The Pink Panther
Recurring
open/close all folders
Pink Panther
The titular star of the series, a pink panther who finds himself in all sorts of wacky adventures.
- The Ace: Pink Panther casually excels at almost everything he does.
- Adaptational Wimp: The 1993 series makes him more goofy and prone to comic misfortune.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: He is, well, a pink panther.
- Born Lucky: In many cartoons, things just keep going right for him. His Cool Cat attitude allows him to glide through most situations unscathed.
- Butt-Monkey: Depending on the Writer but even more on the part of the story, the Panther would often be ahead of his game for the most part, until meeting his match and unexpectedly losing control of a situation. Other times, he'd be behind the 8-ball for most of the short and only get the upper hand in the end.
- Cool Cat: Though he can be more emotional Depending on the Writer, most of the time, almost nothing fazes this panther. Also, he enjoys cool activities like jazz music and (in Pink Panther and Pals,) skateboarding, and he is The Ace at almost everything he does.
- Heroic Canines, Villainous Felines: Inverted. He is the Heroic Feline to Dog, the Dogfather, Pugg, and Louie's Villainous Canines.
- Jerkass to One: Zigzagged. Although Pink Panther is a Nice Guy to most people, sometimes he screws Big Nose over in ways that go a little beyond the things that Big Nose does to him. For example, in "The Pink Painter Show," when Big Nose puts one of his own self-portraits in Pink Panther's gallery exhibition, Pink Panther turns it into one of his all-pink paintings by pulling a switch that causes pink paint to slowly cover the whole canvas, horrifying Big Nose. However, there are other cartoons where Pink Panther is genuinely nice to Big Nose despite Big Nose's cruelty towards him.
- Karmic Trickster: Depending on the Writer, he can be this or a Troll. He's just as likely to be actively mischievous as he is to be completely oblivious that he's making things difficult for another character. Whether he's the former or the latter usually, but not always, comes down to whether or not his victim deserves the treatment.
- Minimalism: In-Universe, Pink Panther seems to enjoy creating minimalistic art. This fits his personality as a Cool Cat.
- In the episode "Cleopanthra" of the 1993 Pink Panther series, Cleopatra and the pharaoh reject each of the royal architect's designs for a monument, which are all modern-looking buildings. (Some are even famous real-life buildings, such as the Eiffel Tower.) Pink Panther's design, a pyramid, is drawn as a simple triangle. Cleopatra and the pharaoh both love it.
- In the episode "The Pink Painter Show" of Pink Panther and Pals, all of Pink Panther's paintings are just entire canvases painted the same shade of pink. People in-universe love these paintings so much that Pink Panther gets his own gallery exhibition.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: In the 1993 series, the Panther (or "Pinky" as some like Granny call him) often had a different job in each short.
- Nice Guy: Pink Panther is usually portrayed as a friendly individual who helps other people whenever he can. Sometimes he is a little cocky, though.
- Not So Stoic: Pink Panther usually gives off the impression of being cool and collected all the time, but he has shown stronger emotions in desperate situations. The 1993 series frequently shows him being afraid of dangerous situations, Pink Panther and Pals has him expressing childlike joy, and "Pink at First Sight" even shows him feeling depressed.
- Panthera Awesome: He is a panther, and though he's not so much "awesome" in the sense of being physically imposing or a great fighter, he is The Ace who is talented at many things and beloved by almost everyone.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Yes, he's pink. Yes, he likes making pink things. While he is more vulnerable in some cartoons, in others, he finds his way out of dangerous situations with ease.
- Silly Walk: Generally (but not always) meant to look more “cool” than most examples, but the Panther has a distinctive half-skipping walk, usually animated in time to the background music.
- Suddenly Speaking: Although he's usually silent, he has had a few voiced appearances:
- He was voiced in the 1993 series by Matt Frewer and Michael Sinterniklaas in the two PC games.
- He was also voiced in "Pink Ice" and at the end of "Sink Pink" by Rich Little (doing an impression of David Niven).
- Turn the Other Cheek: Zigzagged. Although sometimes he's a Jerkass to One to Big Nose, there are some cartoons where Pink Panther does nice things for Big Nose despite Big Nose's hatred for him.
- In "Shop Pink Spree," after Big Nose ruins the free shopping spree that Pink Panther won, Pink Panther still offers him a slice of the free pizza he wins later.
- In "A Very Pink Christmas," after Big Nose spends the whole special trying to sabotage Pink Panther's Christmas tree shop (to the point of getting Pink Panther falsely arrested), Pink Panther still invites him to the Christmas dinner he sets up for the poor family.
Little Man/"Big Nose"
Pink Panther's frequent archenemy, a small, stylized man with a distinctive large nose and scruffy mustache.
- Ambiguously Human: He ends up looking like this due to his overly stylized design. This is especially noticeable since all the other human characters look more realistic compared to him, even if they're also a bit stylized.
- Born Unlucky: While almost everything goes right for Pink Panther, things keep going wrong for Big Nose. Sometimes he deserves his bad luck due to his evil actions, but other times, he's not so malicious, yet still suffers bad luck anyway. This is often the reason why he is Driven by Envy.
