The Elusive Original

Abstract

For years, animation in film targeted children almost exclusively. Think Bambi or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Then came the animated opening sequence of director Blake Edwards’s 1963 feature film, The Pink Panther. Accompanied by a jazzy, sophisticated musical score composed by Henry Mancini, the engaging cartoon set the tone for a light-hearted comedic experience that adults could enjoy. With the vivid image of this whimsical character freshly in mind, audiences gladly followed its theme to discover that the intriguing mascot signifies a large and valuable pink diamond. This jewel contains a flaw, which, if held up to the light in a certain way, forms a blurred picture of a leaping panther. The plot focuses on the plan of a renowned jewel thief, nicknamed “the Phantom,” to steal the Pink Panther diamond. Inspector Jacques Clouseau, a bumbling French police detective who speaks English with a ludicrous French accent, is charged with foiling the Phantom’s efforts.