The Pink Panther: Difference between revisions

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* ''Trail of the Pink Panther'' (1982): Using mostly deleted scenes from ''Strikes Again'' and new footage with many of the other regulars, Clouseau once again is called to Lugash to seek the stolen Pink Panther. When his plane vanishes, TV reporter Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) decides to investigate his disappearance by interviewing those who knew him well, turning the second half of the film into a [[Clip Show]]. This was shot at the same time as its follow-up:

* ''Curse of the Pink Panther'' (1983): Dreyfus sabotages the search for a great detective to seek Clouseau and the world's worst detective, Clifton Sleigh of New York City, is put on the case. The audience learns the ultimate fate of Clouseau and the diamond (it involves {{spoiler|Roger Moore!}}), but Sleigh doesn't even when it's right before his eyes.

* ''Son of the Pink Panther'' (1993): A [[Revision]] of the events of ''A Shot in the Dark'' reveals Clouseau sired a son, Clouseau Jr. ([[Life Is Beautiful|Roberto Benigni]]). To Dreyfus' dismay, the son is helping track down the kidnapped current princess of Lugash and receiving various help and hindrance from Clouseau's old colleagues. Then Dreyfus realizes, given the [[Like Father, Like Son|father's track record,]] it might not be such a bad idea. This had the misfortune to being the final film of both [[~~Henry Mancini (Music)|~~Henry Mancini]] ''and'' Blake Edwards.

* ''Son of the Pink Panther'' (1993): A [[Revision]] of the events of ''A Shot in the Dark'' reveals Clouseau sired a son, Clouseau Jr. ([[Life Is Beautiful|Roberto Benigni]]). To Dreyfus' dismay, the son is helping track down the kidnapped current princess of Lugash and receiving various help and hindrance from Clouseau's old colleagues. Then Dreyfus realizes, given the [[Like Father, Like Son|father's track record,]] it might not be such a bad idea. This had the misfortune to being the final film of both [[Henry Mancini]] ''and'' Blake Edwards.

In 2006, the franchise was rebooted under the original title ''The Pink Panther'', with [[Steve Martin]] as Clouseau and [[Jean Reno]] as a new sidekick, Ponton. Aside from Clouseau, Dreyfus was the only character carried over from the original films (played by Kevin Kline in the first film, and [[~~John Cleese (Creator)|~~John Cleese]] in the second). ''The Pink Panther 2'' arrived in 2009, but its disappointing box-office suggests that no further films will be forthcoming.

In 2006, the franchise was rebooted under the original title ''The Pink Panther'', with [[Steve Martin]] as Clouseau and [[Jean Reno]] as a new sidekick, Ponton. Aside from Clouseau, Dreyfus was the only character carried over from the original films (played by Kevin Kline in the first film, and [[John Cleese]] in the second). ''The Pink Panther 2'' arrived in 2009, but its disappointing box-office suggests that no further films will be forthcoming.

'''The Animated Shorts:'''

The first film had animated credits, produced by [[~~Depatie~~-Freleng Enterprises]], that featured a "literal" representation of the flaw in the eponymous diamond. [[Ensemble Darkhorse|This proved so popular with audiences]] -- indeed, all the films thus have animated credits (during the end credits for ''Return'' he even appears alongside the institutionalized Dreyfus as a hallucination), including the reboot -- that the character, an anthropomorphic [[The Speechless|mute]], was spun off into a series of animated shorts the following year.

The first film had animated credits, produced by [[DePatie-Freleng Enterprises]], that featured a "literal" representation of the flaw in the eponymous diamond. [[Ensemble Darkhorse|This proved so popular with audiences]] -- indeed, all the films thus have animated credits (during the end credits for ''Return'' he even appears alongside the institutionalized Dreyfus as a hallucination), including the reboot -- that the character, an anthropomorphic [[The Speechless|mute]], was spun off into a series of animated shorts the following year.

The Panther's status was increased when the newly founded DePatie-Freleng studio's first short, "The Pink Phink," won the 1964 [[Academy Award]] for Best Animated Short Subject -- the first time an animation studio had won one with its very first cartoon. The shorts put the Panther in situations ranging from the mundane to the fantastic, always with Henry Mancini's popular theme music somewhere in the score (the shorts were silent save for gibberish, sound effects, and music; attempts to give the Panther a voice were washes).

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* '''Roland and Rattfink''': A series of shorts about the conflict between the perfectly pacifistic Roland and the [[Dastardly Whiplash]]-like Rattfink.

* '''Hoot Kloot''': The misadventures of [[Wild West]] lawman Kloot and his horse.

* '''Misterjaw''': A series about an affable German-accented shark and his catfish buddy, with many takeoffs from ''[[Jaws (~~Film~~)|Jaws]]''.

* '''Misterjaw''': A series about an affable German-accented shark and his catfish buddy, with many takeoffs from ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]''.

