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A Pink Panther cartoon that didn't feel like a Pink Panther cartoon
The Pink Panther to me is one of animation's most iconic characters. DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' output was very hit and miss, or at least post-1970 it was, especially the later theatrical series. With hits such as Pink Panther and the Ant and the Aardvark, and duds such as Crazylegs Crane. For me, The Pink Panther on the whole was the studio's best theatrical series, though The Inspector and Ant and the Aardvark ones come close. It did become very variable from the mid-70s onwards, but the 60s-early 70s output contained some of the studio's best work.
Although a vast majority of the 60s Pink Panther cartoons were very good and more, a few did disappoint. To me, 'Shocking Pink' was one of those few. It's hardly bad and it is better than the late 70s Pink Panther cartoons and more watchable than a vast majority of animation in the past fifteen years or so. 'Shocking Pink' is also not particularly good, there are very few Pink Panther cartoons where this viewer questioned its point and/or didn't feel like Pink Panther. 'Shocking Pink' falls in both categories.
It is not all bad. The animation is very nicely done, it's simple but colourful and smooth, and Pinky is drawn well. The iconic music is still catchy and infectious, never irritating in that respect. The main theme is timeless and one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable ones in animation.
The ending is fun and so are one or two of the gags like the one with the shower.
For all those good things, there is so much that is not well done and too significant to ignore. The canned laughter track had absolutely no point being there, it felt like the viewer is being forced to laugh and to me that is not something that one should feel. Pink Panther and his cartoons are funny on their own, the canned laughter just cheapened the cartoon.
Aside from the odd moment, the humour wasn't particularly funny, much of it was predictable and lacking in energy. The canned laughter didn't things at all, and neither did the omnipresent narrator, who was decent enough to start with but quickly became irritating, over-used and too over-explanatory. The biggest disappointment though was how little Pinky properly got to shine. He is a witty, cool and clever character, but you only see this in the ending, the rest was him being irritated by the narrator and the DIY and he just seemed out of sorts.
Overall, not great, not bad, kind of mixed here. It looks good, the music is still great and the odd gag is fun, but the canned laughter and narration didn't add very much and didn't work and Pinky's personality didn't come through enough. 5/10.
Although a vast majority of the 60s Pink Panther cartoons were very good and more, a few did disappoint. To me, 'Shocking Pink' was one of those few. It's hardly bad and it is better than the late 70s Pink Panther cartoons and more watchable than a vast majority of animation in the past fifteen years or so. 'Shocking Pink' is also not particularly good, there are very few Pink Panther cartoons where this viewer questioned its point and/or didn't feel like Pink Panther. 'Shocking Pink' falls in both categories.
It is not all bad. The animation is very nicely done, it's simple but colourful and smooth, and Pinky is drawn well. The iconic music is still catchy and infectious, never irritating in that respect. The main theme is timeless and one of the most memorable and instantly recognisable ones in animation.
The ending is fun and so are one or two of the gags like the one with the shower.
For all those good things, there is so much that is not well done and too significant to ignore. The canned laughter track had absolutely no point being there, it felt like the viewer is being forced to laugh and to me that is not something that one should feel. Pink Panther and his cartoons are funny on their own, the canned laughter just cheapened the cartoon.
Aside from the odd moment, the humour wasn't particularly funny, much of it was predictable and lacking in energy. The canned laughter didn't things at all, and neither did the omnipresent narrator, who was decent enough to start with but quickly became irritating, over-used and too over-explanatory. The biggest disappointment though was how little Pinky properly got to shine. He is a witty, cool and clever character, but you only see this in the ending, the rest was him being irritated by the narrator and the DIY and he just seemed out of sorts.
Overall, not great, not bad, kind of mixed here. It looks good, the music is still great and the odd gag is fun, but the canned laughter and narration didn't add very much and didn't work and Pinky's personality didn't come through enough. 5/10.
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Mar 5, 2023
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