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,
Trail of the Pink Panther appearance as Clouseau in the World War II flashback. The film was a critical failure. Although the film was marketed as a tribute to Sellers, it was widely panned by critics. It was released for Christmas 1982 and grossed only $9 million - $22,971,889.12 in 2017 dollars ($1,341,695 on opening weekend in 800 theaters; $3,247,458 on opening week) against its $6 million budget. In contrast, the previous film in the series, "Revenge of the Pink Panther", had made over $49 million. Nonetheless, it was soon followed by a further "Pink Panther" film, "Curse of the Pink Panther", which was shot