While the shorts were specifically made for Saturday morning TV by the end of the original run in the late 1970s, even those were released to theatres into the early 1980s, making the Panther the last great theatrical shorts character. The character also starred in three prime time specials (1978's ''A Pink [[Christmas Special]]'', 1980's ''Olym-Pinks'', and 1982's ''Pink at First Sight'') and was later revived for TV with ''Pink Panther [[Spinoff Babies|and Sons]]'' (1984, though the Panther himself was reduced to mere cameos, the focus being instead on sons "Pinky" and "Panky" and a group of kids called "The Rainbow Panthers"), ''The Pink Panther'' (1993) (which had the character voiced by Matt Frewer), and ''Pink Panther and Pals'' (2010). He continues to be a popular commercial mascot, most notably for Owens Corning (pink) fiberglass insulation.

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* [[And Another Thing]] / [[Door Focus]]: The basis of a particularly funny gag in ''A Shot in the Dark'', using the latter to spoof the former.

* [[Animated Anthology]]: When the animated shorts began airing on Saturday morning TV in 1969 as ''The Pink Panther Show'', it was in a half-hour timeslot and an ABA format: two Pink Panther shorts and an Inspector short. This particular setup persisted via syndicated airings and (later) Cartoon Network for years. As [[The Seventies]] progressed, the various Pink Panther anthology shows came to include other DePatie-Freleng shorts.

* [[Animated Credits Opening]]: A series tradition. [[~~Depatie~~-Freleng Enterprises|DePatie-Freleng]] produced them for most of the films, although [[Richard Williams]]' studio did the honors for ''Return'' and ''Strikes Again''.

* [[Animated Credits Opening]]: A series tradition. [[DePatie-Freleng Enterprises|DePatie-Freleng]] produced them for most of the films, although [[Richard Williams]]' studio did the honors for ''Return'' and ''Strikes Again''.

* [[Artifact Title]]

* [[Armed Legs]]: One of the killers in ''Strikes Again'' uses a shoe knife.

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* [[Classy Cat Burglar]]: {{spoiler|Claudine in ''Return'' and Simone in ''Curse''.}} The unmade ''Romance of the Pink Panther'' had one of these as the film's antagonist, and would have ended with {{spoiler|Clouseau making a [[Face Heel Turn]] out of love for her}}.

* [[Clueless Detective]]: Clouseau might be the best-known example.

* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: In ''Strikes Again'', the method [[Big Bad|Dreyfus]] uses to torture the professor's daughter is by [[Nails On a Blackboard|scratching a chalkboard]] [[Bait and Switch|while wearing meat-packer's gloves]].

* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: In ''Strikes Again'', the method [[Big Bad|Dreyfus]] uses to torture the professor's daughter is by [[Nails on a Blackboard|scratching a chalkboard]] [[Bait and Switch|while wearing meat-packer's gloves]].

* [[Cool Car]]: Clouseau has "The Silver Hornet" in ''Revenge'' that is intended as this, but it's "overdue for its service" and only [[The Alleged Car|falls apart on him]].

* [[Color Character]]

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* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: In ''Strikes Again'', Dreyfus attempts to destroy an entire country because he was lied to about Clouseau's assassination. The country that falsely claimed to kill Clouseau is Egypt. The country Dreyfus decides to punish is ''England''.

* [[Double Entendre]]: Auguste Balls' name is one of the goofiest ever. Even more so with his slogan in ''Revenge'': "...when duty calls, you've got Balls!" (The close-up of Graham Stark reciting that line was due to Peter Sellers' inability to stop laughing when they tried wider shots of the scene.)

* [[Everything's Better ~~With~~ Monkeys]]: Or "minkeys"; Clouseau's first scene in ''Return'' involves a "blind" beggar and a monkey.

* [[Everything's Better with Monkeys]]: Or "minkeys"; Clouseau's first scene in ''Return'' involves a "blind" beggar and a monkey.

* [[Fake Shemp]]: ''Trail'' is built around this concept, though flashbacks to his youth near the end have him played by younger actors in a variant on [[The Other Darrin]].

* [[Filming for Easy Dub]]: The later entries with Sellers used this with his stuntmen; ''Trail'' does this with a stand-in to tie the deleted scenes together.

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* [[Halfway Plot Switch]]: ''Trail'', which starts as a typical Clouseau misadventure and makes the switch when he goes missing, turning the protagonist role over to Marie as she investigates the disappearance.

* [[Hand of Death]]: Several botched attempts to kill Clouseau in ''A Shot in the Dark''.

