HIP IN FORM, sly in practice and cool by all accounts, the Pink Panther has broken free from the trappings of two-dimensional animation to become a tradition, a classic, a brand. The Pink Panther brand captures the clever charm of the character and applies it to a wide range of products that are fun for the whole family! A new Pink Panther theatrical film is set for worldwide release in February 2009.

After some digressions into trends and media hypes, the Pink Panther has been re-positioned as a classic brand primarily targeted to men and women 21-54 with teens 13-17 and parents with children in age 6-11 as secondary target groups.

The Pink Panther TM and © 1964- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When Blake Edwards made his live-action comedy The Pink Panther in 1963 (starring Peter Sellers), he asked the recently established DePatie-Freleng Enterprises to create a cartoon sequence for the credit titles. The animated character received reviews that were as good or better than the film itself (in which the "Pink Panther" is not a feline but a rare diamond), and a series of animated Pink Panther shorts was immediately put into production.

The Pink Panther starred in 130 cartoons from 1964 to 1975. The cool contemporary style of the design and graphics (co-credited to Hawley Pratt), the distinctive theme music by Henry Mancini, and the pantomime comedy stood out in the competition, and the first cartoon The Pink Phink was honored with an Academy Award. "We made them for the theaters, and we made them for adult really", says Friz Freleng. A Pink Panther series in 1973 featured 36 new animated shorts. In 1993, a new Pink Panther series of 60 episodes was launched in 56 countries.

The Pink Panther live-action feature films continued into the 70s, 80s, and 90s, each beginning with lavish animated opening titles. There are ten Pink Panther live-action films to date (of which eight feature the word "Pink Panther" in the title), starring actors like Peter Sellers, Roger Moore and Roberto Benigni. The Pink Panther, starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, was released in 2006, and the sequel The Pink Panther 2 is planned for a February 2009 release in Plus Licens territories.

Plus Licens represents MGM for merchandising, publishing and promotional rights to The Pink Panther in Russia (C.I.S.), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Serbia and Montenegro.