''Son of the Pink Panther'' is a 1993

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

. It is the ninth and final installment of the original ''

The 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 Clouseau, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the fil ...

'' film series starting from the 1963 film. Directed by

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio scripts ...

, it stars

Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni ( , ; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing, and starring in the Holocaust comedy drama film ''Life Is Beautifu ...

Inspector Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache ...

illegitimate son Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

. Also in this film are ''Panther'' regulars

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegan ...

Burt Kwouk Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk ( Kwouk; ; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cato in the '' Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of I ...

and

Graham Stark Graham William Stark (20 January 1922 – 29 October 2013) was an English comedian, actor, writer and director, known for his close, personal friendship with Peter Sellers, appearance in several The Pink Panther films and Victor/Victoria.

and a star of the original 1963 film,

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938), known as Claudia Cardinale (), is an Italian actress. Born and raised in La Goulette, a neighbourhood of Tunis, Cardinale won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" competition ...

. It was the final film for both director Blake Edwards and composer

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

; Mancini died on June 14, 1994, and Edwards retired from film-making in 1995.

Plot

Princess Yasmin of Lugash is abducted in French territorial waters off the coast of

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one milliona suspect in a murder case 30 years ago. Maria says Jacques is actually the illegitimate son of the late Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Hans' men attempt to plant a bomb under the Gambrelli house, which leads to Dreyfus becoming injured instead and sent to the hospital. While Maria decides to stay beside the injured Dreyfus to see him recover, Jacques learns of his origins from them. He decides to rescue Princess Yasmin and prove himself his father's true heir and legacy. At the hospital, Jacques recognizes one of the henchmen. The henchman wants a doctor for Hans, who was injured after Yasmin attempted to escape. Impersonating a doctor, Jacques gains access to the terrorists' hideout and attempts to treat the injured Hans. Jacques accidentally stabs himself in the cheek with a needle filled with Novocaine and gets locked up with the princess. Hans decides to move his safe house to Lugash and sends his men to kill Jacques by placing him in a van and rolling it down a steep road off a cliff. However, Jacques manages to escape. Seeking help, Jacques travels to Paris to look up Clouseau's old friends and meets his late father's former manservant Cato Fong who directs him to Inspector Clouseau's former costumer Professor Auguste Balls. The Professor makes new disguises for them to travel to Lugash and rescue Princess Yasmin. Jacques and Cato fly to Lugash. At a local restaurant, they meet a government agent who reveals the location of Hans' new hideout, a castle located outside the Lugash capital city. Aided by the Lugash Army and Cato, Jacques enters the castle, defeats the terrorists and rescues Princess Yasmin. At France, Jacques is promoted to detective and transfers to Paris' metro police force as an Inspector. He attends the wedding of Maria and Dreyfus who have gotten engaged during their time together in the hospital. During the reception, Maria tells Dreyfus that she in fact had twins from her one-time tryst with Inspector Clouseau. To Dreyfus' shock, Jacques's twin sister Jacqueline appears there and turns out to be just a clumsy and dim-witted as her brother. At a ceremony in Lugash, King Haroak and Princess Yasmin award Inspector Clouseau Jr. with a special medal for his heroic rescue. The event is attended by Maria, Dreyfus, Cato, Prof. Balls and Jacqueline. However, his clumsy antics disrupt the proceedings. The film ends with Jacques saying, "That felt good!" before it freeze frames. The animated Pink Panther walks across the screen, when the cartoon Jacques suddenly cuts away his own head and it drops onto the Panther’s foot, enraging him and chases him into fading blackness.

