The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 6 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 6 Blu-ray Movie Review

The Pink Panther strikes again with the sixth and final volume in the Pink Panther Cartoon Collection. The set contains a plethora of entertaining animated shorts featuring the beloved animated icon at his best. The set includes shorts made between the years of 1978-1980. Created by the dynamic animation duo of producers DePatie-Freleng, the beloved hero panther manages to constantly find new ways to get into wacky mischief in each respective episode (and the iconic theme music by composer Henry Mancini always strikes a perfect note).

With a zany scenario taking place in each respective episode (outer-space adventure, tree-swinging, and manic enemy dogs for example), the series remained a consistent delight with entertaining comedy and heart on full display. There are few animated series with as much creativity as what one can find in this one. A charming classic animated gem that deserves to continue to be re-watched and appreciated for decades to come. There is no other panther as charming as the pink one. Fix yourself a bowl of Pink Panther Flakes on Saturday morning and tune-in to another fantastic Blu-ray collection from Kino Lorber.

Extreme social distancing, Pink Panther style.

The Volume 6 cartoon collection contains the following beloved short episodes: “Pinkologist”, “The Pink Press”, “Pink in the Dress”, “Pink Bananas”, “Pinktails for Two”, Pink Z-Z-Z”, “Star Pink”, “Pink Breakfast”, “Pink Quackers”, “Toro Pink”, “String along in Pink”, “Pink in the Woods”, “Pink Pull”, “Spark Plug Pink”, “Doctor Pink”, “Pink Suds”, and “Supermarket Pink.”

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 6 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from distributor Kino Lorber, The Pink Panther: Cartoon Collection Volume 6 features a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The release is generally satisfactory with excellent color reproduction aiding the beautiful presentation of these beloved classic animated cartoons.

The scans do have some notable deficiencies with regards to scratches and specks of dirt on the prints (which are visible on occasion) yet the scans on Volume 6 appear to be somewhat better than the ones included on Volume 5 in the series. Without a doubt, the improved color is the main reason to upgrade to this high-definition collection (and a fantastic reason at that: the color Pink is much more vibrant on Blu-ray).

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 6 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes an impressive sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 presentation. The music is front and center and makes a nice impression across the selection of classic short films. The iconic theme by Henry Mancini is sublime and adds to the charisma of the shorts. The release is all about music clarity and in that regard the lossless audio succeeds. These shorts are focused on music and sound effects (while dialogue is not a part of the equation). Kino has done a terrific job with the set.

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 6 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes audio commentaries for select short films by author Mark Arnold, historian Jerry Beck, filmmaker Greg Ford, cartoon writer William Hohauser, and filmmaker/historian Constantine Nasr.

The audio commentaries included on Volume 6 are as listed below:

Audio Commentary on Pinkologist by film historian Jerry Beck

Audio Commentary on Pink Press by filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr

Audio Commentary on Pink in the Drink by filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr

Audio Commentary on Pinktails for Two by filmmaker Greg Ford with veteran Hanna-Barbera and DFE storyman Tony Benedict

Audio Commentary on Star Pink by film historian Jerry Beck

Audio Commentary on Star Pink by author Mark Arnold

Audio Commentary on Pink Quackers by cartoon writer William Hohauser

Audio Commentary on Sting Along in Pink by filmmaker Greg Ford with veteran Hanna-Barbera and DFE storyman Tony Benedict

Audio Commentary on Pink Pull by filmmaker Greg Ford

Audio Commentary on Supermarket Pink by author Mark Arnold

Pink Links (HD, 1:03:28) is a fantastic feature-length documentary directed by Greg Ford and William Hohauser. The documentary film explores the beginnings of the Pink Panther cartoon with discussions with author Mark Arnold about his Pink Panther book Think Pink, music historian Will Friedwald, who discusses the great music of Henry Mancini, and Barbara Donetelli, who discusses discussing the ink and paint.

As the documentary continues to unfold, Joe Siracusa discusses sound effects used for the classic Pink Panther cartoons, cartoon historian Jerry Beck discusses the origins of the Pink Panther cartoon series (from its feature-film origins to the television serials), and animation director Debra Solomon delves into the feminine side of the Pink Panther character and her interpretations of the feminism in the shorts.

Remembering Friz Documentary (SD, 8:48) is a tribute to the great animator Friz Freleng as delivered by his daughters Sybil Freleng Bergman and Hope Freleng Shaw. The piece explores his animation career and its significance (from early days working for Walt Disney to his later successes elsewhere).

Pink Panther Flakes Commercial (HD, 00:30) is a short advertisement promoting a pink cereal that looks to be standard corn-flakes in a pink dye color. A charming commercial that is worth looking at.

The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 6 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's been a joy to revisit the classic Pink Panther cartoon classics on Blu-ray and the sixth volume from Kino Lorber is an excellent entry into the collection. Having not seen all of the shorts previously (and having not seen the cartoons since childhood until these volume collections from Kino started to be released on Blu-ray), it certainly is a pleasure to revisit such wonderful animated gems again.

The Volume 6 Blu-ray is the conclusion to these wonderful animation treasure-troves and is a must-own for animation enthusiasts. The release is similarly jam-packed with enticing bonus features that fans will enjoy (most especially the feature-length documentary, Pink Links). The final release in the Pink Panther cartoon collection goes out in style: with a resounding bang. Highly recommended.