The Pink Panther Ultimate Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)As noted in the specs, this film contains all but one of the films (more on that in a minute), and nine discs of cartoons, including the second volume of Inspector cartoons and the Roland and Ratfink cartoons. The ninth cartoon disc will presumably be a port of the fifth disc of the Classic Cartoon Collection. It looks to be a definite must-have set.
But Return of the Pink Panther is not included, and never will be, for a very good reason. MGM does not own the home video rights to it; Universal does. So before you go writing a negative review of this set because it doesn't include Return of the Pink Panther, try and get a better grasp of copyright in movies; specifically, who owns and releases what. Universal owns the home video rights because United Artists outsourced the film to an independent company. UA owns the theatrical rights, but not the home video rights.
Besides, would it really hurt that much to spend 10 extra dollars to have the DVD of Return with this collection? It may not be a complete set, but copyrights are sometimes strange like that.
So don't go around bashing MGM for not making this a complete set. It's as complete as they can make it, considering they don't own one of the films in the series.

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PINK PANTHER ULTIMATE COLLECTION - DVD Movie

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The Pink Panther Film Collection (The Pink Panther / A Shot in the Dark / Strikes Again / Revenge of / Trail of) (1964) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having been a fan of "The Pink Panther" series from childhood, I was ecstatic that this set was being released, as the films are otherwise out of print on DVD (although luckily I still have my trusty VHS copies in reserve). I am tempted to give the set five stars simply because it is a wonderful day to see these films back in print, but realistically I had to take it down a notch as there a couple of negative considerations, the most obvious of which, of course, is the absence of "Return of the Pink Panther" from the collection, ostensibly because of legal hang-ups. Whatever the cause, the absence of the first of the 1970s-era "Panthers" is sorely missed. The other minor negative is the relative absence of special features on the movie DVDs, although the original "Pink Panther" has a wonderful trivia track. I would have really loved commentary tracks with Blake Edwards and some of the actors. I am somewhat ambivalent on the extremely unusual packaging the set comes in. It is hard to adequately describe the case, but suffice it to say that removing half of the DVDs is annoyingly difficult, although it looks very stylish.
On the positive end, you get four great "Panther" movies and the bodged-together "Trail of the Pink Panther", plus a disk of extras. Some people have dismissed the extras disk as inconsequential, but I rather enjoyed it. I particularly liked the documentary "The Pink Panther Story" which was heavy on interviews and insight. I had no idea that Sellers hated "A Shot in the Dark", whereas I (and many others) think it is a perfect movie in every way. I knew that Sellers could be somewhat Mercurial to work with, but I had no idea, for instance, that he had certain colors that he would not tolerate around him, and in fact made the producers of one of the movies once repaint a train because he couldn't stand the color! Also on the disk is a documentary about the animated Panther, which is quite interesting, as well as several of the short subject cartoons, which seem selected at random. They did include the Oscar winning "Pink Phink", the first cartoon short of the Pink Panther, which was an excellent choice. "Psychedelic Pink" included an annoying laugh track, and "Pinkfinger" was one of the weaker of the cartoons, which I have great recollection of from childhood. Interestingly enough, there are two related subject cartoons, one each of the Ant and the Aardvark, and The Inspector (in a fairly weak episode) to round out the extra disk.
This is a great set overall, with just a couple of things bringing it down to a four rating. I recommend it to all "Panther" fans everywhere, and to anyone who loves to laugh.

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Disc 1: THE PINK PANTHER Disc 2: REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER Disc 3: THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN Disc 4: A SHOT IN THE DARK Disc 5: TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER Disc 6: BONUS DISC

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The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)This great collection of classic Pink Panther Cartoons will feature 5 discs. The single disc releases will only be the first 3 discs from this set. However, if you only like the better earliest cartoons from this series, then you may want to consider that option.
These cartoons were produced in 3 waves:
1964 to 1969 - 62 classic cartoons were produced at this time for theaters. These are the best of the batch and truly creative, some winning awards. In 1969 the Pink Panther was retired and sold to Television with The Inspector for a half-hour Saturday Morning show on NBC. (Remember that classic Pink Panther car shown in the opening titles?)
1971 to 1977 - 30 more cartoons were produced for theaters, bringing the Pink Panther out of theatrical retirement. These were a little more hit & miss that the first wave of cartoons. Still being produced for theaters, they had more time & money to produce these than the next wave. The same first wave directors worked on this wave. These also got sprinkled into the Saturday Morning TV show after their theatrical run.
1978 to 1980 - 32 cartoons were produced for the 1978 Pink Panther TV show on a limited budget & short time period. New directors were brought in to assist the original directors with the increased one year work load. The drop in quality shows on these shorts, you feel like you are watching a Saturday Morning cartoon. These quickly made, low budget cartoons were then re-packaged to theaters over three years.
Non of these cartoons were ever shot widescreen, so it is good that this DVD will be presented full frame.
Some improvements over the previous "Jet Pink" DVD cartoon collection:
All 1960's cartoons have improved fidelity soundtracks.
PINK PHINK has the original theme song restored on the end credits.
JET PINK has vast picture & sound improvements & original titles are restored.
IN THE PINK OF THE NIGHT has the correct colors in the opening titles.
Some bad notes:
1) A sampling of some of my favorite cartoons revealed some to have the TV laugh track: PINK BLUEPRINT, PSYCHEDELIC PINK, PINK TUBA-DORE. There are probably more. The DVD capabilities should have allowed us to watch each cartoon with either soundtrack as an option! Also a 'music only' sound track would have been nice.
2) You will need Jerry Beck's "Pink Panther Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat In Town" book (sold here on Amazon.com) to guide you through the cartoons you want to watch. The title list on this DVD with the generic "Pink ...." titles that these cartoons have will not help you find that 'toon you want to watch.
3) The storage case is poorly designed, disc 2 rests on top of disc 3 & disc 4 rests on top of disc 5. If you want to view Discs 3 or 5, you have to take the top disc off first (find a safe non scratching place to put it) and then remove the disc you want to watch. Then replace the above disc so that it doesn't get damaged.
You may want to invest in some extra cases to save the discs from future damage.
HINT: PLACE DISCS 4 & 5 UNDER DISCS 2 & 3, they have the later 1970's cartoons that you will probably not watch much. This way they are out of the way.