Cast

as Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli *

as Police Commissioner Charles Dreyfus *

as Maria *

Debrah Farentino Debrah Farentino (born Deborah Mullowney) is an American actress, producer, and journalist. She began her career starring in the CBS daytime soap opera '' Capitol'' from 1982 to 1987, before moving to prime time with a female leading role in the ...

as Princess Yasmin *

Jennifer Edwards Jennifer Edwards (born March 25, 1957) is an American actress. She came to national prominence for her role in the 1968 NBC made-for-television movie ''Heidi''. Career Edwards's best known role was the NBC made-for-television movie ''Heidi'' ( ...

as Yussa *

Robert Davi Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1951) is an American actor, singer, and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing Jake Fratelli in '' The Goonies'' (19 ...

as Hans Zarba *

Natasha Pavlovich Natasha Pavlovich (born March 14, 1968) is a Serbian-American actress, business woman, pilot, former model and beauty pageant titleholder. Pavlovich represented Yugoslavia in the Miss Universe 1991 competition where she reached the semi-finals ...

as Rima * Mark Schneider as Arnon *

as Cato Fong * Mike Starr as Hanif * Kenny Spalding as Garth *

Anton Rodgers Anthony Rodgers (10 January 1933 – 1 December 2007) was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film, in television dramas and sitcoms. He starred in several sitcoms, including '' Fresh Fields'' (ITV, 1984– ...

as Chief Lazar *

as Professor Auguste Balls *

Oliver Cotton Oliver Charles Cotton (born 20 June 1944) is an English actor and playwright, known for his prolific work on stage, TV and film. He remains best known for his role as Cesare Borgia in the BBC's 1981 drama series '' The Borgias''. Early life Cott ...

as King Haroak *

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...

as Queen *

Aharon Ipalé Aharon Ipalé (; December 27, 1941 – June 27, 2016) was an Israeli-American actor, known for his roles in American and British film and television productions. His credits included ''Fiddler on the Roof'' (1971), '' Innocent Bystanders'' ( ...

as Gen. Jaffar *

Dermot Crowley Dermot Crowley (born 19 March 1947) is an Irish stage, film and television actor. Life and career Theatre Crowley's stage work has included a leading role in an Olivier Award winning production of Conor McPherson's '' The Weir'', which playe ...

as François Duval * Liz Smith as Marta Balls *

Nicoletta Braschi Nicoletta Braschi (; born 19 April 1960) is an Italian actress and producer, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director Roberto Benigni. Life and career Born in Cesena, Braschi studied in Rome's Academy of Dramatic Arts wh ...

as Jaqueline Gambrelli

Production

This was the first ''Pink Panther'' film in a decade, following 1982's ''Trail of the Pink Panther'' and 1983's ''Curse of the Pink Panther'', two ill-received attempts to continue the series following the death of

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

, who originated the character of Clouseau. Considered a relaunch of the series, the plan was for the film to focus on Jacques Gambrelli, Clouseau's illegitimate son. Initially, Edwards tapped

Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. In a career spanning over five decades, he has become a prominent leading man across both Kevin Kline on screen and stage, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations recei ...

for the role. Kline was a fan of the series and loved Edwards' previous films, but decided after reading the script that the project just wouldn't work. Afterwards,

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...

was offered the part, having also previously been offered the role of Detective Sleigh in ''

Curse of the Pink Panther ''Curse of the Pink Panther'' is a 1983 comedy film and a continuation of ''The Pink Panther'' series of films created by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Pe ...

''.

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

was the next casting choice. According to producer Tony Adams, Depardieu was "very interested" in the role when first approached in 1989, but he was no longer available by the time production was ready to begin. When

Giancarlo Parretti Giancarlo Parretti (born 23 October 1941) is an Italian financier, who has bought, sold, and operated numerous businesses. Early life Parretti was born in Orvieto, north of Rome, Italy. He worked as a waiter in London before moving to Sicily. ...

took control of

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

MGM-Pathé Communications MGM-Pathé Communications was an American film production company that operated in Los Angeles County, California from 1990 to 1992. The company was founded and controlled by Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti through his purchase and merger o ...

withdrew financing from the project and Edwards sued the studio in the

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Courts of California, Superior Court located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Sup ...

. When

Alan Ladd, Jr. Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. (October 22, 1937 – March 2, 2022) was an American film industry executive and producer. He was president of 20th Century Fox from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of ''Star Wars'', on his confidence ...

came aboard, MGM settled out of court with Edwards. Ladd greenlit the film but Depardieu was no longer available. Edwards then wanted

— a popular Italian comedian who had yet to be discovered in America — after viewing his performances in

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...

