The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas

Last updated
The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas
Directed byBill Perez
Music by Doug Goodwin
Country of originUnited States
Production
Producers David H. DePatie
Friz Freleng
Running time30 minutes
Production companies DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
The Mirisch Company
United Artists Television
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseDecember 7, 1978 (1978-12-07)

The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas is a holiday-themed animated special, starring The Pink Panther . It first aired on ABC on December 7, 1978. [1] A follow-up special, A Very Pink Christmas, was released in 2011.

Contents

This is the first of three Pink Panther specials on ABC, followed by Olym-Pinks in 1980 and Pink at First Sight in 1981.

Plot

The Pink Panther is homeless and wandering an early-20th century big city at Christmastime. Snow is on the ground and he is very cold and hungry. The cartoon follows his efforts to obtain food while overcoming crazy holiday mayhem in town. A chance discovery of a Santa suit leads to a job in the department store as Santa, but when he takes a bite out of a little girl's gingerbread man, he is chased around the department store by its manager, from whom he narrowly escapes. Among several other attempts of finding food following this, he also attempts to earn money by shoveling the snowy stairs of a nearby house and to get himself arrested in order to get a meal in jail (a plot point borrowed from O. Henry's classic story "The Cop and the Anthem"), but his efforts are thwarted at every turn.

After witnessing a robbery attempt with a police officer nearby, Pink Panther chases after the cop's dropped doughnut which is rolling down the street. There, a little dog who is also hungry takes the doughnut, but Pink pushes him away and takes it for himself. After seeing the look on the little dog's face and realizing that his actions are not in line with the spirit of Christmas, the Pink Panther is ashamed of himself, and shares the doughnut with the dog. Then the Pink Panther goes back to the city park and the dog follows him. Suddenly, a little tree just beside the bench they sit on (the same bench that the panther sat on at the start of the special) magically becomes covered with candles, ornaments, and a star followed by a big table with an ample Christmas dinner magically dropping from the sky. Pink looks up to see that Santa has dropped the food, a reward for the panther's act of kindness toward the dog. He shares the dinner with the little dog and they both begin eating happily.

Production

Most of the animation staff utilized for the 1978 made-for-television The All New Pink Panther Show worked on A Pink Christmas. The special also utilized several portions of the musical score that appeared on The All New Pink Panther Show as well.

Home media

On November 6, 2007, the title special along with Olym-pinks and Pink at First Sight was released on the DVD collection The Pink Panther: A Pink Christmas from MGM Home Entertainment/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Related Research Articles

"The Cop and the Anthem" is a December 1904 short story by the United States author O. Henry. It includes several of the classic elements of an O. Henry story, including a setting in New York City, an empathetic look at the state of mind of a member of an underprivileged class, and an ironic ending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas in Norway</span> Overview of the role and celebration of Christmas in Norway

Jul or jol is the term used for the Christmas holiday season in Scandinavia and parts of Scotland. Originally, jul was the name of a month in the old Germanic calendar. The concept of jul as a period of time rather than a specific event prevailed in Scandinavia; in modern times, jul is a period of time stretching from the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve, December 24, to (traditionally) mid-January at the date of Epiphany with the month of December and Christmas, and the week up to the New Year, as its highlight. The modern English yule and yuletide are cognates with this term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink Panther (character)</span> Fictional animated character

The Pink Panther is a fictional animated character who appears in the opening or closing credit sequences of every film in The Pink Panther series except for A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau. In the storyline of the original film, the "Pink Panther" is the name of a valuable pink diamond named for a flaw that shows a "figure of a springing panther" when held up to the light in a certain way; in the credits this was translated to an animated pink panther. Only the first Pink Panther film and its third sequel, The Return of the Pink Panther, featured the diamond.

<i>The Pink Panther Show</i> Showcase of animated shorts

The Pink Panther Show is a showcase of animated shorts produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng between 1969 and 1978, starring the animated Pink Panther character from the opening credits of the live-action films. The series was produced by Mirisch Films and DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, and was broadcast Saturday mornings on two American television networks: from September 6, 1969, to September 2, 1978, on NBC; and from September 9, 1978, to September 1, 1979, on ABC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus in film</span>

Motion pictures featuring Santa Claus constitute their own subgenre of the Christmas film genre. Early films of Santa revolve around similar simple plots of Santa's Christmas Eve visit to children. In 1897, in a short film called Santa Claus Filling Stockings, Santa Claus is simply filling stockings from his pack of toys. Another film called Santa Claus and the Children was made in 1898. A year later, a film directed by George Albert Smith titled Santa Claus was created. In this picture, Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney.

