It's also not bad Pink Panther, of the cartoons seen so far only 1971's Pink-In and 1978's Pinkologist have come close to that, though there have been a fair share of mediocre ones from 1975 onwards. Pink U.F.O is a notch above mediocre and is perfectly watchable but it falls short of being classic Pink Panther(i.e. Pink Phink). The theme tune is still awesome, for a theme tune heard so many times it doesn't to me come across as annoying at all. Pinky is still cool and funny without ever saying a word, a lot of Pink Panther cartoons do a good job allowing the audience to feel sorry for him and you do here. The U.F.O matches him very well, effectively and purposefully annoying but also somewhat cute and not devoid of personality. Did find myself feeling sympathetic towards the cat too especially when he is trapped in the bedclothes by mistake instead of the U.F.O. The chemistry between the characters is good and while it is very routine the story is unmistakably Pink Panther and still engaging. And Pink U.F.O has some funny moments, most of the cartoon is just amusing and a couple of the gags are not very memorable but the cat getting mistaken for the U.F.O and the ending are two of the better gags while the one with the bowling ball hitting poor Pinky's foot comes close to classic Pink Panther humour. What let Pink U.F.O down was that it did have a rushed feel. This is especially true in the animation, which looks very sparse, flatly coloured and scrappy. Sure the animation in the Pink Panther cartoons always was simple, albeit in an elegant way, but a lot of the cartoons from 1975 onwards had animation that looked limited and simplistic and the latter is where Pink U.F.O falls into. Pinky's usually well drawn but here the pink colour used for his design is so bright and garish compared to usual that it sticks out like a sore thumb against the other animation. The music is disappointing, usually it's a high point but here you miss the slinky seductive feel that most of the cartoons' scoring sounds, here the orchestration is rather too upbeat and a bit harsh-sounding. While Pink U.F.O never bored me the pacing did feel a bit on the hasty side and some of the gags could have taken their time more. To conclude, not one of the best Pink Panther cartoons but a long way from one of the worst, if anything it's around low middle. Watchable but not great. 6/10 Bethany Cox