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The Pink Panther is - paws down - the world's grooviest cartoon star. In 1964, this pink-inked feline slinked onto the opening credits of Blake Edwards' caper film by the same name and threatened to steal the entire show. Sleek, sophisticated and witty, the animation, produced by Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie, was a stylish departure from its contemporaries…and an instant hit. A subsequent short film, The Pink Phink, would go on to win* an Oscar® and spawn a celebrated series of six-minute cartoons featuring the sly cat. Now, for the first time, 124 cartoons produced by Freleng and DePatie between 1964 and 1980 are collected here in a swingin' 5-disc set. With over 14 hours of "pink comedy," you can't help but lick your whiskers!

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The Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol. 5: The Ant and the Aardvark Review

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(More customer reviews)I remember this cartoon airing back when I was a kid in the early 1980s. It was during a 1/2 hour cartoon show with an episode of either The Inspector or The Ant and the Aardvark sandwiched between two episodes of The Pink Panther. As soon as I heard the jazzy theme song to Ant and the Aardvark, it bought me back. I'm glad I can add this DVD to my Pink Panther collection and, like other reviewers, am hoping for the release of The Inspector which may be my favorite of that trio of cartoons.
The Ant and the Aardvark is entertaining on many levels (animation, voices, one-liners, music). That big, goofy-looking blue aardvark (so ugly, he's cute) and that fun, jazzy music. What really makes the show are the accents given to the characters by John Byner. Charlie, the ant, is a hip daddy-o who sounds like Dean Martin. Even better is the Aardvark who has a stereotypical north-eastern Jewish accent (his voice was patterned after New York comedian Jackie Mason). Almost anything he says is funny. There are many hilarious one-liners, especially in the early episodes. The show was released to theatres between March 1969 to May 1971, but I think even today's kids will enjoy this cartoon.
Here are the 17 episodes in order of their release:
1. "The Ant and the Aardvark"-- The ant tries to take home an entire picnic, but the aardvark would like to make a picnic of him. Aardvark after a pie to the face--"Coconut cream pie. You know how I know it's coconut? Because it's got a coconut in it, and it huyts!"
2. "Hasty But Tasty"--The hip daddy-o ant gets himself some wheels in the form of a motorcycle. The aardvark after swallowing a giant sandwich--"You know, peanut butter really sticks to the roof of your back."
3. "The Ant From Uncle"--Clever title--a take-off of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." The aardvark introduces himself to the audience. He then tries to get the ant to visit "The Ant's Club" in his stomach and visits the ant's pad: "What is this place? Nothing but hallways." We find out the ant's name is Charlie and we meet "Charlie's Aunt" (a reference to the classic play and later film "Charley's Aunt").
4. "I've Got Ants in My Plans"--The aarvark and his rival, the green aardvark, compete over Charlie.
5. "Technology, Phooey"--The aardvark purchases a computer that sounds a little like Paul Lynde (it's not his voice, though) to help him catch Charlie. Aardvark: "I could say something right now, but it would only get censored."
6. "Never Bug an Ant"--The aardvark tries many creative ways to catch the ant--none work but they are creative. Aardvark: "I'd rather be a banker and have a businessman's lunch." Ant: "Lucky for me, an ant can lift 100,000 times his own weight" (that comes in handy).
7. "Dune Bug"--Charlie is vacationing at the beach and the aardvark keeps getting kicked off for not wearing a leash.
8. "Isle of Caprice"--The aardvark somehow ends up on a deserted island and tries to swim to an adjacent island inhabited by ants--but a shark keeps putting the chomp on his plans. No Charlie in this one (sorry, Charlie).
9. "Scratch a Tiger"--For pulling a thorn out of his foot, a tiger protects Charlie and his ant buddies from the aardvark. The tables are turned, however, when the aardvark also relieves the tiger of a painful thorn.
10. "Odd Ant Out"--The aardvark competes with his rival green anteater over a can of chocolate-covered ants. Charlie is only seen at the end.
11. "Ants in the Pantry"--The aardvark gets tips on where to find meals by intercepting calls to a pest control company. When he shows up at Charlie's address, however, he is no longer in control of the pests.
12. "Science Friction"--A scientist wants Charlie for research, the aardvark wants him for lunch.
13. "Mumbo Jumbo"--An elephant, and fellow member of the Brothers of the Forest Lodge 202, comes to Charlie's aid when he's confronted by the aardvark--"With a mouth as small as mine, I've got to pick on somebody his size or I'd starve."
14. "The Froze Nose Knows"--It's winter time, but there's no hibernation for the aardvark--he probably should consider it, though.
15. "Don't Hustle an Ant With Muscle"--Charlie takes strength vitamins and becomes a muscle-bound powerhouse who can even get the aardvark to be his waiter: "I never thought it would happen to me, an aardvark bringing lunch to an ant."
16. "Rough Brunch"--Charlie finds support from a family of termites who makes life miserable for the aardvark.
17. "From Bed to Worse"--The Ant and the Aardvark are hit by a car and are put in an animal clinic with an angry dog. The little old lady nurse reminds me of Tweety Bird's owner. Aardvark: "The hospitality around here can make a person sick."

