The Pink Panther (1963)

While at the excellent local library, I stumbled across The Pink Panther on DVD and picked it up thinking it would be a great movie to watch with the family. I have fond childhood memories of watching the bumbling Inspector Clouseau as he “solved” the mysteries on the big screen. So with this in mind, we popped in the original 1963 film and started watching. About 20 minutes into the story, I looked at my family and said, “Sorry, I thought this would have been a fun movie to watch, but I guess this one was not the same as I remembered.” So, I promised to look for a better Pink Panther movie, and we all went up to bed.

This original of the series is a great movie, but just not in the same vein as what you’d generally think of as a Pink Panther movie. There’s lots of romantic and witty dialog, smoking, drinking, and hanky-panky. But not so much slapstick physical comedy that the kids would enjoy. The early 60’s fashions are really cool, though, especially the skiing outfits. The Pink Panther movies that I think would be better for kids are The Return of the Pink Panther and The Pink Panther Strikes Again. I remember seeing the latter film in the theater and it was so much fun. There are a lot of really cheesy and silly jokes which are sure to please the kiddos. But the first film, and 1964’s A Shot in the Dark, are probably best enjoyed by adults.