Bob Kurtz, who animated the new Pink Panther title sequence, has a history with the cat. All images © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Inc. and Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. All rights reserved.

Bumbling French Inspector Jacques Clouseau returns to the big screen in the form of Steve Martin in the new The Pink Panther movie that opens in the U.S. on Feb. 10, 2006. Like all the previous Pink Panther films (since the first in 1964), the movie features an animated title sequence. Bob Kurtz and his team at Kurtz and Friends Animation have produced this first Panther film title done in more than a decade.

Kurtz actually has a history with the Panther. His career goes back to the 1960s with work on such shows as The Alvin Show and George of the Jungle. He was also a writer on the first year of Pink Panther theatrical shorts. “At the time, I really wanted to work with Friz Freleng,” stated Kurtz, “Friz was a master of comedic timing.”

Prior to the Panther title, Kurtz and Friends Animation has done titles for the likes of City Slickers and Honeymoon in Vegas. They have recently been kept busy on an image campaign for Honda in Great Britain. “They came to me because they saw a bit I did for George Carlin in the 1990s!” The studio is also doing anti-smoking spots for the state of California. “Of course we are also constantly at work developing our own projects,” said Kurtz.

Bob Kurtz worked on The Alvin Show and George of the Jungle, and as a writer on the first year of Pink Panther theatrical shorts.

After nearly 40 years, how did Kurtz get back into Panther territory? “It was funny. A European studio had done a CGI title sequence. Some of the folks were not really happy with it. The Panther looked like a stuffed toy in CGI. The producers contacted me and two other studios.” All three studios were given around two weeks to create a pitch. None of the studios were allowed to see the CGI version. All they had was a script.

“I didn’t have time to do a big presentation. So I sat down and did a storyboard and made an animatic. Then the producer called to say the other studios needed more time, so I could have some too. But I was already done!”

The producers looked at Kurtz’s take and loved it. A short time later, Kurtz was called and told he had the job. In fact, “The final title sequence is almost 90% of my original pitch.” The original had run around three-and-a-half minutes, but the producers thought that was too long, so it was edited down to three minutes. One gag edited out was one, “The producers thought was ‘too far out there,’” laughed Kurtz.

The timing on the title had to be very precise. “Each title can only be on for three seconds. So if I wanted a nine-second gag, I had to line up over three titles. The producers did not want any business happening without a title onscreen.”

For Kurtz, the highlight of the titles sequence is the tango between the Panther and the Inspector. It plays well to audiences and gets plenty of laughs.

Kurtz and his team took his board and converted it into a fully animated title. The title is hand animated, with digital color and effects. “We even did a bunch of the scenes on ones,” notes Kurtz. “And I want to emphasize the ‘we’. I had a tremendous team of talent on this. Right now there are some really great folks in the business, and this project lucked out to being done at a time when a lot of them were available. During the production, there were very little redos. And I am kind of notorious for redo. But not on this one.”

Kurtz’s final titles feature a series of gags between three characters — the Panther, the Inspector “and the music,” stated Kurtz. “The Mancini music is so good, so powerful.” The Pink Panther theme is one of the most famous in movie history. Kurtz and his team worked hard to make the action work with the music. “You really want to work with the track. And when the animation is in sync with the rhythm of the music, it is terrific. Animation is really choreography.”