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Parents' Guide to

The Pink Panther

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Funny and entertaining after all these years.

Movie NR 1964 113 minutes
The Pink Panther Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 6 parent reviews

Hendo H. U.
Hendo H. U. Parent of 10, 12 and 15-year-old
December 27, 2017
age 11+

Boring for 10 and younger...

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much consumerism
Joseph D.
Joseph D. Parent
July 17, 2017
age 14+

Mixed Feelings About This

I really love the Pink Panther movies from my childhood but not this one. I preferred the ones where Peter Sellers was more intentionally funny rather than believable as the bumbling policeman on international assignment. This one was tedious to watch and I really enjoy a good movie with lots of suspense. I was waiting for something funny for long stretches. There were classic mad-cap scenes with the inspector's wife hiding two men in their room, but that felt a bit uncomfortable to try to explain why a beautiful woman is married to a bumbling policeman and then to try to rationalize her cheating and that she framed him in the end. But there is a fairly satisfying end but it took a long time to get there. The plot itself made sense when the inspector was found guilty but I had to explain that he would be let out of jail when the Pink Panther strikes again, but is going to jail really funny? I think the themes in this were really a bit too trying for a younger mind and a bit too much explaining about infidelity and overall plot points. Great acting and very funny scenes don't quite make up for the long stretches to set up each major plot twist.

This title has:

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE PINK PANTHER, Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven), a globetrotting bachelor who is in secret a super-thief called the Phantom, has been making fools of police around the world for 15 years. No fool is bigger than Inspector Clouseau, whose been pursuing the Phantom all that time, always one step behind. That's because Clouseau's adored wife Simone (Capucine) is Lytton's secret accomplice -- and mistress. Clouseau correctly reasons the Phantom's next target will be the Pink Panther diamond worn by Indian princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale), who is due to visit a ski resort in the Alps. Clouseau travels there to catch the thief, and brings Simone with him. Sir Charles shows up and begins using his considerable charm on Princess Dala. Bumbling Clouseau misses all the signs his treacherous wife has no interest in him, but he does gradually suspect Sir Charles. To complicate matters, Sir Charles' nephew (Robert Wagner) and turns out to be a con artist who also plans to steal the Pink Panther, during a costume ball.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (9 ):

While grownups and older kids might enjoy the verbose farce and the charisma of the stars, younger kids may get more entertainment value out of any given Pink Panther cartoon. Viewers who seek out this first-ever Pink Panther on video might be disappointed to find Peter Sellers isn't the star of this caper flick. He's funny, but the traits of epic-scale slapstick lunacy that made Clouseau famous were to evolve later, in spinoff/sequels. The costume ball is the only part of the picture that really comes to life with the slapstick that Sellers fans came to expect. Most of The Pink Panther is stagier, drawing-room comedy, heavy on pillow-talk dialogue and lovers ducking in and out of adjacent hotel rooms.

While the sex-oriented banter is old-school Hollywood -- very coy and civilized and likely to go over kids' heads -- even young viewers might notice that Clouseau is played with more realism and less clowning. He is actually a rather sad character. He fails to notice his Simone's indifference to him, and she puts off his passionate advances with complaints that she can't "relax" (in fact, she's seeing Sir Charles at every opportunity).

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how this first film compares to the zanier, more slapstick, subsequent Pink Panther movies.

Movie Details

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