- The Chew Toy: Poor guy, he just cannot catch a break... most of the time, anyways.
- Driven by Envy: Many episodes of Pink Panther and Pals have him start the episode's conflict because he's jealous of Pink Panther's fame, skills, or luck.
- Friendly Enemy: In some of the 1993-1995 episodes he was friends with The Pink Panther.
- Gag Nose: No wonder Pink Panther and Pals named him Big Nose.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: The one thing that remained consistent about him, no matter his role, is that he could certainly explode into a fit of anger at even minor inconveniences.
- Jerkass: Sometimes. Other times, especially in earlier shorts, he'd play the part of put-upon everyman.
- The Napoleon: A short man who has a Hair-Trigger Temper.
- No Name Given: However, one episode refers to him as "Waldo" and "Pink Blue Plate" has him as the proprietor of "Joe's Cafe", but these could equally be aliases.
- Race Lift: The classic shorts would often depict him as being chalk-white from head to toe, before switching to a natural skin tone later on. Pink Panther and Pals returned him to his chalk-white color.
- Small Name, Big Ego: At times his ego was his defining trait.
- Suddenly Speaking: By Wallace Shawn in the 1993 series.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He's clearly based on Clouseau, but is much more The Generic Guy in order to appeal to younger viewers.
- Uncatty Resemblance: Big Nose is chalk white like Dog, and his trademark big nose matches Dog's equally big snout.
- What, Exactly, Is His Job?: He was sometimes portrayed as the Panther's boss/immediate supervisor.
Dog
Big Nose's loyal pet dog and frequent partner-in-crime.
- Cassandra Truth: He often tries and fails to alert Big Nose to the Pink Panther, sometimes even getting blamed for stuff the Pink Panther did.
- Dogs Are Dumb: Sometimes really, really dumb. Once he returned a lit stick of dynamite Big Nose threw at him thinking it was a regular stick.
- The Dragon: He assists Big Nose in his evil schemes.
- Heroic Canines, Villainous Felines: Inverted. He is the Villainous Canine to Pink Panther's Heroic Feline.
- No Name Given: He has never really been given a name.
- Uncatty Resemblance: Dog is chalk white with a large snout that matches Big Nose's... well, big nose.
Hoarse
A white horse who serves as Pink Panther's loyal steed... although in some cartoons, he's less willing to cooperate.
- The Bus Came Back: His first and, for a while, only appearance was in the 1967 cartoon "Pinto Pink." He was brought back as a recurring character in Pink Panther and Pals, over 40 years later.
- The Cameo: Though he does not appear in person in "Pinxillated," his design is used for the arcade plushies.
- White Stallion: A white horse who is ridden by the heroic Cool Cat himself, Pink Panther.
The Dogfather, Pugg, and Louie
L to R: Louie, the Dogfather, and Pugg.
A trio of anthropomorphic gangster dogs. They originated in The Dogfather cartoon series also by DePatie-Freleng, but a radical reinterpretation of them was added to the Pink Panther series. They are the main antagonists of a couple episodes of the 1993 Pink Panther series, as well as the video game Pink Panther's Passport to Peril.
- Adapted Out: In the original Dogfather cartoons, the Dogfather had a whole gang of dogs. Here, he just has Pugg and Louie.
- Adaptational Species Change: In the original cartoons, the Dogfather was some sort of gray dog with droopy, fluffy ears, possibly an English Setter or something similar. Here, he's clearly a bulldog.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the old cartoons, Pugg and Louie were bumbling Villain Protagonists who rarely accomplished anything, while the Dogfather mostly watched from the sidelines. While still comical, they are direct antagonists to the Pink Panther in this version.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: Pugg is big, Louie is thin, and the Dogfather is short.
- Derivative Differentiation: The Dogfather was originally a caricature of Vito Corleone. In this incarnation, he's more of his own character.
- Evil Sounds Deep: The Dogfather is a crime lord with a very deep voice.
- Heroic Canines, Villainous Felines: Inverted. They are the Villainous Canines to Pink Panther's Heroic Feline.
- Simpleton Voice: Pugg is the big, dumb henchman, so he has a deep, silly voice.
- Sinister Shades: The Dogfather always wears triangular shades to emphasize his shifty personality.
- Terrible Trio: A trio of criminals consisting of a small mob lord and two of his more physically imposing goons.
Specific to The Pink Panther (1993)
Snake and Weasel
"Lets get him!" (L to R: Weasel and Snake)
A pair of gangsters who show up as occasional antagonists.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Snake's voice is based off Sean Connery's, and Weasel's is based off Dustin Hoffman's Rain Man character.
Johnny Chucklehead
Johnny Chucklehead
- Big Bad: In at least 4 episodes: The Inspector's Most Wanted, Pinky's Dilemma, Pink Big, You Only Pink Twice and Rain or Snow or Pink of Night.
- Knight of Cerebus: He definitely made the show a lot darker at times.
7 Manly Men
- Expy: A very definite one of Village People.
Hamm-N-Eggz
A duo of a chicken and a pig, they appear in their sole episode Hamm-N-Eggz.
- Non-Standard Character Design: The animation looks nothing like the rest of the 1993-1995 Pink Panther cartoons.