's '' Down by Law'' (1986) and in his self-directed ''

Johnny Stecchino ''Johnny Stecchino'' is a 1991 Italian comedy film directed by, co-written by and starring Roberto Benigni in dual roles. This film is one of Benigni's many collaborations with co-star and wife, Nicoletta Braschi. It was the highest-grossing f ...

'' (1991). Securing Benigni in late 1991 found the film much-needed third party financing from

Aurelio De Laurentiis Aurelio De Laurentiis (born 24 May 1949) is an Italian film producer. He owns the film production company Filmauro and the Italian football club Napoli (of which he is also chairman). He is the nephew of film producer Dino De Laurentiis and ...

, who provided nearly half of the film's $28 million budget in exchange for the rights to distribute it in Italy. Filming started 8 June 1992 in

Saint-Paul-de-Vence Saint-Paul-de-Vence (, literally ''Saint-Paul of Vence''; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, Saint-Pau ...

and production finished 4 months later, taking place in Pinewood Studios and the country of Jordan. During the film's final battle, the soldiers were played by real-life Jordanian Special Operation Forces paratroopers.

Kroyer Films Kroyer Films, Inc. was a pioneering animation studio formed in 1986 by animator Bill Kroyer and his wife Susan Kroyer and is one of the earliest studios to combine computer and hand-drawn animation. Kroyer Films became dormant after 1994 and was ...

made the animated Pink Panther character and the animated persona of Clouseau Jr. in a live action sequence for the intro. The opening Pink Panther sequence cost an estimated $1 million. A journalist from ''

The Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

'' asked Edwards why he made ''Son of the Pink Panther''. Edwards replied while laughing, "I think it's principally greed, and some small percentage that I hate to see something that has kind of become an institution languish and die."

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album was released by

Milan Records Milan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan has an electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases. In July 2 ...

. Henry Mancini makes a cameo appearance during the opening credits passing the baton to the animated Pink Panther. # The Pink Panther Theme - arranged and performed by

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...

(3:10) # Son of the Pink Panther (1:33) # The Snatch (2:22) # God Bless Clouseau - music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' D ...

(2:01) # Samba de Jacques (2:24) # The Gambrelli Theme (2:23) # The Bike Chase (1:52) # The Dreamy Princess (3:58) # Riot at Omar's (2:40) # Mama and Dreyfus (1:43) # Rendez-vous with Cato (1:53) # The King's Palace (1:47) # The Showdown (3:31) # The Pink Panther Theme (tenor sax solo: Phil Todd) (4:18)

Reception

''Son of the Pink Panther'' was universally panned by critics and failed to generate commercial success. In 2015 ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' magazine gave the film only 1 star out of 5. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 34 critic reviews, with an average score of 3.40/10. The website's consensus reads, "Roberto Benigni is an undeniably gifted physical comic, but the misguided ''Son of hePink Panther'' betrays his energetic efforts with a painfully unfunny script". On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film a grade of "C+" on scale of A+ to F. Benigni's performance in the film earned him a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzi ...

nomination for Worst New Star in 1994, though he lost to Janet Jackson. In its release in the United States and Canada it only grossed $2.4 million. However, the film was a top hit in Italy with a gross of $18 million and became the highest-grossing Italian blockbuster ever, despite being considered a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

everywhere else. Before the film's release, Adams confirmed that he and MGM planned to release more sequels to the film with Benigni reprising his role as Gambrelli, but these plans were cancelled due to ''Son of the Pink Panther''s poor reception.

References

Notes

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1993 films American multilingual films American sequel films 1990s English-language films Italian comedy films Italian multilingual films Italian sequel films Films scored by Henry Mancini Films directed by Blake Edwards Films with live action and animation The Pink Panther films 1990s police comedy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films United Artists films Films with screenplays by Blake Edwards 1993 comedy films Films shot in France Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in Jordan American films with live action and animation 1990s American films 1990s British films English-language crime comedy films Italian-language American films