You know that we’re not huge street racing advocates around here but in the realm of the cartoon world? We’ve got no issues with that, especially when it involved the iconically cool Pink Panther and a sleeper. In this cartoon short from the 1960s called Pink Pistons, our ol’ pal the Panther heads to a used car lot and buys himself a little sports car. There’s some funny interaction between he and the car, especially when transforming its hue to Panther Pink. After setting out on a drive he runs into a couple of real characters on the street and the car kind of grows a mind of its own.
We dig the depiction of hot rods from the period in this short as well as the sleeper that the old lady is driving. It is a theme that is still as entertaining today as it was nearly 50 years ago now. Cars, speed, and comedy seem to go hand in hand.
If we think about automotive culture now, what two vehicles would the animators used to tell this story? The Model T lookin’ machine of the old lady spoke to a 1960s audience perception of something old and slow, right? What would be used in 2022? A boxy 80s econo-job like a Chevette? What would the Panther drive today? A Tesla? Kind of fun things to think about.
This certainly works wonderfully for the era and even today, just a fun thing to watch!
