The Pink Panther: A Pink Christmas (1978)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Pink Positive

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

This 30-minute Pink Panther television Christmas special is based in part on O. Henry's story "The Cop and the Anthem," in which a homeless man attempts to get himself thrown into jail in exchange for a bed and three square meals a day; ironically all his attempts to break the law are subverted or ignored. That's just one small part of Pink's story; he wakes up on a bench and attempts to find someplace warm to stay and something good to eat. To its credit, it keeps up the same level of creativity -- with no spoken dialogue -- as one of the shorter cartoons, and it does so by relating a series of nearly unrelated incidents rather than a cohesive plotline. Pink gets a job as a department store Santa but can't resist chomping the head of a little girl's gingerbread man. Pink attempts to chase a fallen roasted chestnut into a snowbank, etc. Overall the film isn't as smooth as the early cartoons, but it's more than acceptable for holiday viewing. MGM's new DVD comes with two other half-hour shorts, Olym-Pinks (1980) and Pink at First Sight (1981).