The Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol. 5: The Ant and the Aardvark Review

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(More customer reviews)I remember this cartoon airing back when I was a kid in the early 1980s. It was during a 1/2 hour cartoon show with an episode of either The Inspector or The Ant and the Aardvark sandwiched between two episodes of The Pink Panther. As soon as I heard the jazzy theme song to Ant and the Aardvark, it bought me back. I'm glad I can add this DVD to my Pink Panther collection and, like other reviewers, am hoping for the release of The Inspector which may be my favorite of that trio of cartoons.
The Ant and the Aardvark is entertaining on many levels (animation, voices, one-liners, music). That big, goofy-looking blue aardvark (so ugly, he's cute) and that fun, jazzy music. What really makes the show are the accents given to the characters by John Byner. Charlie, the ant, is a hip daddy-o who sounds like Dean Martin. Even better is the Aardvark who has a stereotypical north-eastern Jewish accent (his voice was patterned after New York comedian Jackie Mason). Almost anything he says is funny. There are many hilarious one-liners, especially in the early episodes. The show was released to theatres between March 1969 to May 1971, but I think even today's kids will enjoy this cartoon.
Here are the 17 episodes in order of their release:
1. "The Ant and the Aardvark"-- The ant tries to take home an entire picnic, but the aardvark would like to make a picnic of him. Aardvark after a pie to the face--"Coconut cream pie. You know how I know it's coconut? Because it's got a coconut in it, and it huyts!"
2. "Hasty But Tasty"--The hip daddy-o ant gets himself some wheels in the form of a motorcycle. The aardvark after swallowing a giant sandwich--"You know, peanut butter really sticks to the roof of your back."
3. "The Ant From Uncle"--Clever title--a take-off of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." The aardvark introduces himself to the audience. He then tries to get the ant to visit "The Ant's Club" in his stomach and visits the ant's pad: "What is this place? Nothing but hallways." We find out the ant's name is Charlie and we meet "Charlie's Aunt" (a reference to the classic play and later film "Charley's Aunt").
4. "I've Got Ants in My Plans"--The aarvark and his rival, the green aardvark, compete over Charlie.
5. "Technology, Phooey"--The aardvark purchases a computer that sounds a little like Paul Lynde (it's not his voice, though) to help him catch Charlie. Aardvark: "I could say something right now, but it would only get censored."
6. "Never Bug an Ant"--The aardvark tries many creative ways to catch the ant--none work but they are creative. Aardvark: "I'd rather be a banker and have a businessman's lunch." Ant: "Lucky for me, an ant can lift 100,000 times his own weight" (that comes in handy).
7. "Dune Bug"--Charlie is vacationing at the beach and the aardvark keeps getting kicked off for not wearing a leash.
8. "Isle of Caprice"--The aardvark somehow ends up on a deserted island and tries to swim to an adjacent island inhabited by ants--but a shark keeps putting the chomp on his plans. No Charlie in this one (sorry, Charlie).
9. "Scratch a Tiger"--For pulling a thorn out of his foot, a tiger protects Charlie and his ant buddies from the aardvark. The tables are turned, however, when the aardvark also relieves the tiger of a painful thorn.
10. "Odd Ant Out"--The aardvark competes with his rival green anteater over a can of chocolate-covered ants. Charlie is only seen at the end.
11. "Ants in the Pantry"--The aardvark gets tips on where to find meals by intercepting calls to a pest control company. When he shows up at Charlie's address, however, he is no longer in control of the pests.
12. "Science Friction"--A scientist wants Charlie for research, the aardvark wants him for lunch.
13. "Mumbo Jumbo"--An elephant, and fellow member of the Brothers of the Forest Lodge 202, comes to Charlie's aid when he's confronted by the aardvark--"With a mouth as small as mine, I've got to pick on somebody his size or I'd starve."
14. "The Froze Nose Knows"--It's winter time, but there's no hibernation for the aardvark--he probably should consider it, though.
15. "Don't Hustle an Ant With Muscle"--Charlie takes strength vitamins and becomes a muscle-bound powerhouse who can even get the aardvark to be his waiter: "I never thought it would happen to me, an aardvark bringing lunch to an ant."
16. "Rough Brunch"--Charlie finds support from a family of termites who makes life miserable for the aardvark.
17. "From Bed to Worse"--The Ant and the Aardvark are hit by a car and are put in an animal clinic with an angry dog. The little old lady nurse reminds me of Tweety Bird's owner. Aardvark: "The hospitality around here can make a person sick."

