Pink Panther V1 Classic Cartoo

If you want a sample of Pink Panther cartoons without paying for the multi-volume collection, this is the DVD to get. It has the episode where Henry Mancini makes a cameo appearance and it has the two episodes where the Pink Panther speaks (Sink Pink and Pink Ice). These are the early cartoons dating from 1964-67. I have all three separate volumes, and, in my opinion, although there are gems on each DVD, the overall quality of the episodes (in terms of plot and how funny an episode is) declines with the later episodes. These cartoons are mildly amusing. Kids who grew up with the Simpsons would probably be bored, but they are fun for us Gen Xers who remember the reruns as well as Baby Boomers. The cartoons are definitely before the PC age; guns, violence, smoking; it's all here! Here are all the episodes:

The Pink Phink: According to the box, this ep. won an award. PP makes life miserable for a painter to ensure his new home is pink.
Pink Pajamas: PP crashes at the home of an alcoholic who calls his sponsor after seeing PP (probably a worse sign than seeing a pink elephant).
We Give Pink Stamps: PP is in a department store and hassles the custodian.
Dial P for Pink: PP foils a safe burglar. At the beginning, the burglar turns the dial on the safe and it turns on like a radio. He has to unplug it.
Sink Pink: The first episode with voices. A hunter in the safari hopes to build another ark to round up 2 of every animal-but he's missing a PP, which would make a great rug for the misses. PP, himself, speaks in this one.
Pickled Pink: (V) An alcoholic brings home PP and has to hide him from his nagging wife. He hides him in the fridge at one point and, when he comes back, he finds PP has turned blue ("Oh, hi Blue Panther, have you seen a Pink Panther?")
Pinkfinger: (V) The first with a disembodied voice. This one encourages PP to be a secret agent. I'm not sure if it's edited, but it ends weird (how did the voice end up in an underground cellar with a lion and why was PP so bummed at the end after getting his man?).
Shocking Pink: (V) (LT) The first with a laugh track which I find annoying. The disembodied voice berates PP for being lazy ("Why pay $7.50/hour for a plumber?").
Pink Ice: (V) PP the miner competes with two bumblers mining for diamonds. Another rare one where PP speaks!

The Pink-Tailed Fly: PP is harassed by a pesky fly.
Pink Panzer: Disembodied voice turns PP and his neighbor against each other.
An Ounce of Pink: PP buys a talking scale/fortune teller.
Reel Pink: PP goes fishing and uses an uncooperative worm and encounters a cantankerous crab.
Bully for Pink: PP tries out as a toreador. Why does the bull sound like an elephant?
Pink Punch: (Laugh Track) This ep is annoying. PP tries to advertise his beverage but a green asterisk insists on being the dot in the "i" in "Pink."
Pink Pistons: PP buys a little blue bug (don't worry, he paints it pink) and gets into a race with Granny Flash. Can you believe PP was able to get his money back from a used car salesman?
Vitamin Pink: PP's wild west vitamins give an escaped convict enough strength to break into a safe. PP is made sheriff to recapture him.
The Pink Blueprint: (Laugh Track) A carpenter is building a house from a blueprint but PP has other ideas.

Pink, Plunk, Plink: PP joins a symphony orchestra and insists on playing his theme song. Henry Mancini is seen in the audience (actually, he's the only one in the audience!).
Smile Pretty, Say Pink: PP pesters a photographer visiting Pinkstone National Park because he refused to pay the camera fee.
Pink-A-Boo: A mouse steals more than food from PP. At one point, PP dresses like a cat. Why would he need to? Isn't he already one?
Genie with the Light Pink Fur: PP tries being a genie in a lamp but has trouble finding customers.
Super Pink: One of my favorites! Even with the laugh track, it's funny. PP decides to be a superhero and keeps trying to save the same poor little old lady who must have the worse luck in the world.
Rock-A-Bye Pinky: PP hounds a snoring camper who keeps blaming his poor, loyal dog for his misfortunes (this storyline would be used in several PP eps).
Pinknic: PP is snowed in in a cabin where he has another mouse problem.
Pink Panic: Caught in a storm, PP winds up in a haunted house with a ghost and skeleton.
Pink Posies: PP hassles a gardener by replacing his yellow flowers with pink posies.

From the beautiful graphics on the package cover to the 27 cartoons within, this classic release is in every way a delight. So why not five stars for the felicitous feline? Simply because of the annoying ad you have to skip every time to watch a cartoon. What's more, the ad urges viewers not to steal movies. Ironically, it's addressed to people who actually bought the DVD, the only audience you can be sure didn't steal these cartoons by illegally downloading them.

So this becomes a prolonged exercise in punishing the innocent (I've checked two other volumes in the series and they both have the ad). Why doesn't MGM pay to put their anti-theft message on television where the guilty parties can view it instead of making the buyer pay to see it? I don't know if the deluxe set with all the individual discs in it also has the ad on every disc, but the menu opens with the same graphics, so I suspect it does.

Although I waited for this release with anticipation, it's not worth it having to skip the ad every time to get to the cartoons. Enough is enough. It's time to rebel. As with Shout Factory releases, I will not be running to buy any more MGM cartoons on DVD until I know they are not bogged down with ads.

For the fan of the Pink Panther that doesn't want to wast money on the later low budget 1970's cartoons. Here is the first part of the classic 1960's cartoons.

1964

The Pink Phink (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Pink Pajamas (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

1965

We Give Pink Stamps (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Dial 'P' for Pink (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Sink Pink (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Pickled Pink (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Pinkfinger (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Shocking Pink (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Pink Ice (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

The Pink Tail Fly (Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt)

Pink Panzer (Hawley Pratt)

An Ounce of Pink (Hawley Pratt)

Reel Pink (Hawley Pratt)

Bully for Pink (Hawley Pratt)

1966

Pink Punch (Hawley Pratt)

Pink Pistons (Hawley Pratt)

Vitamin Pink (Hawley Pratt)

The Pink Blue Print (Hawley Pratt)

Pink, Plunk, Plink (Hawley Pratt)

Smile Pretty, Say Pink (Hawley Pratt)

Pink-A-Boo (Hawley Pratt)

Genie with the Light Pink Fur (Hawley Pratt)

Super Pink (Hawley Pratt)

Rock A Bye Pinky (Hawley Pratt)

1967

Pinknic (Hawley Pratt)

Pink Panic (Hawley Pratt)

Pink Posies (Hawley Pratt)