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| Available at Amazon.com |
Let’s start with a little clarification. The Pink Panther was a cartoon panther who was in fact pink. The Pink Panther is also a series of comedic crime films starring Peter Sellers. The hero of the cartoon in question is named simply The Inspector, who is a character in The Pink Panther world and is also clearly based on Peter Sellers. Any Questions? No? Good. Let’s continue with the review.
The Inspector was a series of theatrical cartoons that ran from ’65-’69 at which point these cartoons transitioned to the small screen to be part of The Pink Panther Show. There were 34 cartoons produced during this time, 17 appear here.
Each cartoon runs around 7 minutes. In each, the Inspector along with his Spanish assistant, Duex-Duex, attempts to thwart and apprehend a cornucopia of bizarre and strange villains and miscreants. The cartoons are very hilarious and at times surprisingly violent. The Inspector gets shot and blown up any number of different ways, especially when confronted with adversaries like the Mad Bomber. The Inspector is a rather incompetent man (although not as bad as Clouseau) and often wrecks more havoc than he prevents. Much of the humor revolves around him getting hurt while Duex-Duex does not.
These are fairly entertaining cartoons and while the animation is rough it’s very good and enjoyable. Any fan of classic animation will love these shorts. However the plots don’t vary all that much and by the end begin to seem a little repetitive. The only thing that really changes is the outlandish crook. It must also be noted that each episode begins with Henri Mancini’s classic tune “A Shot In The Dark” which alone almost makes it worth watching.
Episodes:
The Great DeGaulle Stone Operation 12/21/1965
Villain: Weft, Wight and Wong the three-headed thief.
Reaux, Reaux, Reaux Your Boat 2/1/1966
Villain: Captain Clamity.
Napoleon Blown-Aparte 2/2/1966
Villain: The Mad Bomber.
Cirrhosis Of The Louvre 3/9/1966
Villain: The Blotch.
Plastered In Paris 4/5/1966
Villain: X
Cock-A-Doodle Deux Deux 6/15/1966
Villain: The Chicken.
Ape Suzette 6/24/1966
Villain: An unnamed sailor type and is ape.
Pique Poquette Of Paris 8/25/1966
Villain: Spider Pierre.
Sicque! Sicque! Sicque! 9/23/1966
Villain: Deux-Deux after he turns into a monster.
That’s No Lady – That’s Notre Dame 10/26/1966
Villain: There really isn’t one here.
Unsafe And Seine 11/9/1966
Villain: An Insurance Agent.
Toulouse La Trick 12/30/1966
Villain: Toulouse La Mouse.
Sacre Bleu Cross 2/1/1967
Villain: Hassan The Assassin.
Le Quiet Squad 5/17/1967
Villain: Not real villain here.
Bomb Voyage 5/22/1967
Villain: An Alien.
Le Pig-Al Patrol 5/24/1967
Villain: A treacherous band of motorcycle hoodlums.
Le Bowser Bagger 5/30/1967
Villain: An unnamed thief.
The film is presented in a fullscreen format 1.33:1. Sound is in Mono. For forty-year-old cartoons these look pretty good but they aren’t perfect.
Nothing.
These are pretty good cartoons but not what one might call “classics.” If you like old cartoons rent it and check it out, they are entertaining. But I can’t recommend buying it.
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MGM DVD presents The Pink Panther And Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol. 6: The Inspector. Created by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Starring Pat Harrington, Jr. Running time: 119 minutes. Not Rated. Released on DVD: March 4, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
About Mike Noyes
