Here is How to Watch All the Pink Panther Movies in Order: Diving Deep into the Recluse of Nostalgia

For many of us, The Pink Panther movies bring back waves of nostalgia. This franchise is now almost 60 years old. The first Pink Panther movie was released in 1963 and over these past 6 decades, the Pink Panther movie series has continued to make new fans fall in love with it and has been able to keep the existing ones.

Even as the legacy of the Pink Panther movies continues to thrive steadily, it sometimes becomes difficult to keep track of the movies given that the franchise has so many of them. While there are a total of 11 instalments in this The Pink Panther movie series, the release of the individual movies can be distinctly separated between two phases.

The first phase of the Pink Panther series was when it was at its peak starting from the early 1930s to the early 1960s. Then again after almost a decade or so later the franchise tried to recreate the magic. A reboot series was in order and two individual movies were released in 2006 and 2009 respectively.

What are the movies of The Pink Panther movie series and where to watch them?

To make it easier for people to watch these movies, we have put together a guide that helps in listing down the movies chronologically. The list also contains the platforms where you can watch the classic series. So, if you have been an ardent The Pink Panther fan and want to binge-watch your favorite series once more, or if you have just decided to start the movie series, then keep reading. We have got it all figured out for you.

1. The Pink Panther (1963)

A very run-off-the-mill comedy-crime-drama, The Pink Panther, the first instalment of the hit movie series, was released in 1963. The movie revolves around a notorious jewel thief who has resurfaced. The thief is popularly known as The Phantom and his signature is to leave a white glove at the crime scene.

Clouseau identifies the signature and becomes desperately fixed on the case. He claims that he knows where exactly the thief would be going next and in an attempt to catch hold of him he leaves Paris and goes to Switzerland, where our Pink Panther, the globally famous Lugashi jewel. In the comedic plot that unfurls hereafter holds a lot of twists and turns. Even though the inspector seems to make a lot of mistakes that account for an impeccable comic timing the case somehow gets solved in the end.

The movie is available on Paramount+ and Amazon Prime. You can also watch it on Roku.

2. A Shot in the Dark (1964)

Inspector Jacques Clouseau is back again in this movie, this time to investigate a murder. This movie got a rating of 7.4 on IMDb strikes the perfect balance that needs to be maintained in comedy-mystery movies.

While it is difficult to bring down the pin of suspicion on one character we can always trust our Inspector Clouseau to find some way out. Anyone starting from the gardener to his wife to the head Butler to even the third maid, anyone could be the killer. Clouseau manages to connect incidents and dig up connections and eventually solves the case. How the grieving incident of murder is dealt with by our inspector makes the plot equal parts funny and mysterious.

The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video.

3. Inspector Clouseau (1968)

With the growing popularity of the Pink Panther movie series the popularity of the comic protagonist, Inspector Clouseau also increased. This time he gets called off from his usual everyday responsibilities at the French Surete. Clouseau is assigned a special case by the Scotland Yard, England. It turns out all the detectives there could not find any proper solution to this one particularly mysterious case. It was decided that the case demanded a fresh perspective and who could be a better choice than the seasoned inspector Clouseau? 

The loot from the case of the Great Train Robbery needs to be recovered as soon as possible otherwise this money would be used to fund a whole lot of new crimes. Even as the British officers keep on second-guessing their choice, Clouseau manages to crack the case despite his ridiculous methods and manners.

This movie is also available on Amazon Prime Video. You can also watch it on Hoopla or Tubi.

4. The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)

Just as the fans had started to wonder whether or not the franchise was to continue, The Return of the Pink Panther hit the theatres in 1975, after almost a decade since the last film. This movie returned to its roots. The Pink Panther diamond has been stolen again.

Clouseau is given the task of finding out the missing diamond. It seems very clear to Clouseau that this time too it is The Phantom. However, despite his initial resolve, it turns out Clouseau could not be that proficient with the task. He once more returns to his odd and ridiculous ways. This time the comedy becomes twice in intensity as Clouseau is accompanied by his assistant, Cato.

The movie is available on Amazon Prime and Paramount+.

5. The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

The movie The Pink Panther Strikes Again saw our inspector Clouseau take up immense responsibilities. The head of the Bureau and Clouseau’s former chief Charles Dreyfus, is admitted to a mental asylum. Now the lofty role of the Chief Inspector was to be carried out by Clouseau.

However, Charles escapes the mental asylum and it seems that he is all set out to kill Clouseau. It has now been established in the movie franchise that Clouseau has the best of luck and therefore manages to escape Charles’s grasp by hook or crook. How Clouseau manages to send Charles back to the mental asylum is what the plot revolves around.

