its Whitman imprint) beginning in April 1971; this series ended in 1984 after 87 issues. Harvey Comics also published a 9-issue Pink Panther series (and a Pink Panther Super Special) from 1993 to 1994.
  • In 1973 a breakfast cereal called "Pink Panther Flakes" was made by Post Cereal. The cereal resembled Frosted Flakes in taste and texture but the sugar coating was pink, which would eventually be the color of your milk after a few seconds. The jingle included Mancini's theme and went something like this: "Pink Panther Flakes, are pink, and sweet as you can tell, the color of pink, tickle me pink." The front of the box featured the Pink Panther character and included a toy prize inside. The cereal was short lived, however, lasting only about a year.
  • In Spain, a Pantera Rosa cake is sold. It is coated in pink.
  • In 2005, a new Pink Panther Sunday strip, also featuring the Inspector Clouseau character, began world-wide syndication through Tribune Media Services. The strip is written and drawn by Eric and Bill Teitelbaum.
  • The Pink Panther character has been a mascot for Owens Corning's line of pink fiberglass thermal insulation since 1980.
  • Since 2001, the Pink Panther has also been a mascot for Sweet'N Low artificial sweetener. As with Owens Corning, the association comes from the pink color of Sweet'N Low packets.
  • As of August 2007, the Virginia State Lottery introduced a Pink Panther scratchcard game with a $12,000 prize.

Cultural references

  • Ramón Valdéz played a bumbling thief nicknamed Peterete, who walked to the Pink Panther theme in a few Chespirito shorts. Random characters played by him in El Chapulin Colorado were often mentioned to bear a resemblance with the cartoon during the episodes. There have also been a few mentioned references in El Chavo Del Ocho.
  • A short cartoon featured in the animated series Dexter's Laboratory, entitled "A Silent Cartoon", pays homage to the Pink Panther shorts (specifically the episode The Pink Phink) by emulating their visual style, music, and humor. The short features Dexter (filling the role of the pale man, and coloured pure white) trying to construct a blue laboratory, while an all-pink version of his sister DeeDee (filling the role of the Pink Panther, complete with his mannerisms) finds clever ways to turn the blue lab into a completely pink lab.
  • In the first episode of the British comedy series Mr. Bean starring Rowan Atkinson, while preparing for an exam, Mr. Bean takes from his bag several pencils and toys, including a rubber Pink Panther figurine, to which Mr. Bean hums the classic theme music. This gag was possibly because Mr. Bean and The Pink Panther are both silent comedy stars.
  • The video for Japanese singer Namie Amuro's song "WoWa" featured new sequences with the Pink Panther character, also introducing a female pink panther as a symbol for the singer.
  • The Price is Right pricing game "Safe Crackers", featured Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther Theme" in the background until the early '90s.
  • LPGA golfer Paula Creamer has adopted the nickname "The Pink Panther" due to her penchant for pink clothes and accessories.

Critical notes

The Pink Panther is a notable contribution to the animation art form. Produced after theatrical cartooning's golden age of the 1940s and 50s, it was constrained to the limited animation techniques applied to Saturday morning cartoons of 1960s and after. Within these limitations, the Pink Panther made creative use of absurd and surreal themes and visual puns and an almost completely wordless pantomime style, set to the ubiquitous Pink Panther theme and its variations by Henry Mancini. The overall approach is reminiscent of the classic silent movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

Cultural references were more muted and stylized, resulting in a cartoon with longer-term, more cross-cultural appeal not shared by contemporaries such as Yogi Bear and The Flintstones, with their greater reliance on contemporary American pop culture.

Pink Panther also remained constrained to the classic six-minute form of theatrical shorts, while contemporaries expanded into longer, sitcom-like storylines, up to a full 30 minutes of broadcast TV in the case of The Flintstones.

Freleng's colleagues credit his sense of creative timing as a key element to the cartoon's artistic success. Freleng himself regarded the Panther as his finest achievement and the character he most identified with, according to family and colleagues interviewed on the 2006 DVD release.

Co-stars and friends of the Pink Panther

List of animated shorts

Season 1 (1964-1967)

1964

1965

  • 03-We Give Pink Stamps
  • 04-Dial 'P' for Pink (features the "Shot in The Dark" theme later used for the "Inspector" cartoons)
  • 05-Sink Pink (the first cartoon in which the Pink Panther has dialogue)
  • 06-Pickled Pink
  • 07-Pinkfinger
  • 08-Shocking Pink
  • 09-Pink Ice (the second and last cartoon in which the Pink Panther has dialogue)
  • 10-The Pink Tail Fly
  • 11-Pink Panzer
  • 12-An Ounce of Pink
  • 13-Reel Pink
  • 14-Bully for Pink

