. . . "All of Gall can be divided into three parts," but he made this observation well before The Fuhrer split it in half. Throughout History, Gall--or "France," as it later became known--has embodied, embraced and epitomized the term "low-brow comedy." When it comes to intelligence, the French have been conducting a perpetual limbo contest to determine how low they can go. The Inspector series is set in France, and leads all contenders in the race to the bottom of the rotten tomato barrel. Given their hilarious hate "cuisine," their menacing mimes, their bland fries and dressing, the Eye Sore Tower, their unsanitary osculation and their louver-riddled attic of second-rate "art," it's unlikely that a skilled thief would ever set foot in Caesar's backwater.
5 Reviews
'Inspector' Off To A Good Start
ccthemovieman-113 March 2008
This was my first look at one of these "Inspector" cartoons, a spin off of the popular Pink Panther animated shorts. It was a good start, as far as I was concerned. It was fun to look at, and hear. Pat Harrington Jr., best remembered by older folks like me for his television role as the janitor "Schneider," in "One Day At A Time" (1975-1984) does a great job voicing the lead characters. That would be "The Inspector (Clouseau) and his partner "Deux-Deux."
Inspector and Deux-Deux (say the latter out loud and you'll go "ouch") are guard a diamond at the DeGaulle Château that is worth billions of francs. Out to steal it are brothers, in the form of three heads on one body! They are named Weft, Wight and Wong. The one in the middle does a Charlie Chan impression, quoting Confusion (instead of Confucius) Yes, some of the gags are corny and some predictable but this is great fun.
The visuals are fantastic; great drawings and a humorous villain who, oddly, gets away with the crime! Well, nobody ever confused Inspector Clouseau with Sherlock Holmes. I hope the other 16 cartoons in this DVD collection ("The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol. 6 - Inspector Cartoons.) are as entertaining as this first one.
Inspector and Deux-Deux (say the latter out loud and you'll go "ouch") are guard a diamond at the DeGaulle Château that is worth billions of francs. Out to steal it are brothers, in the form of three heads on one body! They are named Weft, Wight and Wong. The one in the middle does a Charlie Chan impression, quoting Confusion (instead of Confucius) Yes, some of the gags are corny and some predictable but this is great fun.
The visuals are fantastic; great drawings and a humorous villain who, oddly, gets away with the crime! Well, nobody ever confused Inspector Clouseau with Sherlock Holmes. I hope the other 16 cartoons in this DVD collection ("The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol. 6 - Inspector Cartoons.) are as entertaining as this first one.
There's nothing great about it.
BA_Harrison15 August 2021
I thought the Pink Panther cartoons were bad, but this animated Inspector Clouseau short is even worse, with its horrible scratchy drawing style and garish, messy backgrounds: were the animators colour blind? Or just blind?
Worse still is the plot: a valuable diamond is stolen by a - well, I'm not really sure what it's supposed to be. It looks like a black, three-headed rabbit (the middle head being Chinese) with two legs, wearing a black spy overcoat. Inspector Clouseau tries to retrieve the gem. What the hell?!? I'd be interested to know what they were smoking when they came up with this nonsense.
Once again, I seem to be on my own with my opinion, but after this, I'm in no hurry to see if any of the other Inspector cartoons are any better.
Worse still is the plot: a valuable diamond is stolen by a - well, I'm not really sure what it's supposed to be. It looks like a black, three-headed rabbit (the middle head being Chinese) with two legs, wearing a black spy overcoat. Inspector Clouseau tries to retrieve the gem. What the hell?!? I'd be interested to know what they were smoking when they came up with this nonsense.
Once again, I seem to be on my own with my opinion, but after this, I'm in no hurry to see if any of the other Inspector cartoons are any better.
The Inspector and the three-headed jewel thief
TheLittleSongbird4 May 2019
If you like the Pink Panther cartoons, those of The Inspector should appeal just as much. Am someone who does like the Pink Panther cartoons (love actually many of them), if more the early ones than those of the mid-70s onwards or so where quality was cheaper, the humour wasn't as funny and it tended to be repetitive. Found myself liking The Inspector cartoons just as much as the 60s Pink Panther cartoons as a child, like them even more through adult eyes.
'The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation' is a great first cartoons in the series, and a great way to introduce one to The Inspector cartoons if curious. There are thirty four The Inspector cartoons, all watchable and more, and 'The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation' stands out as among the best of them. All of the cartoons in The Inspector series have exactly the same main strengths to each other, though some had more interesting villains and cleverer and fresher stories with more surprises than others (while still delivering more than adequately on those elements).
Something that is the case with 'The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation'. Didn't find the story too predictable at all (even if jewel thievery is not a new concept in cartoons or anywhere), and with it being the first one it is one of the fresher ones, in a series that is on the formulaic side, with a couple of nice turns towards the end that didn't convolute things at all. The villain is one of the more imaginatively conceived ones with a nice job done with giving interesting personalities for the three heads.
