''Pink Panther and Pals'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

and a modern adaptation of the classic DePatie-Freleng

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pi ...

shorts from the 1960s. The program was produced for

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

by Desert Panther Production and Rubicon Studios in association with The Mirisch Company and

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/Bro ...

. It premiered on March 7, 2010. Like the classic cartoon show, the program is composed of two seven-minute ''Pink Panther'' shorts and a seven-minute ''Ant and the Aardvark'' short in between, retaining the main characters in both shorts though with some changes.

Show premise

The Pink Panther

The

shorts are reminiscent of the classic DePatie-Freleng shorts from the 1960s and the 1970s, from art direction, silent acting, musical scoring, and story lines. The Pink Panther remains silent throughout the show, and appears as a teenager. The Little Man was renamed "Big Nose" for this series, being voiced by

Alex Nussbaum Alex Nussbaum is a comedian, actor, character designer, and writer. He has been nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Male Standup. He has appeared on '' Just For Laughs'', ''Comedy Now!'', and is a regular judge on the MuchMusic show ...

. Pink Panther's

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

and Big Nose's lovable

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the surn ...

companion were reintroduced as well.

The Ant and the Aardvark

The Ant and the Aardvark ''The Ant and the Aardvark'' is a series of 17 theatrical short cartoons produced at DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, originally released by United Artists and currently distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1969 to 1971. Plot The cartoon se ...

'' is based on the classic DePatie-Freleng shorts. In this version, the Aardvark's Jewish sense of humor and

Jackie Mason Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Maza; yi, יעקב משה מזא; June 9, 1928 – July 24, 2021) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. His 1986 one-man show ''The World According to Me!'' won a Special Tony Award, an Outer Critics Ci ...

-esque voice (portrayed by Eddie Garvar and occasionally John Over) from his classic counterpart remains; a new, younger ant (voiced by

Kel Mitchell Kel Johari Rice Mitchell (born August 25, 1978) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' for its first five seasons (1994–1999), where he was often paired a ...

) has replaced the

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

-esque "Charlie" from the original shorts. The series now takes place in a jungle, and new characters are introduced in the series.

Characters

* The Pink Panther: The protagonist of the series. He is a cool and collected character who always seems to rub Big Nose the wrong way. As in the classic series, he is a (mostly) silent protagonist. * Big Nose: Based on the original "Little Man" from the classic series. He is the neighbor and a rival of the Pink Panther. He's depicted as short, with a big nose and a mustache, and is plain white in color. He loves the color blue as much as the Panther loves his favorite color, pink. He is often rude and likes to brag a lot making his relationship with the Panther very complex. He owns an unnamed pet dog who, unlike his master, has almost no problem with the Pink Panther at all. He speaks

gibberish Gibberish, also called jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense. It may include speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, or language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to outsi ...

. * Hoarse: The Pink Panther's white

, based on a horse that gave him trouble in several cartoons of the classic series. * Dog: Big Nose's white dog who is cute and lovable, but dangerous. Like his master, he is a plain white color and not very outstanding. He is also a rival of the Pink Panther and is not always fond of him. But from time to time he has shown to enjoy the Pink Panther's activities, such as music and dancing. * Ant: A small red

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

, and one of the title characters of "

" sketches. He is quite sharp and intelligent and, like real-life ants, is physically very strong, being able to carry objects many times his weight. His remarks towards and about Aardvark are somewhat more sharp and sarcastic than in his previous laid-back incarnations. * The Blue Aardvark: A blue

aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlik ...

, who is one of the main characters as well as being the main antagonist in "''The Ant and the Aardvark''" sketches. Like real aardvarks, he wants to eat the Ant. He's sly, sneaky and uses the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

; he frequently addresses the audience as to what's going on. * Eli: An

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

who is a friend of the Ant and on many occasions protects the Ant from the Aardvark.

Voice cast

Ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

* Eddie Garvar as

Aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlik ...

as Big Nose, Horse, Dog, Narrator, Big Nose's wife, Dog Tracker, Hedgehog, Chef on TV, Bear, Pig, Lion, Croc 1 and 2, Grampy, Italian Chef, Radio VO, Alien, Skunks, Walrus, Mockingbird Mike, Leopard * Jeannie Elias as Genius, Female Spy * John Over as

, Eli * Bob Spang as Gracie Gorilla, Rowdy Rhino, Mitey Mite

Episodes

Broadcast

In the US, the show aired on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

and ended on August 23, 2010, after that, Cartoon Network

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...

this series and officially ended rerun in 2012. The series also aired on the US

somewhere in 2011 or 12. The series had its Canada premiere on

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

on May 11 and began airing in the UK & Ireland on

on April 19. The show also premiered in the Middle East and Africa on

on September 11. American program block KidsClick picked up reruns of the show on July 1, 2017, until its demise on March 31, 2019.

In other media

In the '' Gummibär & Friends: The Gummy Bear Show'' episode "Sleepwalker", Granny Peters, Harry and Kala can be seen watching an episode of Pink Panther and Pals.

References

External links

* * {{Former Cartoon Network original programming 2010 American television series debuts 2010 American television series endings 2010s American animated television series American children's animated comedy television series Animated television series about mammals Animated television series about teenagers English-language television shows Cartoon Network original programming American flash animated television series KidsClick Television series by MGM Television The Pink Panther (cartoons) television series Child versions of cartoon characters Animated television series reboots