| Pink Panther | |
|---|---|
| The Pink Panther character | |
 | |
| First appearance | The Pink Panther (1963) |
| Created by | Blake Edwards Hawley Pratt Friz Freleng |
| Designed by | Hawley Pratt |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Alias |
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| Species | Panther |
| Gender | Male |
ThePink Panther is a fictional animated character who appears in the opening or closing credit sequences of every film inThe Pink Panther series except forA Shot in the Dark andInspector Clouseau.[1] In the storyline of the original film, the "Pink Panther" is the name of a valuablepink diamond named for a flaw that shows a "figure of a springing panther" when held up to the light in a certain way; in the credits, the diamond is personified by an animated, anthropomorphic panther with pink fur. In the original film series, only the firstPink Panther film and its third sequel,The Return of the Pink Panther, featured the diamond.
The character's popularity spawned aspin-off franchise oftheatrical shorts, television cartoons and merchandise. He starred in 124 short films, four TV series and four TV specials. The character is closely associated with "The Pink Panther Theme", composed byHenry Mancini.
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The animated Pink Panther character's initial appearance in the live action film's title sequence, directed byFriz Freleng, was such a success with audiences andUnited Artists that the studio signed Freleng and hisDePatie–Freleng Enterprises studio to a multi-year contract for a series ofPink Panther theatrical cartoon shorts. The first entry in the series, 1964'sThe Pink Phink, featured Pink harassing his foil, a little white mustachioed man who is often considered a caricature of Friz Freleng (this character is officially known asThe Little Man[2]), by constantly trying to paint the Little Man's blue house pink.The Pink Phink won the 1964Academy Award for Animated Short Film, and subsequent shorts in the series, usually featuring the Pink Panther opposite the Little Man, were successful releases.
In an early series of Pink Panther animated cartoons, Pink generally remained silent, speaking only in two theatrical shorts,Sink Pink (one line) andPink Ice (throughout the film).Rich Little provided Pink's voice in these shorts, modeling it on that ofDavid Niven (who had portrayed Clouseau's jewel thief nemesis in the original live-action film). Years later, Little would overdub Niven's voice forTrail of the Pink Panther andCurse of the Pink Panther, due to Niven's ill health. All of the animatedPink Panther shorts utilizedthe distinctive jazzy theme music composed byHenry Mancini for the 1963 feature film, with additional scores composed byWalter Greene orWilliam Lava.[3][4][5][6]
In the fall of 1969, thePink Panther cartoons made their way toNBC television shownSaturday mornings viaThe Pink Panther Show. NBC added alaugh track to the original cartoons, withMarvin Miller brought on as an off-camera narrator talking to the Pink Panther duringbumper segments featuring the Pink Panther and The Inspector together.[4] The series featured a live-action introduction, over the theme song, which featured thePanthermobile.
Pink Panther shorts made after 1969 were produced for both broadcast and film release, typically appearing on television first, and released to theaters by United Artists. One version of the show was calledThe Think Pink Panther Show. A number of sister series joinedThe Pink Panther on movie screens and on the airwaves, among themThe Ant and the Aardvark,Tijuana Toads (a.k.a.Texas Toads),Hoot Kloot, andMisterjaw (a.k.a.Mr. Jaws and Catfish). There were also a series of animated shorts calledThe Inspector, with the Clouseau-inspired Inspector and his sidekick Sgt. Deux-Deux, whom the Inspector is forever correcting. Other DePatie-Freleng series includedRoland and Rattfink;The Dogfather, a loose parody ofThe Godfather following a canine crime family whose leader is based onVito Corleone; and twoTijuana Toads spinoffs,The Blue Racer andCrazylegs Crane.[4]
The German television version, which started airing in 1973, inZDF was presented in 30-minute episodes, composed of one Pink Panther cartoon, one episode ofThe Inspector and one episode ofThe Ant and the Aardvark. Most notably, the difference between the German and the English version of the Pink Panther is a rhymed narration in the German version (spoken by voice actorGert Günther Hoffmann), commenting and describing the plot. For this show, custom intro and end sequences were cut together from existing pieces of animation.
