PINK PANTHER & FRIENDS CLASSIC CARTOON COLLECTION:
THE ANT AND THE AARDVARK
DVD Review by Jon Cooke
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The folks at MGM have now packaged all 17 cartoons on a new DVD titled The Pink Panther & Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, Volume 5: The Ant and the Aardvark (the previous 4 discs in this series were reissues of discs released as part of the 5-disc Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection box set). This was a pleasant surprise and will hopefully lead to future single disc collections of other DePatie-Freleng theatrical shorts (such as The Inspector).
All 17 cartoons are presented in chronological order with their full theatrical opening and closing titles. The back of the DVD case promises these are "all new digital transfers" of the shorts. The picture quality really is truly outstanding throughout the disc. Unfortunately, four cartoons ("The Ant and the Aardvark", "Never Bug an Ant", "Don't Hustle an Ant With Muscle", and "Scratch a Tiger") have laugh tracks which were added for later Saturday morning airings. Luckily, this canned laughter isn't too distracting. All cartoons are complete and uncut, including "Technology, Phooey" which has an often edited scene where the Ant comments on how the Aardvark must be having a "bad trip" (after the Aardvark accidently sprays himself with bug spray).
As for the cartoons themselves, many of them still hold up very well. I hadn't sat down and watched many of these shorts in a long time and did have a good time revisiting them. They are definitely more lively and funnier than most of the cartoons being produced for theaters during this same time period. Friz Freleng directed the duo's first cartoon and the rest of the series was mainly directed by Hawley Pratt, Gerry Chiniquy, and Art Davis. John Byner's voices remain a highlight of the series and the Aardvark's asides to the audience are very funny. Also memorable are the Dixieland-inspired soundtracks provided by Doug Goodwin.
Like many DePatie-Freleng shorts, a number of Looney Tunes plots and gags were recycled for these cartoons. For example, "From Bed to Worse" is pretty much an exact remake of "Greedy For Tweety" (complete with a Granny lookalike nurse) and "Isle of Caprice" has a similar plot to "Hawaiian Aye Aye". In "Odd Ant Out", the Aardvark tussles with a green aardvark a la Sylvester's tough alley cat rival in cartoons like "Putty Tat Trouble". Not all is recycled though and there are many inspired gags throughout this collection. The crew behind these shorts did seem to be having fun with such a silly concept. While the cartoons would often predictably end with the Ant coming out on top, some memorable entries ended with the tables being turned on the Ant ("Mumbo Jumbo", "Scratch a Tiger")...which is something that never happened to Tweety or the Road Runner!
There is no bonus material on the disc, but owning the complete filmography of these characters for such a low price (around $10 at most retailers) and in such high quality makes this a must-own for fans of these shorts. It also makes an excellent companion to the Pink Panther set. Recommended!
