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
Pink Panther (character) cartoons and merchandise. He starred in 124 short films, 10 TV shows and 4 TV specials. The character is closely associated with "The Pink Panther Theme", composed by Henry Mancini. The animated Pink Panther character's initial appearance in the live action film's title sequence, directed by Friz Freleng, was such a success with audiences and United Artists that the studio signed Freleng and his DePatie–Freleng Enterprises studio to a multi-year contract for a series of "Pink Panther" theatrical cartoon shorts. The first entry in the series, 1964's "The Pink Phink", featured Pink harassing his foil, a little white mustachioed man