1966

  • 15-Pink Punch
  • 16-Pink Pistons
  • 17-Vitamin Pink
  • 18-The Pink Blueprint (Academy Award nominee)
  • 19-Pink, Plunk, Plink (contains a cameo appearance by Henry Mancini, composer of the "Pink Panther Theme" music)
  • 20-Smile Pretty, Say Pink
  • 21-Pink-A-Boo
  • 22-Genie with the Light Pink Fur
  • 23-Super Pink
  • 24-Rock-A-Bye Pinky

1967

  • 25-Pinknic
  • 26-Pink Panic
  • 27-Pink Posies
  • 28-Pink of the Litter
  • 29-the Pink
  • 30-Jet Pink
  • 31-Pink Paradise
  • 32-Pinto Pink
  • 33-Congratulations! It's Pink
  • 34-Prefabricated Pink
  • 35-The Hand Is Pinker Than the Eye
  • 36-Pink-Outs

Season 2 (1968-1971)

1968

  • 37-Sky Blue Pink
  • 38-Pinkadilly Circus
  • 39-Psychedelic Pink
  • 40-Come On In! The Water's Pink
  • 41-Put-Put Pink
  • 42-G.I. Pink
  • 43-Lucky Pink
  • 44-The Pink Quarterback
  • 45-Twinkle, Twinkle Little Pink
  • 46-Pink Valiant
  • 47-The Pink Pill
  • 48-Prehistoric Pink
  • 49-Pink in the Clink
  • 50-Little Beaux Pink
  • 51-Tickled Pink
  • 52-Pink Sphinx
  • 53-Pink is a Many-Splintered Thing
  • 54-The Pink Package Plot
  • 55-Pink-come Tax

1969

  • 56-Pink-A-Rella
  • 57-Pink Pest Control
  • 58-Think Before You Pink
  • 59-Slink Pink
  • 60-In The Pink of the Night
  • 61-Pink on the Cob
  • 62-Extinct Pink (Features some score and theme later used in "The Ant and The Aardvark". It is also the only Pink Panther cartoon where it's own theme wasn't heard anywhere in the cartoon outside of the opening.)

1971

  • 63-A Fly in the Pink
  • 64-Pink Blue Plate
  • 65-Pink Tuba-Dore
  • 66-Pink Pranks
  • 67-The Pink Flea
  • 68-PSST Pink
  • 69-Gong with the Pink
  • 70-Pink-In

Season 3 (1972-1975)

1972

  • 71-Pink 8 Ball

1974

  • 72-Pink Aye
  • 73-Trail of the Lonesome Pink

1975

  • 74-Pink Da Vinci
  • 75-Pink Streaker
  • 76-Salmon Pink
  • 77-Forty Pink Winks
  • 78-Pink Plasma
  • 79-Pink Elephant
  • 80-Keep Our Forests Pink
  • 81-Bobolink Pink
  • 82-It's Pink, But Is It Mink?
  • 83-Pink Campaign
  • 84-The Scarlet Pinkernel

Season 4 (1976)

1976

  • 85-Mystic Pink
  • 86-Pink Of Arabee
  • 87-The Pink Pro
  • 88-Pink Piper
  • 89-Pinky Doodle
  • 90-Sherlock Pink
  • 91-Rocky Pink

Season 5 (1977-1978)

1977

1978

  • 93-Pink Pictures
  • 94-Pink Arcade
  • 95-Pink Lemonade
  • 96-Pink Trumpet
  • 97-Sprinkle Me Pink
  • 98-Dietetic Pink
  • 99-Pink U.F.O.
  • 100-Pink Lightning
  • 101-Cat and the Pinkstalk
  • 102-Pink Daddy
  • 103-Pink S.W.A.T.
  • 104-Pink and Shovel
  • 105-Pinkologist
  • 106-Yankee Doodle Pink*
  • 107-Pink Press
  • 108-Pink Pebbles*
  • 109-The Pink of Bagdad*
  • 110-Pink in the Drink
  • 111-Pink Bananas
  • 112-Pink Tails for Two
  • 113-Pink Z-Z-Z
  • 114-Star Pink

Titles with a * are reissues of other cartoons with some new added scenes and new music scores. See Reissues below.

Season 6 (1979-1980)

1979

  • 115-Pink Breakfast
  • 116-Pink Quackers
  • 117-Toro Pink
  • 118-String Along in Pink
  • 119-Pink in the Woods
  • 120-Pink Pull
  • 121-Spark Plug Pink
  • 122-Doctor Pink
  • 123-Pink Suds

1980

Reissues

  • (106)-Yankee Doodle Pink (Reissue of Pinky Doodle) (1978)
  • (108)-Pet Pink Pebbles (Reissue of Rocky Pink) (1978)
  • (109)-The Pink of Bagdad (Reissue of The Pink of Arabee) (1978)

List of animated specials

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