The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther name covers two related things that grew out of the same 1963 caper. One is the Inspector Clouseau comedies, the run of films built around Peter Sellers's gloriously incompetent French detective, whose pratfalls and mangled accent turned a jewel-heist series into pure slapstick. The other is the wordless cartoon cat from the opening titles, who spun off into his own animated shows.

The spread here is wide: eleven films, two television series, and a pair of children's adventure games. The classic Sellers entries are the high point, and the brand thinned considerably across the later sequels and the 2000s reboots. But between the sly cartoon panther and the bumbling inspector, it remains one of comedy's most recognizable double acts, tied together by Henry Mancini's instantly hummable theme.

The The Pink Panther franchise spans 2 series, 2 games, 11 movies in the CrossBinge catalog.