* [[Hoist By His Own Petard]]: Dreyfus' fate in ''Strikes Again''. {{spoiler|As he tries to destroy England with his laser, Clouseau accidentally knocks it around at the crucial moment - it malfunctions and zaps Dreyfus instead.}} Somehow, he [[Unexplained Recovery|got better]] by ''Revenge''. In that film's climax, he {{spoiler|starts a chain-reaction explosion in a fireworks warehouse when he lights a match to aim his gun at Clouseau}}. Near the end of ''Curse'', he {{spoiler|tries to shoot down a parasailing Sleigh with a rocket launcher, but the recoil sends him over a cliff (he's in a wheelchair at the time).}}

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: Dreyfus' fate in ''Strikes Again''. {{spoiler|As he tries to destroy England with his laser, Clouseau accidentally knocks it around at the crucial moment - it malfunctions and zaps Dreyfus instead.}} Somehow, he [[Unexplained Recovery|got better]] by ''Revenge''. In that film's climax, he {{spoiler|starts a chain-reaction explosion in a fireworks warehouse when he lights a match to aim his gun at Clouseau}}. Near the end of ''Curse'', he {{spoiler|tries to shoot down a parasailing Sleigh with a rocket launcher, but the recoil sends him over a cliff (he's in a wheelchair at the time).}}

* [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]]: Cato Fong in the original series, Ponton in the Reboot.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: In the original film, Sir Lytton upon discovering the Pink Panther has already been taken from a targeted safe: "Someone's being highly dishonest!"

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* [[Instrumental Theme Tune]]: One of the catchiest ever, courtesy of Henry Mancini.

* [[It Got Worse]]: The opinions of critics and viewers alike on the films after Peter Sellers died.

* [[Jerk ~~With~~ a Heart of Gold]]: Clouseau is an arrogant man and believes enough in his own brilliance and rightness that he often misses the obvious. This also contributes to his chronic clumsiness. (Sellers himself saw Clouseau as a man who knows he's an idiot but is determined not to let anyone else find out.) On the other hand, he is genuinely on the side of good, is quite chivalrous with women to the point of unfounded faith (he was betrayed by his own wife), conducts himself with all the dignity he can muster, and as ''Trail'' points out, he ''never gives up''. As pointed out on the [[Karma Houdini]] page, it was perhaps this that made the character so sympathetic to audiences.

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: Clouseau is an arrogant man and believes enough in his own brilliance and rightness that he often misses the obvious. This also contributes to his chronic clumsiness. (Sellers himself saw Clouseau as a man who knows he's an idiot but is determined not to let anyone else find out.) On the other hand, he is genuinely on the side of good, is quite chivalrous with women to the point of unfounded faith (he was betrayed by his own wife), conducts himself with all the dignity he can muster, and as ''Trail'' points out, he ''never gives up''. As pointed out on the [[Karma Houdini]] page, it was perhaps this that made the character so sympathetic to audiences.

* [[Juggling Loaded Guns]]: Chief Inspector Dreyfus keeps in his office desk both a real gun and a lighter that ''looks just like'' said gun. [[Hilarity Ensues]] with predictably violent results, such as when his assistant Francois, hearing a gunshot, bursts in the office to see the top half of Dreyfus' face looking up at him from behind his desk:

{{quote| '''Dreyfus:''' Don't just stand there, idiot — call a doctor. ''And then help me find my nose!''}}

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* [[Non-Fatal Explosions]]: They're not just for cartoons anymore! And ''Revenge'' takes the charred-and-smoking reveal to a new level when Clouseau's state is enough to set paper on fire, and his attempt to put it out sets a whole office aflame in a case of [[Disaster Dominoes]].

* [[No More for Me]]

* [[Not Even Bothering ~~With~~ the Accent]]: Dreyfus in the original. Ballon in ''Shot'' also counts.

* [[Not Even Bothering with the Accent]]: Dreyfus in the original. Ballon in ''Shot'' also counts.

* [[Not Me This Time]]: The Tornado, a serial thief, was believed to have resurfaced and stolen various treasures around the world, including the Magna Carta, the Turin Shroud, the Imperial Sword, the Pink Panther Diamond (allegedly), and the Pope's ring. Turns out, he never actually committed those crimes (for one thing, he would have deduced that {{spoiler|the Pink Panther Diamond on display was in fact a forgery}} had he truly stolen it), it was his scorned lover, {{spoiler|Sonia}} who did the deed, eventually {{spoiler|killing him before they located him}}.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Subverted - it's revealed in ''Revenge'' that most people think Clouseau's success is due to this, rather than his actually being [[The Fool]].

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* [[Qurac]]: Lugash.

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: One reason the [[Running Gag]] of Clouseau's costumes became more pronounced in ''Strikes Again'' and ''Revenge'' was that Peter Sellers' health had become too frail for him to perform as much slapstick. ''Trail'' and ''Curse'', of course, were completely conceived/made after Sellers had died, and the plots work to compensate for this absence.

* [[Put On a Bus]]: Blake Edwards did this to Clouseau himself to make way for "Son of the Pink Panther". That was not a good idea.

* [[Put on a Bus]]: Blake Edwards did this to Clouseau himself to make way for "Son of the Pink Panther". That was not a good idea.

** Why? Because fans, critics and fellow crew/cast members were angry.

* [[Refrigerator Ambush]]: Cato pulls one off in Return.