The Pink Panther in: Pink at First Sight

***The Pink Panther in: Pink at First Sight*** is an animated Valentine's Day special starring *The Pink Panther* which premiered on ABC on February 14, 1981 and would be the first and only solo effort of David H. DePatie (without Friz Freleng). It is the first *Pink Panther* cartoon produced by Marvel Productions, which would go on to make new animated opening titles of *Trail of the Pink Panther* and *Curse of the Pink Panther*.

## Plot

It is Valentine's Day and the Pink Panther is lonely and has no money (except for seven cents). After receiving another person's Valentine gift package by mistake, he goes to the messenger service for a job but messes his rehearsal up. He then goes to a store, buys a cassette player and pre-recorded cassettes with the seven cents he had left and goes back to the messenger service miming to "Vesti la giubba", an aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera *Pagliacci*, and gets hired as a messenger.

Antics on the job entangle the breezy cat with a jealous husband (after stealing the heart of his housewife whilst miming a 50s-ish sounding ballad), a snobby classic violinist (after using a Stradivarius violin like an electric guitar; the Panther had the wrong recording on at the time), a priest (whom the Panther apparently had delivered the wrong present to) and a crime boss and tough gangsters (their present was a bomb).

Finally, after warding off the boss and his gang with a cassette containing excerpts of a police radio show, our hero is sitting alone and discouraged on a park bench when he finally meets the pantheress of his dreams, the ideal feline valentine.

## Voices

* Frank Welker - The Jester, Messenger Owner, The Man with the Golf Club, Viloinist, Customer, Announcer
* Marilyn Schreffler - Baby's Mother, The Lady with the Umbrella, Nurse
* Hal Smith - Crime Boss
* Brian Cummings - Music Store Owner, Tough Gangsters
* Weaver Copeland - Housewife

## Credits

* "The Pink Panther in Pink at First Sight"
* Written by: Owen Crump and D.W. Owen
* Produced by: David H. DePatie
* Directed by: Bob Richardson
* Based on the David H. DePatie · Friz Freleng Animated Character
* Sequence Directors: Nelson Shin, Art Vitello
* Music by: Steven DePatie · Screenmusic West
* Pink Panther Theme by: Henry Mancini
* Lyrics by: Owen Crump, D.W. Owen
* Production Design: Martin Strudler
* Character Design and Storyboard: Bob Richardson
* Layout: George Goode, John Gibbs, Mario Piluso
* Voice Talents of: Frank Welker, Marilyn Schreffler, Hal Smith, Brian Cummings, Weaver Copeland
* Lead Animation: Bob Richardson
* Animation: John Gibbs, Nelson Shin, Norm McCabe, Lee Halpern, Jim Davis, Bob Bransford, Tom Ray, Al Wilzbach, Lloyd Vaughan, Joe Roman, Ruth Kissane, Bob Bemiller, Malcolm Draper, Norton Virgien, Bill Hutten
* In Charge of Production: Lee Gunther
* Production Manager: Kathy Condon
* Film Editors: Robert Gillis, Richard Gannon
* Music and Sound Editor: Joe Siracusa
* Music Mixer: John Osiecki
* Camera Effects: John Burton Jr.
* Animation Production by: TOEI Animation Co., Ltd.
* Sound by: Producers' Sound Service Inc.
* This picture has made the jurdisction of I.A.T.S.E.-IA, affiliated with A.F.L.-C.L.O.
* © Copyright 1981 Mirisch-Geoffrey-D.F.
* A Marvel Production
* in association with Mirisch-Geoffrey, DePatie-Freleng · Distributed by United Artists

## Home Media Releases

*Pink at First Sight* made its VHS debut release by MGM/UA Home Video sometime during the 1980s. On November 6, 2007, the special alongside *Olym-Pinks* and *A Pink Christmas* was released as part of the DVD collection set *The Pink Panther: A Pink Christmas* from MGM Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

## Production

Most of the animation staff utilized for the 1978 series *The All New Pink Panther Show* worked on *Pink at First Sight*. The special also utilized several music cues from the series as well but unlike the TV show, a laugh track was not featured.

Freleng was absent from this production due to him breaking up the studio he began with DePatie and then went back to Warner Bros. Many of the other characters' voices on this special (saving the silent Panther himself) were done by Frank Welker, Brian Cummings, Marilyn Schreffler and Hal Smith.