Post by Clouseau on Jul 1, 2006 13:32:46 GMT
the Pink Panther started his career in theaters, and although his theatrical shorts were brought to TV in the 70s, he still primarily lived in theaters... 1978 was the first year new Pink Panther cartoons began to air on TV prior to their theatrical releases... A Pink Christmas, though - a 25-minute special - was the Pink Panther's first prime-time TV appearance...
i recently obtained a new VHS copy of this special - like the other TV specials, it's not yet available on DVD - and last night, i gave it a look... as a bit of a "Christmas in July" for you, i thought i'd go ahead and review it for you...
everything is vividly drawn, and there are some amusing moments, but overall, i'd say it reflects the style of the other Panther cartoons of the late 70s... it's hard to quite put my finger on it, but it just doesn't feel as "fresh" as the earlier cartoons, if that makes sense... still, if you're a completist like me, you'll be glad to see it at least once...
below is my synopsis of the events of the program...
SPOILERS
to make a long story short, a homeless, starving Pink Panther is roaming the streets looking for food on Christmas Eve... he tries everything he can think of - he tries to get a job as a department store Santa, he tries stealing food, he tries shoveling snow for money, he even tries to get himself locked in jail so he can get a prison dinner - but to no avail... at the end, a policeman chasing a burglar drops his donut, and when the Pink Panther is about to eat it, he notices a hungry dog, so he gives the donut to the dog... then the dog follows the Panther back to his park bench, but as the Panther is mourning, a Christmas tree magically appears, and then a large feast appears in front of him, and the Panther looks to the sky just in time to see that it was all the work of Santa Claus...
