Pink Panther (character) Pink Panther (character) The Pink Panther is a fictional animated character who appeared in the opening and/or closing credit sequences of every film in the "Pink Panther" series except for "A Shot in the Dark" and "Inspector Clouseau". In the storyline of the original film, "the Pink Panther" was the name of a valuable pink diamond named for a flaw that showed a "figure of a springing panther" when held up to the light in a certain way; in the credits this was translated to an animated pink panther. The character's popularity spawned a spin-off franchise of theatrical shorts, television
The Pink Panther later adopted by the animated spin-off series, "The Inspector." Although official, the live-action film "Inspector Clouseau" (1968) starring Alan Arkin, is generally not considered by fans to be part of the series canon, since it involved neither Sellers nor Edwards. Some elements of Arkin's performance and costuming, however, were retained when Peter Sellers resumed the role of Clouseau for "Return" in 1975. Despite speculation, Alan Arkin does not appear in "Trail of the Pink Panther." The film that launched the second Pink Panther series, "The Pink Panther," starring Martin as Clouseau, directed by Shawn Levy and produced by Robert Simonds,