If you remember The Pink Panther Show, there was a song named “Pink Panther from Head to Toes”.
I need the exact words of a line:
“Well here he is, the Pink Panther,
The Pink panther,
Everybody… <<THIS IS THE LINE I DON’T UNDERSTAND
He really is a groovy cat,
and he’s a gentleman,
a scholar, he’s an acrobat !”
Remember english is not my native language, that’s why I don’t get it.
The version with lyrics ran from 1969-1978. The cartoons had a certain minimalist style (John Kricfalusi would draw something similar for Ren & Stimpy years later). In addition to segments featuring a (mute) panther, there were animated versions of Inspector Clouseau and the roadrunner/coyote-ish “The Ant and the Aardvark”. This later one is kind of strange (bizarre, you might say) since actor John Byner voiced both characters, but made the ant sound like Dean Martin and the aardvark sound like Jackie Mason.
Later on, there was a 1993 cartoon version and the Panther was given dialogue, supplied by Matt Frewer. This version was soundly and justly trashed as heretical and soon cancelled.
It’s possible the theme music changed one or more times over the cartoon’s run. This is typical for long-running cartoon shows that feature seven-minute stories (as opposed to the half-hour stories of modern cartoon shows like The Simpsons). No doubt you’ve seen multiple incarnations of “The Bugs Bunny Show” (i.e. “The Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Hour”, “The Bugs and Tweety Show”, “Jerry Springer” etc.) with different theme songs and whatnot, even if each episode is just a repackaging of the same old seven-minute sketches.
Um. Since we’re talking about the DePatie/Freling cartoons, please help me not think I’m crazy…
Wasn’t there a cartoon donne by this same animation co. featuring a “MisterJaws”…? Shark with a top hat and a German-ish accent? Had a little fish flunky with a bowler and a NY (Bronx?) accent. Shark guy used to sneak up to swimmers & jump out of the water yelling, “GOTCHA!”
I swear I remember enjoying this cartoon mightily…
I never thought that line was hard. The one I could never catch was “Through the courtesy of Fred’s two feet.” (I once saw a book of TV themes which gave this line as “Through the courtesy of Pencil Pete.” Huh?)
Remembering some of the old ‘Pink Panther show’ episodes that I watched in the U.K, I think I might have an idea as to why people can’t remember any lyrics.
The cartoons that I saw were indeed the same minimalist style described by Brian Ekers, but the show was a package of three cartoons: two Pink Panther cartoons (the mute panther version), with either an Inspector Clouseau, or an Ant & Aardvark episode between them.
The whole show was bookended by real film footage of a ‘Pink Panther car’, seemingly driven by a young boy, and had the cartoon panther superimposed onto it (compare: Roger Rabbit) and the song as well, which is where the lyrics were heard. The ‘usual’ Pink Panther theme (Henry Mancini’s score) only played during the two Pink Panther cartoons.
It’s possible that this show format was only suitable for the U.K (it was about a 20-minute programme) and so was shown in a different way in different countries.
I remember Ant and Aardvark, Tijuana Toads ( though, I’ve also heard them referred to as Texas Toads and/or Texas Frogs), MisterJaw…
…and a cartoon short based upon the Laugh-In skits of the old dirty minded guy on the park bench getting walloped by the purse-swingin’ old lady.
BTW…
Late 60’s/early70’s there were two Pink Panther shorts with PP speaking…One with a Texas rancher who wanted a new collectible specimin for his ranch…at the end, PP says “why can’t humans be more like animals?”. Another was a South African diamond exploration team, and PP speaks throughout the short.
The same actor supplied the voice characterization for both shorts.
I first thought it might be George Sanders, but he had committed suicide years before, and the voice was not quite as deep.
Personally, I think the opening titles to the first couple of movies, where the animated Pink Panther character debuted, are funnier than the ensuing cartoon shows.