If you liked A Pink Christmas, you are most likely to find a lot to like in Pink Panther in the Olym-Pinks. It is not as good as the early Pink Panther cartoons (the Pink Panther at its peak), but like A Pink Christmas it is quite a bit better than most of the post-1975 cartoons.
As ever, the theme tune is a classic and instantly recognisable, has not lost any of its timeless appeal either. It is also used better than in a lot of the post-1975 Pink Panther cartoons where it was only used in the title credits, here there is more of it and evidence of the music style in the early Pink Panther cartoons. There are some clever and very funny gags, relying solely on visuals than dialogue and commentary, which is a good thing, seeing as part of the Pink Panther cartoons' charm is how the humour really comes over without a word being said. It is a little predictable, as the outcomes are not all that surprising, but the variety of sports and the way they're used made it most interesting to watch.
The interplay and chemistry between Pinky and the Little Man is incredibly enjoyable, and the cartoon is swiftly paced (if sometimes a touch too rushed) and a lot of fun the whole time, which more than makes up for any predictability it has. The two register strongly as characters on their own too, Pinky is as likeably cool as always and his comic timing still delights even when silent. The Little Man has been easier to sympathise with in other Pink Panther cartoons, but his expressions and attempts to foil Pinky are very entertaining and believable.
Like A Pink Christmas, Pink Panther in the Olym-Pinks is not perfect and its flaws are similar to that special too. The animation quality is uneven, it's bright and colourful, the animators as always do a great job with Pinky's wide variety of facial expressions and some of the backgrounds have more detail than most of those in the post-1975 cartoons, but there is some crude drawing here and some backgrounds are sparse. The early Pink Panther cartoons were always minimal and simple in style but were always elegant in doing so, however the vast majority of the post-1975 cartoons took that simplicity to extremes so it was somewhat simplistic instead. Aside from the theme tune, the music is lacking the wonderful slinkiness and jazzy elegance of the early cartoons, there is evidence of that(more so than most Pink Panther cartoons made around the time of this) but a lot of the music here borders on repetitive and in your face.
On the whole, entertaining but not the Pink Panther at its best. 8/10 Bethany Cox
