La Vie en rose

I didn't often love the "Pink Panther" but I always thought Henry Mancini's theme with that seedy saxophone a piece of genius. This time, the painter is trying to paint things blue but the panther is having none of it. What was grey must be blue/pink; pink/blue - it's a war of attrition. It could go on for ever, or at least until one of them runs out of paint. Narked, the painter decides to deal with his pesky nemesis once and for all. Will it work? It's a bit repetitive, we get the gist after about three minutes, but it's still quite entertaining - especially the garden sprinkler. I didn't love the end, though.

I am a fan of the movies and cartoons of the pink panther. And this is a great pink panther cartoon, this film is about the little man, who is currently a house painter, and he wants to paint the house blue, the panther comes in and decides to paint it pink.

The panther looks more like his movie design than his design that you see in the very next cartoon. Henry Mancini is good at the pink panther theme, and William Lava is good at the other music included in this film.

Overall I give it 10/10 stars for a great start to the pink panther cartoons!

-Rocky And Yipper

This Academy Award-winning short was the first Pink Panther theatrical release (at least as a short subject) and is a winner on all counts. Hilarious, well animated, marvelous story and use of music-everything is wonderful. There wee other very good shorts in the series, but none of them even came close to equaling this first one. I've always felt sorry for the poor little guy in this cartoon! Most highly recommended.

The amiable if somewhat limited cartoon character of "The Pink Panther" was introduced in the animated opening credits of Blake Edwards' 1964 classic caper comedy of the same name; in the film proper, it was the nickname taken by cat burglar David Niven but the eventual franchise revolved around the antics of his inept nemesis Inspector Clouseau (which would soon become Peter Sellers' signature role).

In the concurrent cartoon series (which I used to watch as a kid on local TV and have subsequently acquired on DVD), the silent rosy feline took centre stage, albeit usually employed in more mundane occupations, like a house painter as in this very first instance – even if it was still pitted against a bungling, moustached albino who was Clouseau in all but name. The latter wants to paint the house in question blue and the protagonist, inevitably, wants it painted pink. The ensuing confrontation is certainly pleasant if hardly providing outstanding entertainment value, but it was enough for the short under review to cop an Academy Award.

The Pink Panther is one of animation's most iconic characters. Pink Phink was the cartoon that introduced audiences to him, and to this today it is one of the best Pink Panther cartoons ever made. The animation is simple but the colours are very pretty and the backgrounds don't look cheap. The music is very catchy, the main theme sticks in your head and in an infectious way rather than an annoying way. The jazzy orchestration is equally good. As well as well-animated and scored, Pink Phink is very funny. The story like the animation is simple but never to the point that it is predictable or dull. The gags are very creative and entertaining, never feeling repetitive. True, you do get the basic idea of what to expect with the other gags from the first gag, but each gag is dealt with in a fresh way so that is in no way a bad thing. Pink Panther himself is very cool and proof that you can be funny without having to say anything.

All in all, the introductory Pink Panther cartoon is still one of his best. 10/10 Bethany Cox