The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video.

6. Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)

This 1 hour and 39-minute-long beauty of a comedy-crime drama had been the 6th instalment in the Pink Panther movie series. Filled with the usual twist sentence, this movie successfully carried on the responsibility that the popularity of the movie franchise put on it.The movie introduces us to the plot of Philippe Douvier and his most sincere plot to eliminate Clouseau. 

After numerous failed attempts, Philippe is now armored with a plan that he claims will most definitely work. As it turns out, it is the former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus who had ordered the killing. Once the news of false success is declared, Charles Dreyfus feels so much better that he is released from the asylum. It turns out, it might have been the ridiculous mannerisms of Clouseau that had made him go insane. However, Clouseau is not dead and even sets out on an undercover mission to find out who exactly had commissioned his assassination.

You can watch the full film on Amazon Prime.

7. The Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

The new Chief Inspector Clouseau is tasked with finding the Pink Panther diamond that has once again gone missing from the Lugash region. Since he was the one who was most intricately aware of all the details regarding the Pink Panther diamond and its earlier cases, people put much faith in him.

However, things take suspicious turns when Clouseau’s plane disappears without a clue. Marie Jouvet, a TV reporter takes up the investigation task on herself. A character named Mobster Bruno Langlois enters the scene and puts pressure on Marie to stop her investigations. Not only do the investigations stop, they lead Marie to Clouseau’s father, Clouseau Senior.

You can catch up with the entire mystery of the plot on Amazon Prime Video.

8. The Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)

The movies in the first phase of the Pink Panther movie franchise are not only intricately connected but are also immensely engaging. They know exactly which chord to hit and which rhythm to play to balance the ratio of comedy and mystery in the movies.

As Inspector Clouseau remains in his state of utter disappearance, the second-best detective that the world has to offer must step in. However, the former Chief Inspector and now the Surete police chief, Charles Dreyfus still holds a profound grudge against Clouseau. He keeps on sabotaging the mission and rigs the computer system in such a way that the worst detective in the world is prompted by the results. NYPD Sergeant Clifton Sleigh enters the scene.

Does Clifton succeed in finding out what happened to Clouseau? Instead of getting spoilers here, you can watch the film itself on Amazon Prime Video.

9. Son of the Pink Panther (1993)

As the franchise reached its limit in the first phase, the 9th installment suffered a great deal. However, even though Son of the Pink Panther obtained a low score of 3.9 on IMDb, passionate audiences still flocked to the theatres.

The film opens after 30 years after Clouseau’s disappearance. It turns out the inspector had narrowly escaped death with the help of Maria Grambelli. She is now settled in a peacefully mundane seaside town where Princess Yasmin of Lugash also happens to be visiting. When the Princess gets kidnapped, Charles Dreyfus is assigned to the case. After repeatedly being rudely interrupted in his efforts by a certain police officer he finds out that the officer, named Jacques, is the son of Maria Gambrelli and Jacques Clouseau.

Things take a comic turn when, albeit unwillingly, Dreyfus teams up with Clouseau’s son to find out the missing princess. You can watch the complete movie on Amazon Prime.

10. The Pink Panther (2006)

A futile attempt to revive the fan-favorite movie franchise was made in the year 2006 by Shawn Levy. It was a loose remake of the original The Pink Panther movie starring Peter Sellers. The second phase of the movie franchise saw Steve Martin in the role of Clouseau.

The story follows the award cup semi-final match between the teams of France and China. During the match, the French coach is assassinated under unusual circumstances. The interesting thing to notice was that the French coach had been wearing a ring that had the Pink Panther gem embedded in it. After the murder, the ring was found to be missing. As the norm of the franchise would have it, Clouseau is tasked with the assignment of finding the ring again.

Even though it did not fare that well the movie is still worth a watch. The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video.

11. The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

The second movie of the second phase of the Pink Panther movie franchise was released in 2009 again with Steve Martin in the role of Clouseau. Even though there is nothing exceptionally special about the movie it still provides for a good experience. 

Now that the case of the Pink Panther diamond has been successfully solved, Inspector Clouseau is to be awarded one of the highest honors known to any average French citizen. This does not sit right with Charles Dreyfus. He instead starts assigning menial tasks to Clouseau to keep him away from the Surete as much as possible. However, a series of burglaries occur abruptly across the world. In this series of heists, the Pink Panther diamond is again stolen. Clouseau and his team are naturally assigned the task of solving the case of this daring act.

The movie is available on Amazon Prime and marks the conclusion of The Pink Panther movie franchise.