The Pink Panther

Isadore "Friz" Freleng worked for Warner Bros. and was responsible for characters like Speedy Gonzales or Yosemite Sam. After the cartoon studio closed in 1963, he opened its own studio and his first job was to do an animated opening for the Blake Edwards film, The Pink Panther. The film turned out to be a success but it was outmatched by the cartoon, which had a greater impact.

The audience's response to the movie convinced United Studio to start the production of a series of theatrical cartoons . The first episode, Pink Phink, from 1964, won an Academy Award and another of the episodes, The Pink Blueprint, was nominated in 1966. The panther appeared on the television screen in 1969 in a show that featured two of the theatrical cartoons  and one from DePatie-Freleng's second cartoon series, The Inspector.

Several Pink Panther and Inspector cartoons on videocassette between 1985 and 1997. The most recent movie released in the Pink panther collection was in 2006 and it stared Steve Martin as Clouseau. The film doesn't continue the previous episodes but it is intended as the beginning of a new series.