The series centers on the Pink Panther and his co-stars from the original cartoon shorts in a series of brand-new stories. Unlike other animated series in the franchise, this is the only series where he and the Little Man speak numerous lines; prior to this series, the Panther had only briefly spoken in two cartoons in the 1960s.
The Pink Panther was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1994 for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition.[1]
Premise
The Pink Panther stars the Pink Panther in a series of adventures in which he deals with different situations in a manner similar to the original Looney Tunes shorts, ranging from modern-day situations such as working as a delivery boy to outlandish situations like living in caveman days. Unlike previous television series and almost the entire theatrical run, the series was produced with the Panther capable of speaking throughout the episodes, to allow more interaction with other characters. Voiced by Matt Frewer, he was given a humorous American accent in order to appeal to younger children, which was in sharp contrast to the sophisticated British accent supplied by impressionist Rich Little who voiced the Panther briefly in two 1965 cartoon shorts, Sink Pink and Pink Ice.[2][3]
Alongside the Pink Panther, a number of his co-stars from the original theatrical shorts appear in the series, including: The Inspector, who the Panther assists in the guise of an American police officer; The Ant and the Aardvark, with John Byner reprising the role of both characters;[2]The Dogfather and his henchdogs Pugg and Louie, who were redesigned for this series; The Muscle Man from the 1968 cartoon Come On In! The Water's Pink; The Witch from the 1969 cartoon Pink-A-Rella; and "The Little Man", who like the Panther, was also designed to speak in the series, with Wallace Shawn providing his voice. The series also featured new characters, including a mask-wearing tribal witch doctor named Voodoo Man, a little red-headed girl named Thelma, and a sweet old lady named Mrs. Chubalingo and her pet parrot Jules.
Cast
Matt Frewer as the Pink Panther, the Whistler (ep. 5), News Anchor (ep. 59)
In 1992, MGM/UA decided to produce new Pink Panther cartoons with a twist that he would be able to speak, hoping to bring new life to the panther. That same year, MGM/UA met with its licensees to explain the changes that were made to the character and arm them with essential artwork needed to spring the panther for the brand-new series.[6] This decision was controversial and unpopular.[7]
Casting
In 1993, Rich Little, who voiced the character in a few scenes of the original cartoons, was approached to reprise his role as the pink feline. However, Little did not recall voicing the character at all and turned down the offer saying giving the panther a voice would ruin the character.[7] Franchise co-creator David DePatie also felt that giving the panther a voice would "compromise the integrity of the character." But once the producers saw Matt Frewer fill in the lines for the panther, they thought it was fantastic and they accepted it.[4]
Episodes
Season 1 (1993)
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Original air date
1
1
"Pink, Pink & Away""Down on the Antfarm"
September 13, 1993 (1993-09-13)
"Down on the Antfarm" features The Ant and the Aardvark
"A Nut at the Opera""The Pink Panther (that's me) presents Hamm-n-Eggz"
January 7, 1995 (1995-01-07)
59
19
"The Pink Panther (that's me) presents Voodoo Man""The Pink Panther (That's Me) presents 7 Manly Men and the Kid"
January 14, 1995 (1995-01-14)
60
20
"The Pink Panther (that's me) presents The Texas Toads""Driving Mr. Pink""The Pink Panther (that's me) presents The Ant and the Aardvark"
April 12, 1995 (1995-04-12)
Driving Mr. Pink was shown for the U.S. theatrical release of The Pebble and the Penguin, and the final Pink Panther theatrical short to be reissued into the television short.
Home media
On February 21, 2006, MGM Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a DVD set in France (As "La Nouvelle Panthère Rose") and Germany (As "Der rosarote Panther - Die neue Show") This set contains all forty episodes of the first season. The set was released in the United Kingdom (as "The New Pink Panther Show - Season 1, Vol 1") but only consisted of the first twenty episodes of the first season with as a second volume was never released. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment reissued the sets in February 2009, with the UK getting the same boxset as France and Germany. Season Two has not seen any DVD releases.
The show is also available to on Pluto TV and on the official YouTube Channel. These prints refer to the series as The New Pink Panther Show, as with the DVDs.
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