Pink 8 Ball

There are better Pink Panther cartoons but also worse, Pink 8 Ball while short of classic status is an improvement over the previous cartoon, the pointless Pink-In. Admittedly the ending is too ridiculous to really take at face value(yes even for a cartoon that even from knowing about the storyline that it was going to be a strange one), while elegantly coloured the animation is a little too simple and rushed-looking and the story is on the predictable side. The music though is zesty and almost seductive with the classic theme tune still not ageing a jot. There are some fun gags too, if very unusual ones, especially with the ostrich and with the ball impersonating a mannequin. It is true that Pink 8 Ball is in some ways a surreal cartoon, but amidst the silliness there is also a fair degree of charm and the pacing has zest(even with the ending and story not being as strong the gags keep things afloat), which makes that unusual feeling tangible at least. Pinky is still very cool and is always watchable, his comic timing without fault, but the basketball has the most effective gags and is the funnier character perhaps, but there have been more interesting support characters in the Pink Panther cartoons. All in all, an enjoyable if very strange entry(providing that you don't find it too weird to not properly like it) in the Pink Panther series, not among the best or the worst, more at a comfortable position in the middle. 7/10 Bethany Cox