The Pink Panther (character)
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- This article is about the animated character. For other uses, see The Pink Panther (disambiguation).
The Pink Panther cartoon character was the protagonist and main character in a series of animated short films. The character originally appeared in the opening and closing sequences of the 1963 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). 142 Pink Panther animated shorts were made.
History
DePatie-Freleng/United Artists cartoons
The animated Pink Panther character's appearance in the opening title sequence of the original 1963 film, 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 Pink Panther theatrical cartoon series.The first short in the series, 1964's The Pink Phink, featured the Panther harassing his foil, a little moustached man resembling an animated version of 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 voice of The Pink Panther, modelling the voice on that of David Niven. Years later he would overdub Niven's voice for Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther.
By the late-1960s, the Pink Panther cartoons were being shown on Saturday morning television. 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 scatological 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 February 2006, all of the Pink Panther cartoons were released on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, enabling Generation Xers with fond memories of the series' classic situations and sight gags to reexperience them and share them with their own guffawing preschool and elementary-school-aged children.
Later television series
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was the last studio to produce new theatrical cartoons, finally ending production on Pink Panther and the other series in 1980. After ending the Panther's theatrical run, DePatie-Freleng produced several Pink Panther television specials. 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 Pink Panther was given two talking sons, Pinky and Panky.A new series of cartoons 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", instead many contained the word "panther".
Comics and advertising
- A long-running comic book titled The Pink Panther 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 2005, a new Pink Panther Sunday strip, also featuring the Inspector Clouseau character, began syndication through Tribune Media Services. The strip is written and drawn by Eric and Bill Teitelbaum.
- The Pink Panther character has been, since August 15, 1980, a mascot for Owens Corning's line of pink fiberglass thermal insulation.
- 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.
Cultural references
- Ramón Valdés played the Pink Panther 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 Inspector) 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.
Episode List
1964
- The Pink Phink (Academy Award winning episode)
- Pink Pajamas
1965
- We Give Pink Stamps
- Dial 'P' for Pink
- Sink Pink (only ½ episodes in which the Pink Panther has dialogue.)
- Pickled Pink
- Pinkfinger
- Shocking Pink
- Pink Ice (only ½ episodes in which the Pink Panther has dialogue.)
- The Pink Tail Fly
- Pink Panzer
- An Ounce of Pink
- Reel Pink
- Bully for Pink
1966
- Pink Punch
- Pink Pistons
- Vitamin Pink
- The Pink Blueprint (Academy Award winning episode)
- Pink, Plunk, Plink (contains a cameo appearance of the Pink Panther Theme music composer Henry Mancini.
- Smile Pretty, Say Pink
- Pink-A-Boo
- Genie with the Light Pink Fur
- Super Pink
- Rock-A-Bye Pinky
1967
- Pinknic
- Pink Panic
- Pink Posies
- Pink of the Litter
- In the Pink
- Jet Pink
- Pink Paradise
- Pinto Pink
- Congragulations! It's Pink
- Prefabricated Pink
- The Hand Is Pinker Than the Eye
- Pink Outs
1968
- Sky Blue Pink
- Pinkadilly Circus
- Psychedelic Pink
- Come On In! The Water's Pink
- Put-Put Pink
- G.I. Pink
- Lucky Pink
- The Pink Quarterback
- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Pink
- Pink Valiant
- The Pink Pill
- Prehistoric Pink
- Pink in the Clink
- Little Beaux Pink
- Tickled Pink
- Pink Sphinks
- Pink is a Many Splintered Thing
- The Pink Package Plot
- Pink-come Tax
1969
- Pink-A-Rella
- Pink Pest Control
- Think Before You Pink
- Slink Pink
- In The Pink of the Night
- Pink on the Cob
- Extinct Pink
1971
- A Fly in the Pink
- Pink Blue Plate
- Pink Tuba-Dore
- Pink Pranks
- The Pink Flea
- PSST Pink
- Gong with the Pink
- Pink-In
1972
- Pink 8 Ball
1974
- Pink Aye
- Trail of the Lonesome Pink
1975
- Pink Da Vinci
- Pink Streaker
- Salmon Pink
- Forty Pink Winks
- Pink Plasma
- Pink Elephant
- Keep Our Forests Pink
- Bobolink Pink
- It's Pink, But Is It Mink?
- Pink Campaign
- The Scarlet Pinkernel
1976
- Mystic Pink
- The Pink Of Arabee*
- The Pink Pro
- Pink Piper
- Pinky Doodle*
- Sherlock Pink
- Rocky Pink*
1977
1978
- Pink Pictures
- Pink Arcade
- Pink Lemonade
- Pink Trumpet
- Sprinkle Me Pink
- Dietetic Pink
- Pink U.F.O.
- Pink Lightning
- Cat and the Pinkstalk
- Pink Daddy
- Pink S.W.A.T.
- Pink and Shovel
- Pinkologist
- Yankee Doodle Pink**
- Pink Press
- Pet Pink Pebbles**
- The Pink of Bagdad**
- Pink in the Drink
- Pink Bananas
- Pink Tails for Two
- Pink Z-Z-Z
- Star Pink
Episodes with a ** means that they are reissues of other episodes. See "Reissues" below.
1971
- A Fly in the Pink
- Pink Blue Plate
- Pink Tuba-Dore
- Pink Pranks
- The Pink Flea
- PSST Pink
- Gong with the Pink
- Pink-In
1972
- Pink 8 Ball
1974
- Pink Aye
- Trail of the Lonesome Pink
1975
- Pink Da Vinci
- Pink Streaker
- Salmon Pink
- Forty Pink Winks
- Pink Plasma
- Pink Elephant
- Keep Our Forests Pink
- Bobolink Pink
- It's Pink, But Is It Mink?
- Pink Campaign
- The Scarlet Pinkernel
1976
- Mystic Pink
- The Pink Of Arabee*
- The Pink Pro
- Pink Piper
- Pinky Doodle*
- Sherlock Pink
- Rocky Pink*
1977
1978
- Pink Pictures
- Pink Arcade
- Pink Lemonade
- Pink Trumpet
- Sprinkle Me Pink
- Dietetic Pink
- Pink U.F.O.
- Pink Lightning
- Cat and the Pinkstalk
- Pink Daddy
- Pink S.W.A.T.
- Pink and Shovel
- Pinkologist
- Yankee Doodle Pink**
- Pink Press
- Pet Pink Pebbles**
- The Pink of Bagdad**
- Pink in the Drink
- Pink Bananas
- Pink Tails for Two
- Pink Z-Z-Z
- Star Pink
1979
- Pink Breakfast
- Pink Quackers
- Toro Pink
- String Along in Pink
- Pink in the Woods
- Pink Pull
- Spark Plug Pink
- Doctor Pink
- Pink Suds
1980
- Supermarket Pink
Reissues
- Yankee Doodle Pink (Reissue of Pinky Doodle)
- Pet Pink Pebbles (Reissue of Rocky Pink)
- The Pink of Bagdad (Reissue of The Pink of Arabee)
Specials
- 1978: A Pink Christmas
- 1980: Olym-Pinks
- 1981: Pink At First Sight (Valentine's Day Special)
Friends of the Pink Panther
- The Inspector
- Roland and Rattfink
- The Ant and the Aardvark
- Tijuana Toads/Texas Toads
- The Blue Racer
- Hoot Kloot
- The Dogfather
- Misterjaw
- Crazylegs Crane
External links (In Pink!)
- [The Pink Panther] at TV.com
- [Pink Panther and Gang] A fan-art gallery
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