The character's popularity spawned a spin-off franchise of theatrical shorts, television cartoons and merchandise.

The animated Pink Panther character's initial appearance in the live action film's title sequence, directed by Friz Freleng, was such a success with audiences and United Artists that the studio signed Freleng and his DePatie–Freleng Enterprises studio to a multi-year contract for a series of Pink Panther theatrical cartoon shorts.

Rich Little provided Pink's voice in these shorts, modeling it on that of David Niven (who had portrayed Clouseau's jewel thief nemesis in the original live-action film).

A number of sister series joined The Pink Panther on movie screens and on the airwaves, among them The Ant and the Aardvark, Tijuana Toads (a.k.a.

Other DePatie-Freleng series included Roland and Rattfink, The Dogfather (a Godfather pastiche), with a canine Corleone family and two Tijuana Toads spinoffs, The Blue Racer and Crazylegs Crane.

The ABC version of the series featured 16 episodes, with 32 new Pink Panther cartoons and 16 of Crazylegs Crane.

The Pink Panther and the Inspector lasted 87 issues, ending only when Gold Key ceased operations in 1984.

[8] Tribune Media Services syndicated a Pink Panther comic strip from May 29, 2005, to May 10, 2009, created by Bottom Liners' cartoonists Eric and Bill Teitelbaum.

During this time, the Pink Panther made a cameo appearance in Marvel's rival DC Comics cartoon, which was "Flight 601 Has Vanished," an episode of The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam.

On December 7, 2011, a new 22-minute holiday special entitled A Very Pink Christmas, starring the classic iteration of the panther, aired on ABC Family.

[25] California based children's cancer charity The Gary L. Hoop Foundation humorously places The Pink Panther in various locations on its website and in its advertisements, paying homage to both the cartoon and their late namesake Gary Hoop, who once carried "The Pink Panther" as a nickname.

Top animation directors such as Hawley Pratt, Gerry Chiniquy, Robert McKimson, and Sid Marcus contributed to a distinctive style, supported by master story writer John W. Dunn.

The Pink Panther also remained constrained to the classic six-minute form of theatrical shorts, while contemporaries expanded into longer, sitcom-like storylines, up to a full 30 minutes of broadcast TV in the case of The Flintstones.

Freleng's colleagues credit his sense of creative timing as a key element to the cartoon's artistic success.

Freleng himself regarded the Pink Panther as his finest achievement and the character he most identified with, according to family and colleagues interviewed on the 2006 DVD release.