The Pink Panther and similar cartoons
The Pink Panther is a heroic, moral cartoon cat with pink fur and the manners of an English aristocrat. He only becomes flustered or angry at obtuse or offensive humans who try to disrupt his existence, or at troublesome gadgets, rodents, or insects. In most of his cartoons, he stumbles into a difficult situation and stoically endeavors to make the best of it. Episodes of this series feature three theatrical cartoons, two with the Pink Panther, and one featuring the Inspector, a cartoon version of the accident-prone, bumbling French detective, Inspector Clouseau, played in movies by Peter Sellers. The Inspector is often assisted by a Spanish gendarme, Sergeant Deux-Deux, and together they fallibly battle villains of all shapes and sizes in various parts of the world, always on the orders of the long-suffering Surete Commissioner.
Although the titular character was never given a name, it was clearly based on Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau character that appeared in the Pink Panther film series. However unlike the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, the Inspector of the cartoon series was generally a competent policeman, and the comedy of the cartoon came from the sometimes surreal situations the Inspector was exposed to, rather than to physical slapstick. However through those difficult circumstances, criminals often get the better of him and he must face the wrath of his ill tempered, bullying Commissioner who holds him in contempt.
This comical cartoon is centered around an aardvark who is desperately trying to catch a clever ant for food. The series was released theatrically from 1969 to 1971 by United Artists. In 1972 it became part of "The Pink Panther Show." John Byner (Soap) provided the voices, impersonating Jackie Mason for the aardvark and impersonating Dean Martin for the ant.
"Crazylegs Crane" is a 16-episode made-for-television cartoon series produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in 1978 for "The All New Pink Panther Show" on ABC. Crazylegs Crane is a dim-witted yellow crane (voiced by Larry D. Mann). Crane was usually joined by his son, Crazylegs Crane, Jr. (voiced by Frank Welker). Each episode dealt with the father/son team trying to catch a fire-breathing dragonfly (also voiced by Welker, who is impersonating Andy Kaufman).