The Pink Panther (TV series)

The Pink Panther is an American animated television series starring the Pink Panther and his co-stars from the original cartoon shorts in a series of brand new stories. The program was a production of Mirisch-Geoffrey DePatie-Freleng, United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation. It was distributed by Claster Television and King World Productions instead of MGM Television, despite MGM owning The Pink Panther. Unlike other animated series featuring the Pink Panther, 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. , all 60 episodes are available to watch on Pluto TV under the title The New Pink Panther Show and they can all be watched for free on YouTube. The series can also be watched on Freevee, along with multiple other Pink Panther shows.

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.

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; 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)
 * Sheryl Bernstein as Eskimo Mayor
 * John Byner as Charlie Ant, Blue Aardvark
 * Dan Castellaneta as Voodoo Man, Muck Luck, Chef Sumo (ep. 17), Fish World Ticket Man (ep. 31), Weasel, Snake (ep. 16), Babe the Bull (ep. 33)
 * Jim Cummings as Rolo (ep. 31), Dogfather (in "It's Just a Gypsy in My Soup")
 * Brian George as Pugg
 * Jess Harnell as Louie, Muscle Man, Pecks (ep. 59)
 * Joe Piscopo as Dogfather
 * Hal Rayle as The Inspector
 * Charles Nelson Reilly as Jules Parrot
 * Wallace Shawn as The Little Man
 * Kath Soucie as Thelma, Cleopatra (ep. 3)
 * Jo Anne Worley as Mrs. Chubalingo

Additional cast

 * Ruth Buzzi as Witch
 * Hamilton Camp as Rupert (ep. 31)
 * Jodi Carlisle
 * Nancy Cartwright
 * Cathy Cavadini as Thelma (ep. 2)
 * Rickey D'Shon Collins as Lester (ep. 5)
 * Troy Davidson
 * Eddie Deezen as Robot (ep. 50)
 * Mick Garris
 * Phillip Glasser
 * Keith David as Rhinoceros
 * Barry Gordon as Bongo Cereal Founder (ep. 59)
 * Paige Gosney
 * Gerrit Graham
 * Jennifer Hale
 * Dana Hill as Alien Kid (ep. 14)
 * David Lodge
 * Maurice LaMarche as Spartacus (ep. 59)
 * Steve MacKall as Johnny Chucklehead
 * Danny Mann
 * Kenneth Mars as Commissioner
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Erik the Red
 * Bradley Pierce as Buddy Bimmel's Son (ep. 59)
 * Gwen Shepherd
 * Susan Silo
 * Jean Smart
 * Elmarie Wendel
 * Thomas F. Wilson

Production
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. This decision was controversial and unpopular.

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. 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.

Home media
A DVD box set called "Der rosarote Panther - Die neue Show" was released in Germany (Region 2) on February 21, 2006 through MGM. This set contains the first 40 Episodes in English, French and German on four DVDs. The set was then released in the UK from MGM and Fox on February 2, 2009; the remaining 20 episodes are yet to be released.

The show is also available to on Pluto TV and on the official YouTube Channel.