The Pink Panther The first film in the series had an animated opening sequence, created by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, featuring The Pink Panther Theme by Mancini, as well as the Pink Panther character. This character, designed by Hawley Pratt and Friz Freleng, was subsequently the subject of his own series of animated cartoons which gained its highest profile when aired on Saturday mornings as "The Pink Panther Show." The character would be featured in the opening of every film in the movie series except "A Shot in the Dark" and "Inspector Clouseau". Although the original film was actually centred on the Phantom/Sir Charles Lytton,
Curse of the Pink Panther sued Edwards for alleged fraudulent overspending in 1984. Shortly after this, Edwards sued MGM for defamation of character. The lawsuits combined for over $1 billion. After much legal wrangling, they were settled out of court in 1988. Wass' option for several sequels was never taken up, though Edwards did start planning what would become "Son of the Pink Panther" around the time of the settlement – but MGM wasn't interested. They went ahead with a TV Movie in 1989 called "The New Pink Panther". Gary Nelson directed Charlie Schlatter as a wise-guy TV reporter investigating an arsonist. Schlatter teams up