The Pink Panther to me is one of animation's most iconic characters. DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' output was very hit and miss, or at least post-1970 it was, especially the later theatrical series. With hits such as Pink Panther and the Ant and the Aardvark, and duds such as Crazylegs Crane. For me, The Pink Panther on the whole was the studio's best theatrical series, though The Inspector and Ant and the Aardvark ones come close. It did become very variable from the mid-70s onwards, but the 60s-early 70s output contained some of the studio's best work.
Have always loved it when animation has stories centering around spies and secret agents, and it has often been done very well. It has been done better in other cartoons than 'Pinkfinger', but 'Pinkfinger' is still entertaining even if not everything comes off completely successfully. As far as Pink Panther cartoons go, it is not one of the best and is the weakest easily up to this still early point of the series. The series also did see a lot worse and that is true of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in general.
'Pinkfinger' is uneven. Phrases like "old boy" and "good show" in the narration are overused to annoyance. Some of the character designs other than Pink lack smoothness.
While amusing the alligator gag has been done before in cartoons many times so the outcome wasn't all that surprising. And yeah, the ending did go over my head somewhat.
On the other hand, 'Pinkfinger' does a lot right. The colours and backgrounds are beautifully done and look very Friz Freleng, it's simple but effective in that sense. Henry Mancini's main theme is iconic, you can still hear why and the rest of the music accompanying the action is just as catchy. 'Pinkfinger' is more amusing than it is hilarious, but it still entertains. The cartoon's biggest laugh easily comes from the "blast him" gag, if there was one part that was hilarious it was this.
Furthermore, the story is fun, well-paced and different somewhat for the Pink Panther, nothing comes across as predictable or derivative. Pinky as ever is subtly cunning, and has considerable enough to carry the material. Paul Frees and Dave Barry's vocals are very nicely done.
All in all, not Pink Panther series at its best but still worth the viewing. 7/10.
Have always loved it when animation has stories centering around spies and secret agents, and it has often been done very well. It has been done better in other cartoons than 'Pinkfinger', but 'Pinkfinger' is still entertaining even if not everything comes off completely successfully. As far as Pink Panther cartoons go, it is not one of the best and is the weakest easily up to this still early point of the series. The series also did see a lot worse and that is true of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in general.
'Pinkfinger' is uneven. Phrases like "old boy" and "good show" in the narration are overused to annoyance. Some of the character designs other than Pink lack smoothness.
While amusing the alligator gag has been done before in cartoons many times so the outcome wasn't all that surprising. And yeah, the ending did go over my head somewhat.
On the other hand, 'Pinkfinger' does a lot right. The colours and backgrounds are beautifully done and look very Friz Freleng, it's simple but effective in that sense. Henry Mancini's main theme is iconic, you can still hear why and the rest of the music accompanying the action is just as catchy. 'Pinkfinger' is more amusing than it is hilarious, but it still entertains. The cartoon's biggest laugh easily comes from the "blast him" gag, if there was one part that was hilarious it was this.
Furthermore, the story is fun, well-paced and different somewhat for the Pink Panther, nothing comes across as predictable or derivative. Pinky as ever is subtly cunning, and has considerable enough to carry the material. Paul Frees and Dave Barry's vocals are very nicely done.
All in all, not Pink Panther series at its best but still worth the viewing. 7/10.