The Night Before Christmas is a 1941 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the third Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby and animated by Jack Zander, George Gordon, Irven Spence and Bill Littlejohn. It was nominated for the 1941 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, but lost to the Mickey Mouse short film Lend a Paw, making it the only Tom and Jerry cartoon to lose to a Disney film.

<i>The Pink Panther in: Pink at First Sight</i> 1981 American TV series or program

The Pink Panther in: Pink at First Sight is a 1981 animated Valentine's Day special starring The Pink Panther, that premiered on ABC on February 14, 1981 and the third and final Pink Panther special on ABC, following 1978's A Pink Christmas and 1980's Olym-Pinks. This would be Marvel's first Pink Panther cartoon.

<i>Frosty the Snowman</i> (TV special) 1969 Christmas TV special

Frosty the Snowman is a 1969 American animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It is the first television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. The special first aired on December 7, 1969, on the CBS television network in the United States, airing immediately after the fifth showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas; both scored high ratings. The special has aired annually for the network's Christmas and holiday season every year since.

The Pink Panther in: Olym-Pinks, is an animated sports-themed special featuring the Pink Panther. The show first aired on ABC on February 22, 1980 to coincide with the 1980 Winter Olympics. This was the last Pink Panther production to be produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises before reorganizing itself as Marvel Productions as well as the last Pink Panther production involving creator Friz Freleng. He soon before departed the company to return to Warner Bros. Animation.

<i>A Flintstone Family Christmas</i> 1993 animated Christmas special

A Flintstone Family Christmas is a 1993 animated Christmas television special featuring characters from The Flintstones franchise. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired on ABC on December 18, 1993. The special was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1994 for Outstanding Animated Program. This is the only appearance of Stoney and the final appearance of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm in their adult forms as well as their children, Chip and Roxy. Hanna-Barbera continued doing the series but with the original timeline.

Ziggy's Gift is a 1982 American animated holiday television special based on the Ziggy comics. Directed by Richard Williams, the special first aired December 1, 1982, on ABC.

<i>Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper</i> 1978 American TV series or program

Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper, a.k.a. simply The Great Santa Claus Caper, is an animated American television special featuring Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. Produced by Chuck Jones Enterprises, the special was first broadcast November 30, 1978 on CBS. The special was followed in 1979 by Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile. This is the first special to feature Jones' original character, a dog named Raggedy Arthur, who would go on to become a staple of Raggedy Ann merchandise.

<i>Christmas Comes to Pac-Land</i> 1982 American TV series or program

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land is a 1982 American animated Christmas television special of the Saturday morning animated series Pac-Man based on the video game, produced by Hanna-Barbera. It premiered in prime time on ABC on December 16, 1982. The film was ranked #38 in the Nielsen Ratings published the next week.

<i>How the Toys Saved Christmas</i> 1996 Italian film

How the Toys Saved Christmas is a 1996 Italian animated film directed by Enzo D'Alò, based on a tale by Gianni Rodari.

<i>Mickeys Good Deed</i> 1932 Mickey Mouse cartoon

Mickey's Good Deed is a 1932 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. Set during the Christmas season and the contemporary Great Depression, the cartoon centers on Mickey's act of charity to bring Christmas to a poor family. The film was directed by Burt Gillett and features the voices of Walt Disney as Mickey and Pinto Colvig as Pluto. It was the 50th Mickey Mouse short, and the 14th of that year.

Merry Dog is a 1933 short animated film by Walter Lantz Productions and is the sixth of the Pooch the Pup theatrical cartoons.

<i>The Grinch</i> (film) 2018 animated film by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney

The Grinch, also known as Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, is a 2018 American animated Christmas comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. The third screen adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, following the 1966 television special and the 2000 live-action feature-length film, it is Illumination's second Dr. Seuss film adaptation, after The Lorax in 2012. The plot follows the Grinch and his pet dog Max who plan to stop Whoville's Christmas celebration by stealing all the town's decorations and gifts.

<i>Alien Xmas</i> 2020 American stop-motion animated film

Alien Xmas is a 2020 American stop-motion animated Christmas science fiction fantasy adventure comedy television special directed by Stephen Chiodo. Based on the 2006 book of the same name by Chiodo and Jim Strain, the special features the voices of Keythe Farley, Dee Bradley Baker, Kaliayh Rhambo, Michelle Deco and Barbara Goodson. The plot for Alien Xmas centers on X, an extraterrestrial belonging to a race of thieving aliens known as Klepts, who is sent to the North Pole on a mission to eliminate Earth's gravity. Alien Xmas was executive produced by Jon Favreau and was released on Netflix on November 20, 2020.

References

  1. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 301–303. ISBN   0-8108-2198-2 . Retrieved 27 March 2020.