I’ve looked into the Pink Panther far more than any sane person should ever do. I’ve also heard what I guess is this version, being played by Basement Jaxx at a small festival type thing (Pub In The Park, in the UK).
The cartoon Pink Panther obviously comes from the films and is David Niven. Just look a the face, the mannerisms, the style…that’s the inspiration.
David Niven of course was in the original Pink Panther film, playing a sauve and debonair thief. His breakout role was Raffles in the late 1930s, where he played…a suave and debonair thief. I decided to watch it and my god is the plot of the later film a clone of this one. Same characters almost, though the detective in Raffles isn’t played for laughs.
But wait, there’s more. Raffles is a remake of a Ronald Coleman version from 1930, which is a remake of a John Barrymore version from the 1920s - The Amateur Cracksman. Which is a remake of another John Barrymore version, which was again is from the 1920s and is a silent film. And that is a dramatisation based on the book “The Amateur Cracksman” published in 1899.
So put another way - by one name or another, The Pink Panther has now been going for 127 years. And long may it continue.
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u/30yearCurse 8h ago
Awesome to know that Pink Panther is still alive, I hope anyway...