History WesternAnimation / ThePinkPanther

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist

Compare other, similar cartoon series produced by [=DePatie=]-Freleng: ''WesternAnimation/TheAntAndTheAardvark'', ''The Dogfather'' (a canine-focused spoof of ''Film/TheGodfather''), ''WesternAnimation/{{Misterjaw}}'', ''Roland and Rattfink'', ''Sheriff Hoot Kloot'', and ''Tijuana Toads''.

* {{Gaslighting}}: The Pink Panther does this to an astronmer he developed a feud with during their squabble by having LittleGreenMen marionettes dance before his observatory's telescope to make him think there are aliens on the Moon. When the excited astronomer reported the discovery, he was deemed mad by his superiors and sent off to a sanitorium. [[spoiler:Ironically, there ARE dancing LittleGreenMen on the Moon, but the astronomer didn't get to find out until he was blown all the way to the Moon and was left stranded there by his final attempt to get at Pink Panther]].

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* HydeAndSeek: The episode "Watch The Birdie" of ''The Dogfather'' section is a Recycled Script of [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes "Dr. Jerkyl's Hide"]] (produced by Creator/FrizFreleng as well) with the dog gang in the role of, well, the dogs and a yellow bird in [[TheFool Sylvester]]'s role, i.e., drinking a weird liquid thinking it's soda while hiding from his pursuers.

* ''The New Pink Panther Show'' ran in syndication from [[TheNineties 1993-95]], and thus far is the only incarnation that gave the Panther a proper voice at all times, provided by Creator/MattFrewer; the Little Man was also voiced full-time here ([[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Wallace]] [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Shawn]] doing the work there), and many of the other [=DePatie=]-Freleng characters- the Ant and the Aardvark (both reprised by John Byner), the Inspector, and the Dogfather- appeared too, alongside both the Panther and new characters like Voodoo Man.

** In "Smile Pretty, Say Pink", the Pink Panther mistakes flashbulbs for eggs, and devours a dozen of them. Then, whenever he hiccups, Pink lights up. Terrified of his plight, Pink runs into a photographer's darkroom. There, he hiccups, lights up, and runs away, leaving Big Nose with ruined film.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: A lot of early shorts actually have dialogue, whether from the narrator, secondary characters, or the Panther himself in two installments. This was eventually dropped once the creators realized the cartoons work best when it's pure pantomime, although later cartoons occasionally feature small bits of dialogues, such as "A Fly in the Pink" and "Pink Plasma".

* BeTheBall: Happens to the Little Man in ''In The Pink'' because of a parallel bars exercise gone wrong: he overspins and curls up into a ball, the Panther picks him up due to mistaking him for a ball and proceeds to play some basketball, but thankfully he misses a shot at a hoop which causes the Little Man to end up in the trash back to normal.

* ''The Pink Panther and Sons'', a co-production between Creator/HannaBarbera and [=DePatie=]-Freleng, aired in TheEighties. Despite getting top billing the show focused mainly on the adventures of the Panther's two children, Pinky and Panky and their friends, [[GangOfCritters the Rainbow Panthers]].

* GangOfCritters: The Rainbow Panthers and their rivals, The Howls Angels.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_pink_panther__5061.png]]
[[caption-width-right:280:He's one CoolCat.]]

Along with the Panther's shorts, [=DePatie=]-Freleng established a sister series in '''''WesternAnimation/TheInspector''''', shorts inspired by the BreakoutCharacter of the live-action films, Inspector Clouseau. The Inspector in these shorts, voiced by Pat Harrington, was more competent than his movie counterpart, though still prone to bad judgement calls, and was the general ButtMonkey of the series even when he did succeed in the end.

** In "Smile Pretty, Say Pink", the Pink Panther mistakes flashbulbs for eggs, and devours a dozen of them. Then, whenever he hiccups, Pink lights up. Terrified of his plight, Pink runs into a photographers' darkroom. There, he hiccups, lights up, and runs away, leaving Big Nose with ruined film.
* InteractiveNarrator: Three animated shorts from 1965 featured this, such as "Shocking Pink," "Pinkfinger" and "Pink Panzer," the latter of which [[spoiler:reveals at the end that the Devil was the NarratorAllAlong.]] This was early in the series, and is now seen as an instance of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.

* NoMoreForMe: In "Pink Pajamas", while looking for a place to sleep, the Panther finds his way into a house, who owner turns out to be drunkard. After seeing the Panther several times, he calls his A.A sponsor, who convinces him to give up alcohol. After finding and throwing out his entire alcohol stash, the two celebrate with a glass of milk...when they see the Pink Panther walk by. [[INeedAFreakingDrink This results in them chasing after the garbage truck that took the alcohol bottles]].

* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: "Pinkerella". Not the happy ending of Cinderella and Pelvis, which could halfway be expected and is fair to the tale. But at the end the witch who lost her wand and Pink dish out a magic fight, no holds barred, until, completely unexpected, [[spoiler: the witch turns into a gorgeous - surely up par with {{ComicBook/Vampirella}}s sidekick in feline hawtness - pantheress, and they fly off on the broom into the moonset.]]

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: A lot of early shorts feature the Panther interacting with characters that actually speak (two of which have the Panther himself talking), including a narrator. This was eventually dropped once the creators realized the cartoons work best when it's pure pantomime, although later cartoons occasionally feature small bits of dialogues, such as "A Fly in the Pink" and "Pink Plasma".

Compare other, similar cartoon series produced by [=DePatie=]-Freleng: ''WesternAnimation/TheAntAndTheAardvark'', ''The Dogfather'' (a canine-focused spoof of ''Film/TheGodfather''), ''Misterjaw'', ''Roland and Rattfink'', ''Sheriff Hoot Kloot'', and ''Tijuana Toads''.

* MalevolentMice: "Pink-A-Boo" has a pesky mouse abscond some supplies from Pink's home, often right under his nose. Later, this mouse is joined by a platoon of guest mice, and they start a loud party in the Mouse Hole in Pink's living room.

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The official onscreen title of the series is ''Creator/BlakeEdwards' The Pink Panther'', despite Edwards having only commissioned the title sequences for the live-action films. This extends to the home media releases.