Volumes 1-4 were originally released separately and on a 5-disc collector's set under the title of "The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection" in January 2006. Also available on the 18-disc Pink Panther Ultimate Collection released on November 28, 2008.
Volumes 5 and 6 were only released separately under the title of "The Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection" on April 3, 2007 and March 4, 2008 respectively. Also available on the 18-disc Pink Panther Ultimate Collection.
[Note: while Vol. 5 contains the complete series of The Ant & the Aardvark, Vol. 6 contains only the first 17 (of 34) Inspector shorts, hence the second volume.]
Volumes 7-9 were only released on the 18-disc Pink Panther Ultimate Collection and are expected [by fans who already own the preceding volumes] to be released individually sometime soon as separate volumes.
Bottom line: A solid cartoon collection. Recommended if you don't already own the previous separate releases or the 5-disc collector's set or the 18-disc ultimate collection. For fans that only own the previous separate volumes and/or the 5-disc set, I recommend waiting for the individual releases of Volumes 7 and 8. Volume 9, btw, contains the remaining Pink Panther shorts and extras from the 5-disc set [and later 18-disc set] not previously released separately."
Vol 9 is not a real bonus disc
joseph Corey | Raleigh, NC United States | 02/07/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"for those of you curious about what's on disc 9 - it's not Mr Jaws, the Tijuana Toads, The Blue Racer or the Dogfather. It's merely the fifth disc from the Complete Pink Panther cartoon boxset. It's the last batch of Pink Panthers made by DFE So if you are trying to decide which to buy - don't worry. You're getting more for less price on this collection."
Marketing Manipulation
Gene P | Great Falls, VA United States | 02/03/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is another case where they try to squeeze more profits from the most committed fans. If you've bought the PP cartoon DVDs in any or all of the previous packages, you'd still miss two DVDs that are contained ONLY in this bundle: The Inspector Part Deux, and Roland & Ratfink. So if you're a PP fan who hasn't bought any of the previous cartoon DVDs, this is the most complete set. If you're tired of manipulation, forget it. They did the same thing with the PP movie collection where they left one movie out of the collection bundle, until later."
It's all there
Tony | Frederick, Moldova, Republic of | 05/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this as a gift for an 8 year old and he loves it. And it's a great excuse to enjoy these all over again. Seems to be the most complete collection available."
"Pink" is the new "Black"!
Pylon 1 | Greenland | 08/20/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Obviously the Pink Panther cartoons blow just about any newer cartoons out of the water in terms of creativity and humor. Personally, I enjoy the old-school animation, and believe that you do not need cutting edge, computer generated graphics to make a great cartoon. MOST of the cartoons represented here are clever and timeless in my opinion.
The collection is great, it includes everything, although maybe too much. I also enjoy the slap-stick humor and shenanigans, mixed nicely with some dry humor as well. The problem for me is that I find that only about 2/3 or so of the episodes are really, really funny...some are just boring and pointless.
This set would be perfect if they cut out about a third or so of the Pink Panther episodes and left out some of the more boring ones, and also I could do without the Ant and the Aarvark and Roland and Ratfink. The Inspector, however, is absolute gold...it is very clever, and had me about rolling on the floor laughing at times, as well as the majority of Pink's cartoons.
Overall this set brought back alot of great memories, but again, it could have been cut down a bit instead of forcing you to buy all the filler. Not quite worthy of 5 stars, but a solid 4...I would say about 75% of the material is 5-star, but the other 25% is lacking enough to drag the overall rating down a star, mainly just because I don't like paying for the filler. You may be better off buying the DVDs included in this set seperately, choosing only the ones that interest you the most, although this may prove to be more expensive. The two Inspector discs as well as the later Pink Panther episodes are my personal favorites, because these are the ones I remember most from my childhood."