What is also great is The Inspector character and the chemistry between him and his partner Deux Deux (also love his character). The Inspector's bumbling brings a great deal of amusement in the more slapstick-driven moments and did like that there was also a subtle irony in much of the comedy. This is beautifully and often hilariously contrasted with that of the more laid back and amusingly confused Deux Deux, one of the few characters in existence to make mumblings funny and not irritating or being over-whiny when complaining. Their interplay is a delight.
Really liked the humour here. There is slapstick physical comedy, which is violent but not overly so, never vulgar, sharply timed, well timed and most importantly of all it's funny. Even better is the verbal humour, whether the more ironic moments, the mumblings or The Inspector's frustrations with Deux Deux, appreciated the word-play being subtle yet witty. A few of the gags are agreed very corny and not everything surprises, my one complaint here.
Drawn in the unmistakable DePatie-Freleng style, the animation is great. Fairly simple in terms of drawing but never ugly, while the somewhat abstract backgrounds have nice attention to detail, more so than the Pink Panther cartoons (not a knock at all on the animation of that series), and don't look sparse. But it is the deep and rich colours that stand out in this regard. Pat Harrington Jr voices both The Inspector and Deux Deux and does wonderfully in providing the necessary energy and managing to differentiate the two voices that is important in making the contrast between the two believable.
Overall, great start for The Inspector cartoon series. 9/10
'The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation' is a great first cartoons in the series, and a great way to introduce one to The Inspector cartoons if curious. There are thirty four The Inspector cartoons, all watchable and more, and 'The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation' stands out as among the best of them. All of the cartoons in The Inspector series have exactly the same main strengths to each other, though some had more interesting villains and cleverer and fresher stories with more surprises than others (while still delivering more than adequately on those elements).
Something that is the case with 'The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation'. Didn't find the story too predictable at all (even if jewel thievery is not a new concept in cartoons or anywhere), and with it being the first one it is one of the fresher ones, in a series that is on the formulaic side, with a couple of nice turns towards the end that didn't convolute things at all. The villain is one of the more imaginatively conceived ones with a nice job done with giving interesting personalities for the three heads.
What is also great is The Inspector character and the chemistry between him and his partner Deux Deux (also love his character). The Inspector's bumbling brings a great deal of amusement in the more slapstick-driven moments and did like that there was also a subtle irony in much of the comedy. This is beautifully and often hilariously contrasted with that of the more laid back and amusingly confused Deux Deux, one of the few characters in existence to make mumblings funny and not irritating or being over-whiny when complaining. Their interplay is a delight.
Really liked the humour here. There is slapstick physical comedy, which is violent but not overly so, never vulgar, sharply timed, well timed and most importantly of all it's funny. Even better is the verbal humour, whether the more ironic moments, the mumblings or The Inspector's frustrations with Deux Deux, appreciated the word-play being subtle yet witty. A few of the gags are agreed very corny and not everything surprises, my one complaint here.
Drawn in the unmistakable DePatie-Freleng style, the animation is great. Fairly simple in terms of drawing but never ugly, while the somewhat abstract backgrounds have nice attention to detail, more so than the Pink Panther cartoons (not a knock at all on the animation of that series), and don't look sparse. But it is the deep and rich colours that stand out in this regard. Pat Harrington Jr voices both The Inspector and Deux Deux and does wonderfully in providing the necessary energy and managing to differentiate the two voices that is important in making the contrast between the two believable.
Overall, great start for The Inspector cartoon series. 9/10
Very good short in the Inspector series
llltdesq13 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is an Inspector Clouseau short from Depatie-Freleng. There will be spoilers ahead:
Everything just seems to click in this short-the villain is interesting, the script is good, the sight gags are good, it's just a very well done short.
The Inspector is placed in control of a diamond, which is the first and foremost mistake. He loses it to the bad guy(s), a three headed criminal named Weft, Wight and Wong (Wong is the middle head and given to spouting fortune cookie style "wisdom"). The bulk of the short is spent chasing the crook(s).
The Inspector eventually winds up "finding" the jewel by accident, with rather painful results. The closing gag is cute.
This short is available on DVD as part of the first set of Inspector cartoons and the DVD and this short are well worth watching. Most recommended.
Everything just seems to click in this short-the villain is interesting, the script is good, the sight gags are good, it's just a very well done short.
The Inspector is placed in control of a diamond, which is the first and foremost mistake. He loses it to the bad guy(s), a three headed criminal named Weft, Wight and Wong (Wong is the middle head and given to spouting fortune cookie style "wisdom"). The bulk of the short is spent chasing the crook(s).
The Inspector eventually winds up "finding" the jewel by accident, with rather painful results. The closing gag is cute.
This short is available on DVD as part of the first set of Inspector cartoons and the DVD and this short are well worth watching. Most recommended.
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