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The Pink Panther: The Ant & The Aardvark Classic Cartoon Collection features all 17 episodes of the original cartoon series.For the first time on DVD, parents can relive the hilarity as these two characters go head to head.

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Pink Panther 2 (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Better sight gags, more inspired comic sequences, and an actually clever mystery plot make "The Pink Panther 2" a more confident and more enjoyable film than its predecessor, which itself was perfectly watchable.
Yes, I guess it's pretty clear that I'm one of those in the minority who don't think it's sacrilege that Steve Martin is trying to follow in the footsteps of the great Peter Sellers. Two things should be remembered on this score: Peter Sellers was extremely talented, no doubt, but his Inspector Clouseau was, well... a bumbling detective character. In other words, it's not the kind of subtle, nuanced character that another talented comic actor can't legitimately take a crack at. Secondly, people forget that critics weren't head over heels in love with the original Sellers Clouseau movies, either, especially his last two or three. Moviegoers tended to like them, but critics mostly dismissed them in favor of Seller's more serious comic works, like "Dr. Strangelove", "Being There", etc. So let's all get a grip now.
Myself, I enjoy Martin's take on the character. Seller's Clouseau was a complete boob who only solved crimes and attained fame completely accidentally, which was admittedly interesting. Martin's take is also interesting, though: his Clouseau is a complete boob at most things, but also has some legitimate detective skills. Those two divergent aspects of the same character makes Martin's Clouseau fun to watch.
So, is the film a comic masterpiece? Nah. But "The Pink Panther 2" is a lot of fun, and definitely worth a trip to the theater.

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PINK PANTHER 2 - DVD Movie

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The Pink Panther Film Collection (The Pink Panther / A Shot in the Dark / Strikes Again / Revenge of / Trail of) (1964) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having been a fan of "The Pink Panther" series from childhood, I was ecstatic that this set was being released, as the films are otherwise out of print on DVD (although luckily I still have my trusty VHS copies in reserve). I am tempted to give the set five stars simply because it is a wonderful day to see these films back in print, but realistically I had to take it down a notch as there a couple of negative considerations, the most obvious of which, of course, is the absence of "Return of the Pink Panther" from the collection, ostensibly because of legal hang-ups. Whatever the cause, the absence of the first of the 1970s-era "Panthers" is sorely missed. The other minor negative is the relative absence of special features on the movie DVDs, although the original "Pink Panther" has a wonderful trivia track. I would have really loved commentary tracks with Blake Edwards and some of the actors. I am somewhat ambivalent on the extremely unusual packaging the set comes in. It is hard to adequately describe the case, but suffice it to say that removing half of the DVDs is annoyingly difficult, although it looks very stylish.
On the positive end, you get four great "Panther" movies and the bodged-together "Trail of the Pink Panther", plus a disk of extras. Some people have dismissed the extras disk as inconsequential, but I rather enjoyed it. I particularly liked the documentary "The Pink Panther Story" which was heavy on interviews and insight. I had no idea that Sellers hated "A Shot in the Dark", whereas I (and many others) think it is a perfect movie in every way. I knew that Sellers could be somewhat Mercurial to work with, but I had no idea, for instance, that he had certain colors that he would not tolerate around him, and in fact made the producers of one of the movies once repaint a train because he couldn't stand the color! Also on the disk is a documentary about the animated Panther, which is quite interesting, as well as several of the short subject cartoons, which seem selected at random. They did include the Oscar winning "Pink Phink", the first cartoon short of the Pink Panther, which was an excellent choice. "Psychedelic Pink" included an annoying laugh track, and "Pinkfinger" was one of the weaker of the cartoons, which I have great recollection of from childhood. Interestingly enough, there are two related subject cartoons, one each of the Ant and the Aardvark, and The Inspector (in a fairly weak episode) to round out the extra disk.
This is a great set overall, with just a couple of things bringing it down to a four rating. I recommend it to all "Panther" fans everywhere, and to anyone who loves to laugh.

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Disc 1: THE PINK PANTHER Disc 2: REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER Disc 3: THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN Disc 4: A SHOT IN THE DARK Disc 5: TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER Disc 6: BONUS DISC

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