The Pink Panther - A Pink Christmas (1978)
Pink Panther DVDs
 

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It was surprisingly thoughtful of MGM to release the other two Pink Panther TV Specials here on this DVD along with "A Pink Christmas"! It's not obvious from the cover or the DVD info listed that all three Pink Panther TV Specials are on this disc, but they indeed are. "A Pink Christmas" which aired on ABC Dec 7, 1978; "Olym-Pinks" which aired on ABC Feb 22, 1980; and "Pink At First Sight" which aired on ABC May 10, 1981 were all approximately 25 minutes in length. "A Pink Christmas" was adapted from a 1906 O. Henry short story called 'The Cop and the Anthem' (credited in the cartoon) and is a wonderful 'haves and have-nots' type story that makes a perfect adaptation to the world of the Pink Panther - it's not an exact re-telling, the character in the short story is trying to get into jail so he can be warm and have food, while the Panther is on a quest for food, but he does try at one point to get into a jail. "Olym-Pinks" capitalized on the 1980 Winter Olympics that were held in Lake Placid, New York that year, and is a series of very competitive olympic games played between Panther and the 'little man' (as the animators referred to him). And "Pink At First Sight", although aired in May of '81, is essentially a Valentine's Day story. The studio could easily have only released the Christmas special and charged the same amount, but they used some foresight and gave we 'completists' a bonus with the other two TV Specials. While not having the 'classic-ness' (for lack of a better word) of the 1960s Panther cartoons, the specials are fun, and clearly the Christmas special is the highlight of the DVD and easily worth the price in and of itself. I remember when it first aired (I was 9) and it didn't really repeat all that often over the years. And as a fan of animation, it's cool to actually have it on DVD after nearly 30 years.