Pink Panther (character)

This article is about the animated character. For other uses, see The Pink Panther (disambiguation).

The Pink Panther cartoon character

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.

Episode List

1964

• The Pink Phink
• Pink Pajamas

1965

• We Give Pink Stamps
• Dial 'P' for Pink
• Sink Pink
• Pickled Pink
• Pinkfinger
• Shocking Pink
• Pink Ice
• 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
• Pink, Plunk, Plink
• 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 Little
• 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

• Pinkadilly Circus
• Sky Blue Pink
• 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
• Pinkcome 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
• 40 Pink Winks
• Pink Plasma
• Pink Elephant
• Keep Our Forests Pink
• Bobolink Pink
• It's Pink, But Is It Mink?
• Pink Campaign
• The Scarlet Pinkerel

1976

• Mystic Pink
• The Pink Of Arabee
• The Pink Pro
• Pink Piper
• Pinky Doodle
• Sherlock Pink
• Rocky Pink

1977

• Therapeutic Pink

1978

• Pink Pictures
• Pink Arcade
• Pink Lemonade
• Pink Trumpet
• Sprinkle Me Pink
• Dietetic Pink
• Pink UFO
• Pink Lightning
• Pink Daddy
• Cat and the Pinkstalk
• Pink SWAT
• Pink and Shovel
• Pinkologist
• Pink Press
• Pink in the Drink
• Pink Banana
• Pink Tails for Two
• Pink ZZZ
• 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 Ar First Sight (Valentine's Day Special)

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, ususally 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 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.

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.

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 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.

Trivia

For a short time in the late-1980s, supporters of English football team Stoke City F.C, took inflatable Pink Panther toys to matches (Source).

Friends of the Pink Panther (extra segments)

• The Inspector
• The Ant and the Aardvark
• Texas Toads/Tijuana Toads
• Hoot Kloot
• Roland and Rattfink
• The Dogfather
• Crazylegs Crane
• The Blue Racer
• Misterjaw

External links

• The Pink Panther at TV.com

List of The Pink Panther cartoons