The Pink Panther (1963) Opening Title

While we are all probably familiar with the shortened version seen in the animated series that only shows about the first ten seconds of this sequence before quickly carrying onto the title card of the featured episode, many of us actually do not realize that the character was first introduced in this opening title sequence of the first Pink Panther film in 1963 featuring David Niven and Peter Sellers.

An American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, the film centers around an inept French police detective known as Inspector Jacques Clouseau as he attempts to stop the theft of a precious pink diamond known as the Pink Panther (That has an unusual int discoloration deep within it resembling a leaping panther).

What is entertaining about this opening is the fact that the titular character interacts most of the time with the opening credits, playing and messing around with them or vice versa (Even his own name bullies him for some reason). He would also do something of relation to the name displayed and what it is they are credited for (Such as dressing up as a conductor when music composer Henri Mancini's name is displayed)

Honestly though, while entertaining, this opening sequence does not give much insight to the main film itself, the main character Inspector Jacques Clouseau barely appears in it too, and all we truly know is the names of the people who are involved in it. Many would also question the point of creating a personification of sorts for an inanimate object such as the Pink Panther jewel (Not that we have anything against though since it brought about such a beloved character).

You could say that this opening is one of the most random film opening sequences out there, seeing that it doesn't really have anything to do with the film, save for the credits that are shown, the Pink Panther character does not truly relate to the pink diamond featured in the film either save for sharing the same name.

Interestingly, the Pink Panther was only created for the opening credits because Blake Edwards felt that the credits would benefit from some kind of cartoon character. David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng then decided to personify the film's eponymous jewel, and the Pink Panther character was chosen by Edwards from over hundreds of alternative panther sketches, and from then on history was made.

The backgrounds remain simple and plainly colored (Though there are a few with gentle gradients to them), the text is clearly hand drawn and aside from the title itself, tends to use a simple sans serif sort of font. Overall, the minimal look (With almost everything being flatly colored, with no sort of depth shading given when possible) gives off a very stylish feel to it, which matches the famous theme song. The Pink Panther is the main center of attention, and they made that humorously clear in his first ever debut, even if he he is not actually part of the film's actual plot.