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The Pink Panther: The Ant & The Aardvark Classic Cartoon Collection features all 17 episodes of the original cartoon series.For the first time on DVD, parents can relive the hilarity as these two characters go head to head.

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The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)The Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection is a 9-disc set comprised of the following:
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 1: Pranks in The Pink (158 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 2: Adventures in The Pink (155 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 3: Frolics in The Pink (158 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 4: Swinging in The Pink (171 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 5: The Ant and the Aardvark (111 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 6: The Inspector Vol. 1 (107 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 7: The Inspector Vol. 2 (119 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 8: Roland and Ratfink (119 min.)
* Pink Panther Cartoon Collection Vol. 9 (119 min.)Volumes 1-4 were originally released separately and on a 5-disc collector's set under the title of "The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection" in January 2006. Also available on the 18-disc Pink Panther Ultimate Collection released on November 28, 2008.
Volumes 5 and 6 were only released separately under the title of "The Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection" on April 3, 2007 and March 4, 2008 respectively. Also available on the 18-disc Pink Panther Ultimate Collection.
[Note: while Vol. 5 contains the complete series of The Ant & the Aardvark, Vol. 6 contains only the first 17 (of 34) Inspector shorts, hence the second volume.]
Volumes 7-9 were only released on the 18-disc Pink Panther Ultimate Collection and are expected [by fans who already own the preceding volumes] to be released individually sometime soon as separate volumes.
Bottom line: A solid cartoon collection. Recommended if you don't already own the previous separate releases or the 5-disc collector's set or the 18-disc ultimate collection. For fans that only own the previous separate volumes and/or the 5-disc set, I recommend waiting for the individual releases of Volumes 7 and 8. Volume 9, btw, contains the remaining Pink Panther shorts and extras from the 5-disc set [and later 18-disc set] not previously released separately.

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Item Name: Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection; Studio:MGM (Video & DVD)

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The Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol. 6: The Inspector (1969) Review

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(More customer reviews)The first episode of The Inspector debuted in theaters alongside the James Bond adventure Thunderball in 1965, and fits perfectly with the whole secret agent craze of the 60s. And though each episode was originally released in theaters, the Inspector cartoons also appeared alongside the Pink Panther on Saturday Morning programming for several years.
The character of The Inspector - clearly based on Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther films though his name is never given - bumbles his way through case after case with the aid of his trusty sidekick Deux Deux (pronounced Dudu). Deux Duex is Spanish, but somehow has found his way to the French Surete, and a running gag has The Inspector instructing him that he should say "Oui" instead of "Si" all the time.
The Inspector originally faced off against a host of unique villains, including The Blotch, The Mad Bomber, Captain Clamity, and Two-Faced Harry in a grand total of 34 kid-friendly cartoon shorts. Unfortunately, this DVD will only include half of the series (the other half probably being released seperately in a few months' time).
Episodes included are:
- The Great DeGaulle Stone Operation
- Reaux Reaux Reaux Your Boat
- Napolean Blown-Apart
- Cirrhosis of the Louvre
- Plastered in Paris
- Cock-A-Doodle Deux Deux
- Ape Suzette
- Pique Poquette of Paris, The
- Sicque! Sicque! Sicque!
- That's No Lady - That's Notre Dame
- Unsafe and Seine
- Toulouse La Trick
- Sacre Bleu Cross
- Le Quiet Squad
- Bomb Voyage
- Le Pig-Al Patrol
- Le Bowser Bagger
The slapstick shorts in this series represent to me some of the very best to come from the DePatie-Freleng studio (along with The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection).
Very highly recommended!

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With a nose for clues, an eye for intrigue and a mind like a steel trap that's jammed shut, The Inspector sets out to solve Paris' most puzzling crime mysteries.

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