# Pink Panther cartoon characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619 "2008-04-16T18:18:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/1 "2008-04-16T18:18:45Z")
Does anyone know the name of the white, bean-shaped person in the Pink Panther cartoon series? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/2 "2008-04-16T18:39:13Z")
He doesn’t have a name- he’s simply referred to in publicity materials as “The Little Man.” It is believed the character is meant to be a caricature of Panther creator Friz Freling. ---
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/3 "2008-04-17T11:25:33Z")
Thank you, mobo! ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/4 "2008-04-17T12:49:10Z")
Since both characters originated in the opening credits of _The Pink Panther_, I always assumed it was a caricature of Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/5 "2008-04-17T12:59:57Z")
[QUOTE=Julius Henry] Since both characters originated in the opening credits of _The Pink Panther_, I always assumed it was a caricature of Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau. [/QUOTE] IIRC, the caricature of Clouseau in the film credits is quite different from the “little man” character. The cartoon of the Inspector in the TV show, in turn, seems to derive from the credits caricature for the Clouseau film where he was played by Alan Arkin. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/6 "2008-04-17T13:42:37Z")
DePatie-Freling (the studio who made the Pink Panther cartoons) also made a series of Inspector Clouseau cartoons, the first of which was made in 1965, predating Arkin’s film (the credits of which were not animated by D-F) by three years. The Inspector cartoons used the theme from _A Shot In The Dark_, the credits of which also featured an animated Clouseau. The animated Clouseau never appeared in a Panther cartoon- the only times the two shared the screen were in the credits of subsequent Panther films. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/7 "2008-04-17T17:31:10Z")
[QUOTE=simply\_cats] Does anyone know the name of the white, bean-shaped person in the Pink Panther cartoon series? [/QUOTE] Mr. Bean? No, I suppose not. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/8 "2008-04-17T17:32:14Z")
[QUOTE=simply\_cats] Does anyone know the name of the white, bean-shaped person in the Pink Panther cartoon series? [/QUOTE] I don’t remember that at all. Got any links/pictures? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/9 "2008-04-17T18:08:22Z")
[The Little Man](http://www.comicspage.com/pinkpanther/littleman.html). [Inspector Clouseau](http://www.comicspage.com/pinkpanther/clouseau.html). Although they look similar, it is clear they are not the same person- they have a different skin color, nose shape, and mustache. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/10 "2008-04-17T18:16:12Z")
Wait a sec. We’re actually talking about 3 different characters. [The Inspector](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inspector) from the cartoons was clearly based on Clouseau, but rendered more generic and not referred to by name. “Don’t say ‘si’, say ‘oui’”. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/11 "2008-04-17T18:33:27Z")
The Inspector from the Inspector cartoons _did_ appear in the [opening credits to the Arkin film](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mrtu_oawiw), which was not animated by DePatie-Freling, but designed by them, according to the credits. (The _Shot in the Dark_ Clouseau has no mustache) The Clouseau charicature with the thicker mustache appears in the credits of some of the Peter Sellers films, including _The Pink Panther Strikes Again_, _Revenge of the Pink Panther_, and _Trail of the Pink Panther_. This leads to a rather unusual conundrum- the first Inspector cartoon, which has the thin-mustached Inspector, was released in 1965, yet the credits of _Inspector Clouseau_ are dated 1968 and have the modern MPAA logo introduced in the late 1960s. Then, does thin-mustache Inspector represent both Peter Sellers _and_ Alan Arkin? Wow, I never realized the Pink Panther characters were this complicated. At least [Steve Martin Clouseau](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvFkFtRtgcM) looks different animated. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/12 "2008-04-17T19:24:46Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] He doesn’t have a name- he’s simply referred to in publicity materials as “The Little Man.” [/QUOTE] Hello, little man… _I WILL DESTROY YOU!!_ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther-cartoon-characters/445619/13 "2008-04-17T20:20:53Z")
You know, the Pink Panther toons are a prime example of the beauty of minimalism. Just the clean lines of the few characters and barely-suggested background scenery, no extra business, and everything happens at the tempo of the jazz theme. Just imagine an animator today trying to find a venue for something so (by cartoon-slapstick standards) slow-paced and understated. You won’t see anything like **that** on the Cartoon Network.