COOL CAT QUIETLY STOLE FIRST FILM.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer When Blake Edwards' first ``Pink Panther'' movie hit theaters in 1964, Time magazine put the film's lead character on its cover - not Peter Sellers' scene-stealing Inspector Clouseau or David Niven's jewel thief - but the animated cool cat that had been unceremoniously created in a dingy dingy used as a description of fleece wool; the wool is lacking in brightness. Van Nuys office building. Time's verdict: The animated opening credits Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture or videogame, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the - the first appearance of the cartoon Pink Panther - ``were better than the film.'' That credit sequence, created by legendary animator Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (August 21, 1906[1] – May 26, 1995) was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. and his partner David DePatie, was such a hit that United Artists immediately commissioned the fledgling DePatie-Freleng studio to create another hundred-plus cartoon shorts to show with its movies. The first one, ``The Pink Phink,'' won an Oscar in 1964. Over the next 15 years, the Valley-based studio churned out another 123 perfectly timed, mostly dialogue-free cartoons featuring the lanky, sophisticated panther. The shorts were shown first in movie theaters and then collected for a long-running Saturday morning cartoon Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming which was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the 1990s. series. And now, they've been compiled for the first time in the five-disc ``Pink Panther Classic Cartoon DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. Collection,'' which arrived in stores Tuesday. ``The appeal of the Panther character? I think it's because he's so promiscuous and fun-loving,'' director Edwards mused. ``He's devilish dev·il·ish adj. 1. Of, resembling, or characteristic of a devil, as: a. Malicious; evil. b. Mischievous, teasing, or annoying. 2. Excessive; extreme: devilish heat. . He's a prankster.'' The Panther's genesis came from Edwards' desire to have ``The Pink Panther'' open with a striking animated sequence set to Henry Mancini's theme music. The DePatie-Freleng team came up with more than 100 renditions of the cat; ultimately it was artist Hawley Pratt's tall, slender character design that won out. (Pratt himself was long and lean, the opposite of Freleng, whose Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . creation, Yosemite Sam, matched his own height and, apparently, temperament.) The Panther spoke only twice. On the first occasion, 1965's ``Sink Pink,'' Rex Harrison supplied the voice. But as Freleng noted, ``Like Chaplin, he could never speak once he was known as a silent actor.'' ``I had no idea the character would take off like that and have that kind of life of its own,'' Edwards said. ``Thank God it did.'' Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The Pink Panther cartoon. |
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