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Top Ten Pink Panther Films

The Pink Panther series of animated short films ran from the mid sixties to the mid seventies for almost a hundred entries. Although diminishing in quality later down the line, most of these cartoons are very good with the best ones focusing on the amazingly strange score, animation and atmosphere that make this series stand out from the rest. Here is my list of ten best Pink Panther shorts with five honorable mentions.

10. Pink Blue Plate

The Pink Panther gets a job working at a busy café (owned by the Little Man) beside a building site and has trouble serving food to a grumpy construction worker. This is the premise behind this 1971 short that makes superb use of its construction site setting. While the ending is weaker, there are many great scenes here that are very amusing with the cake one being the funniest. It was so amusing following the disgruntled Little Man here.

9. Pink, Plunk, Plink

This one follows the protagonist interrupting an orchestra conductor who conducts Beethoven, but the panther wants to play his theme on the violin. This is the concert cartoon representative for this series, and like many concert cartons, it entirely works. The movie is highly entertaining and wonderfully composed throughout, but the highlight was seeing Henry Mancini in the flesh in what is the series’ greatest cameo appearance.

8. Prefabricated Pink

Yes, Prefabricated Pink is another construction site Pink Panther cartoon on this list, but I just had to include both of them as both are terrific and also quite different. This one focuses on this very odd world where there are many Little Men working on this site and seeing them all produced this very strange feeling that goes perfectly in line with this entire series. The action-oriented spectacle finale was another highlight here.

7. Pinkadilly Circus

The Pink Panther comes to the aid of a henpecked husband (the Little Man) who pulls a nail out of his foot. The husband then uses the panther against his disapproving wife. Yes, the Little Man here is this very unhappy husband married to this horrible woman. That made this movie very original and his role quite authentic. Seeing Pink and him work together was refreshing and ultimately immensely entertaining.

6. Rock a Bye Pinky

The Little Man sleeps on the ground in the woods while the Pink Panther sleeps in the tree. He gets annoyed by his loud snoring so he wants to get rid of him, but the man’s dog constantly helps him. Unfortunately, he thinks the dog is responsible for those actions. The dog here is so cute and endearing how infinitely loyal he is. The action is a lot of fun and the animation is superb. It’s one of the cutest shorts on this list.

5. The Hand Is Pinker Than the Eye

A cold Pink Panther sneaks into a house of illusion owned by Zammo the magician (the Little Man) and is constantly bothered by the magician’s rabbit. This is by far one of the most imaginative and brilliant shorts in the series that was lacking them later in its run. The animation is gorgeous and the action is fantastic. What is also terrific here is the characterization with the mouse being the perfect type of annoying cartoon character.

4. Super Pink

The Pink Panther attempts to be a superhero, but fails miserably. He continually fails to save a poor old woman from imminent danger, and he even manages to make things worse. This is such a ridiculous superhero movie that acts as a parody of superheroics with Pink’s suit being ridiculously cheap and ugly. The entire movie is the best type of silly and fun with the railway and car parts being the most accomplished of the bunch.

3. Pinkcome Tax

In medieval times, Pink tries to rescue a peasant who is thrown into prison for being too poor to pay his taxes. This is one of those highly authentic shorts that utilize its premise and setting to the fullest degree. Not only is the Robin Hood cameo incredible, but the animation is amazing and the relationship between the Little Man (he is the peasant here) and Pink has rarely been better. It’s such an endearing flick.

2. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Pink

The Pink Panther builds a house on a hill between an observatory and the moon, which annoys an astronomer working at the observatory. Eventually he ends up on the Moon hilariously so in that amazing finale. This film’s take on astronomy is wonderfully cartoony while its overall atmosphere and animation are truly stunning. Everything here works from the concept to the execution and it’s the rare movie that can rival my first pick for this list.

1. The Pink Phink

Yes, it’s always disappointing when the first entry in the series remains the best one, but sometimes the brilliance of the original is so unprecedented that nothing could rival it later. That is certainly the case with The Pink Phink, the only Oscar-winning movie from this series and deservedly so as this is the movie that made the best use of the Pink Panther/The Little Man rivalry. Not only is the humor here at the series’ best, but so is the animation as the use of color here is truly impressive. The score is also iconic, and thus it’s an obvious winner this time around.

Honorable Mentions:

In the Pink of the Night – Pink fights this annoying cuckoo clock in this familiar, but superbly executed entry in the series.

Pink Posies – Pink annoys the Little Man by painting his flowers pink and I loved this movie for utilizing on the color-based roots of the series.

It’s Pink, But Is It Mink? – Although more could have been done with its Tarzan and Jane premise, both of the classic characters are excellent and so much fun in this instance.

The Pink Tail Fly – A mosquito is annoying Pink in this very typical animal pest cartoon, but the one that is immensely relatable and funny.

An Ounce of Pink – Being about this fun weight machine, this movie is at its funniest in the contradicting things it says to the poor Pink.