The Pink Panther Film Collection (DVD)

The bumbling detective Inspector Clouseau has been on DVD before, but never like this.

With the release of The Pink Panther Film Collection you will not only get five classic Panther films but also a bonus disc with several of the original Panther cartoons and two featurettes.

The films included in the collection are The Pink Panther, A Shot In The Dark, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Revenge Of The Pink Panther and Trail Of The Pink Panther with the only one missing is The Return of the Pink Panther, which could have easily replaced Trail of the Pink Panther, which is more of a homage to Peter Sellers as he passed away before it began filming and deleted scenes from previous Panther films were used to keep him in as the one and only Clouseau.

Each film has a distinctive charm that is original and fresh with a newly remastered audio track in 5.1 sound that proves just how timeless these features are.

The crazy thing about these films is that each one is simply an extension of the prior release with no real new jokes or punchlines, but the jokes become so familiar that you can't help but laugh.

On each disc you get the original Theatrical Trailer, which in and of itself is an event as they are completely animated and much different than anything you will see now days and you will also get a photo book, which also serves as a movie trivia guide.

Each flip book offers up goodies that you may or may not have known that make the watching of the film that much more enjoyable.

Also on The Pink Panther disc you get a feature-length commentary by the Pink Panther creator/writer/director Blake Edwards as he guides you more on a history of the Panther giving you insight into relationships and more that help make the Pink Panther even more memorable. Also, included on The Pink Panther DVD is a trivia track that is comprable to VH-1's "Pop-Up Video," which is interesting at times but can be a bit annoying.

Now, one of my favorite things about the whole collection would have to be the cartoon features on the bonus disc, which are timeless in themselves and something that you don't get to see very often. Now you can enjoy The Pink Phink, Pink, Plunk, Plink, Psychedelic Pink, Pinkfinger, The Great DeGaulle Stone Operation and The Ant And The Aardvark whenever you like, and trust me if you are any kind of a fan you will be watching these more than once.

To go along with the cartoons the bonus disc also contains a featurette titled "Behind-The-Feline: The Cartoon Phenomenon" which is approximately 10-minutes long and since it is short, it is worth a once over, but you probably won't be going back to it even though the cartoon is great.

Also on the bonus disc is another featurette called "The Pink Panther Story," which is a documentary taking you behind the scenes of the Pink Panther franchise and includes photos and interviews with writer/director Blake Edwards, Walter Mirisch, writer Ralph E. Winters and more.

The good thing about this documentary is that it doesn't over stay its welcome, like most everything in this collection it is all to the point and quickly paced, which really adds to the enjoyment.

With everything said it is important that you realize The Pink Panther is a crime/comedy of a different sort. To draw a comparison is really hard to do, since it has a quality that is not the same as a lot of what you see today. Films such as Johnny English seem to be making an attempt at copying it but the difference is that Pink Panther doesn't have to go down the road of crass humor to be funny and it never really seems like it is trying to be funny, it just is.

This collection isn't for everyone, so if you are unfamiliar with The Pink Panther go rent some of the titles available in this collection to see if it is for you, and you can trust me that when I say if you like one of them you will like them all. Not to mention it comes in a nice patent leather case that will really stand out on your DVD shelf.

Think pink! :)