In 1976, the half-hour series was revamped into a 90-minute format, asThe 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.[4]
In 1978,The Pink Panther moved to ABC and was rebrandedThe All New Pink Panther Show, where it lasted one season before leaving the network realm entirely. The ABC version of the series featured 16 episodes, with 32 newPink Panther cartoons and 16 ofCrazylegs Crane. The 32 entries were later released theatrically byUnited Artists.[4]
In 1971,Gold Key Comics began publishing a Pink Panthercomic book, with art byWarren Tufts.The Pink Panther and the Inspector lasted 87 issues, ending only when Gold Key ceased operations in 1984.[7] The spinoff seriesThe Inspector (also from Gold Key) lasted 19 issues, from 1974 to 1978.[8]
Tribune Media Services syndicated aPink Panther comic strip from May 29, 2005, to May 10, 2009, created byBottom Liners' cartoonists Eric and Bill Teitelbaum.[9]
During the final years of the Panther's theatrical run, DePatie–Freleng produced a series of three primetime Pink Panthertelevision specials for ABC. The first was in 1978A Pink Christmas. It featured Pink inNew York being cold and hungry looking for a holiday dinner. The other two specials premiered on ABC after the shorts officially ended in theaters, 1980'sOlym-Pinks and in 1981Pink at First Sight. In November 2007, the three specials were released on a single disc DVD collection,The Pink Panther: A Pink Christmas fromMGM Home Entertainment/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
The studio was sold toMarvel Comics in 1981, and becameMarvel Productions (now a part ofThe Walt Disney Company). During this time, the Pink Panther made a cameo appearance in Marvel's rivalDC Comics cartoon, which was "Flight 601 Has Vanished," an episode ofThe Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam. In this episode, he was one of many characters plucked from their native dimensions and planets and brought to the fourth dimension to live life as a doll by a giant girl. He and the others were rescued by theMarvel Family.[citation needed] In 1984, a new Saturday morning series was produced entitledPink Panther and Sons. In this incarnation (produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions with Freleng serving as creative producer for the series), the still-silent Pink Panther was a father of his two talking sons, Pinky and Panky. While popular, critics complained that there was not enough Pink Panther to maintain interest for a full 30 minutes.
A new series of cartoons were created in 1993, simply titledThe Pink Panther, produced byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation, premiered insyndication in 1993, and had the Pink Panther speaking with the voice ofMatt Frewer (ofMax Headroom fame). DePatie and Freleng served as creative consultants on the series. Unlike the original shorts, not all episode titles contained the word "pink", although many instead contained the word "panther". Voice impressionistJohn Byner returned to voice boththe Ant and the Aardvark.[4]
In July 2007,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. andJordan's Rubicon animation company began co-production of the animated seriesPink Panther and Pals, aprequel toThe Pink Panther Show, portraying a teenaged panther and his friends. The 26 episode TV series premiered worldwide in spring 2010 onCartoon Network. On December 7, 2011, a new 22-minute holiday special entitledA Very Pink Christmas, starring the classic iteration of the panther, aired on ABC Family.[4]
The Pink Panther is known asNathu andPangu in East and South Asia,Paulchen Panther (Little Paul the Panther) in Germany andПинко розовата пантера (Pinko the Pink panther) inBulgaria. He remains a popular character. In addition to the regular airing of the classic cartoon, the panther also appears in the following:
The Pink Panther is featured in multiple computer and video games:
| Series number | Title | Broadcast run | Original channel | Total # episodes | Total # seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Pink Panther Show | 1969–1979 | NBC (1969–1978) ABC (1978–1979) | Three 6-minute shorts + bumpers per half-hour | 10 |
| 2 | Pink Panther and Sons | 1984–1986 | NBC (1984–1985) ABC (1986) | 26 episodes | 1 |
| 3 | The Pink Panther | 1993–1995 | Syndication | 60 episodes | 2 |
| 4 | Pink Panther and Pals | 2010 | Cartoon Network | 26 episodes | 1 |
The Pink Panther is associated with a number of cancer awareness and support organizations. The Pink Panther is the mascot of the New Zealand Child Cancer foundation[22] and for a line of clothing to promote breast cancer awareness.[23] California based children's cancer charity The Gary L. Hoop Foundation humorously places The Pink Panther in various locations on its website and in its advertisements, paying homage to both the cartoon and their late namesake Gary Hoop, who once carried "The Pink Panther" as a nickname.[24]
Animation historianJerry Beck has called the Pink Panther "the last great Hollywood cartoon character", noting that "Classic animation pretty much died in the '60s, everyone had kind of bailed out. But his creators didn't rest on their laurels. They didn't make the cartoons to look likeWarner Bros. cartoons, orDisney cartoons, or theUPA look ofMister Magoo andGerald McBoing-Boing. They came up with their own clever new style. The only other important cartoon of the '60s wasYellow Submarine."[2][4]
The Pink Panther was a notable contribution to the animation art form. Top animation directors such asHawley Pratt,Gerry Chiniquy,Robert McKimson, and Sid Marcus contributed to a distinctive style, supported by master story writerJohn W. Dunn. Produced after theatrical cartooning's golden age of the 1940s and '50s, they were constrained to thelimited animation techniques applied toSaturday morning cartoons of the 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 ofCharlie Chaplin andBuster Keaton.[4]
Cultural references were more muted and stylized, resulting in a cartoon with longer-term, more cross-cultural appeal not shared by contemporaries such asYogi Bear andThe Flintstones, with their greater reliance on contemporary American pop culture. The 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 ofThe Flintstones. Freleng's colleagues credit his sense of creative timing as a key element to the cartoon's artistic success. Freleng himself regarded the Pink Panther as his finest achievement and the character he most identified with, according to family and colleagues interviewed on the 2006 DVD release.
When the creative juices flow at Ogilvy & Mather, they really flow. When searching for the appropriate spokesman for Owens-Corning Fiberglas insulation, which happens to be pink and woolly, the agency came up with the Pink Panther.
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