The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 5

In this next-to-last phase of the Pink Panther’s amazing run of new theatrical short-subjects, newsworthy mid-to-late 1970s trends and fads such as Rock’em-Sock’em robots (PINK ARCADE), compulsive dieting (DIETETIC PINK), and the merchandizing of “pet rocks” (Art Leonardi’s ROCKY PINK) come into focus. Fairy-tale spoofs (PINK PIPER, CAT AND THE BEANSTALK) make a modest comeback, but much more impressive are brand-new wrinkles on familiar Panther themes like sleep deprivation (Art Davis’s PINK TRUMPET), wars against a pesky fly (turning positively apocalyptic in Sid Marcus’s PINK S.W.A.T.) and journeys through surreality (SHERLOCK PINK, Robert McKimson’s last and probably best “Panther” pic).