Star Pink (1978) User Reviews

Panther does Star Wars and The Fly.

[OllieSuave-007 · 5/10 · 30 July 2016]

The Pink Panther goes back to the future and becomes a gas station attendant on another planet. Here, the pointy-eared man stars as a green martian and is mad because the gas station closes for the night. So, he chases the panther around hoping to get him to gas up his ship for him.

Not much laughs in this one and I've found it a tad boring - it's just a lot of running around with lesser slapstick humor and lesser panther comebacks. There's quite a bit of references though to Hollywood movies, like Star Wars and The Fly. I suppose the Pink Panther cartoons in the late 70s weren't quite as funny, charming or intriguing than the earlier ones of the 60s.

Grade D+

2001 1/2: A Pink Panther Odyssey

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 12 June 2015]

Of the 1978 batch of Pink Panther cartoons Star Pink is around top middle, and ranks around solid middle for the Pink Panther cartoons overall. Good fun, but not a Pink Panther classic.

Star Pink is well-scored on the whole, not amazing but it sounds good at least and it fits. The music is not as slinky or as seductive as the pre-1975 Pink Panther cartoons. But it, while slightly repetitive, is energetic, very catchy and less in-your-face thankfully than other post-1975 Pink Panther cartoons, sometimes music was too loud or too rushed-sounding around this period but Star Pink is not so bad. Henry Mancini's theme tune is a timeless classic, one that doesn't annoy no matter how many times it's heard. While there are funnier Pink Panther cartoons about, Star Pink still has a very entertaining second half and the pace becomes more efficient here as well. The story has an imaginative scenario for the Pink Panther and while formula-wise it's standard, the scenario and the space setting is used to great effect, some of the space visuals are quite imaginative. Pinky is as cool and likable as ever and his comic timing is strong, even when not saying a word, while the space villain serves as a decent adversary.

The animation here isn't so great, not horrible due to some imaginative space visuals and some brightly vibrant colours but the drawings do lack smoothness and elegance and parts do look sparse in detail. Not the first post-1975 Pink Panther cartoon to have this problem and not the worst affected(a lot of them looked as if they were made in a hurry and on a lower budget to before), but I miss the simple but elegant and softer look of the pre-1975 Pink Panther cartoons. Star Pink is also a case of the second half being better than the first, which takes a little too long to set up and the humour is stronger in the second half.

All in all, good fun but not the Pink Panther series at its best. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The consensus of properly certified film historians is . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 2 February 2023]

. . . that this picture is the most authentic sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Even casual fans will recall that Stan ordered all the sets, props and scripts of his original masterpiece destroyed after filming wrapped, to prevent any live-action sequels. However, there is no record of Stan taking any legal action against STAR PINK, though this Pink Panther episode explicitly states that it is 2001 1/2. Purists realize that STAR PINK beat the egregious rip-off film 2010 to the theater, and is much closer to the vibe of the original than that lamentable misfire. Some may quibble that Hal, Junior does not sing "Daisy, Daisy" and we hear nothing about the "Bicycle Built for Two" during STAR PINK. But the pathos of that bittersweet ballad is echoed when Junior buttonholes solar pump jockey Pink to garner his promised red lollipop. There is absolutely nothing in 2010 to rival this touching moment.