Dead Ant
Cidu Bill on Jan 18th 2010
Because a few people asked (and it took me a minute to get it myself): To a 7-year-old, the Pink Panther theme music can apparently be interpreted as “dead-ant dead-ant.”
Filed in Bill Bickel, Frazz, Jef Mallet, Pink Panther, YouTube, comic strips, comics, humor | 43 responses so far
Mark M Jan 18th 2010 at 03:37 pm 1
That might be the oldest known joke.
John Small Berries Jan 18th 2010 at 03:38 pm 2
She’s not much of a pedant if she doesn’t recall that (save but once) the Pink Panther never spoke, and that the theme song was in fact written by Henry Mancini.
Mark M Jan 18th 2010 at 03:42 pm 3
By the way, it’s not really the music itself that can be interpreted as “dead-ant”. It’s when a person tries to “sing” the theme, as in “Dah dan, dah dan, etc.”. Very similar to:
Where does the Lone Ranger take his garbage? To the dump, to the dump, to the dump dump dump…
Charlene Jan 18th 2010 at 03:44 pm 4
They remade the Pink Panther?!
Tim Jan 18th 2010 at 03:45 pm 5
I wonder if this qualifies for the Geezer Files; how long has it been since the “Pink Panther” cartoons were on tv? I mean, they were made back in 1963. Sure, Steve Martin redid the movies (for some reason known only to Hollywood), but the kid wouldn’t have seen them.
AaronB Jan 18th 2010 at 03:49 pm 6
I first heard the “dead ant” joke when I was a kid (30 years ago), so I got it immediately. Maybe it was a regional thing? However, I remember it more like Mrs. Olsen’s version - i.e. “What did the Pink Panther say when he stepped on an ant?” I don’t think any of the kids I knew growing up would have had a clue who Henry Mancini was.
James Schend Jan 18th 2010 at 03:50 pm 7
Charlene, it makes me happy that you weren’t aware of that. If only I could go back to that level of bliss.
Yes, they re-made the Pink Panther, and yes it’s just as awful as any other post-LA Story Steve Martin movie.
Pete Jan 18th 2010 at 04:25 pm 8
Did you know that The Pink Panther comes from the North of England?
Duhroom, Duhroom….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham
It fits a lot better than “dead ant” anyway
Tim O'Shenko Jan 18th 2010 at 04:29 pm 9
Tim @5: There was indeed a Pink Panther cartoon show that ran about 15 years ago. I’m not sure if it was a new show or just the old cartoon repackaged, but either way, it’s still a little too old for a 7-year old kid to be aware of. Of course, it is equally surprising that the kid would be familiar with the term “pedant.”
David A. Rooney Jan 18th 2010 at 04:30 pm 10
Charlene - get the original Pink Panther movies with Peter Sellers. Steve Martin is funny, but nothing compares to Sellers as Clouseau and his bastardization of a french accent.
Mark M - well, not everyone can impersonate a jazz saxaphone or a trumpet successfully. Except maybe that guy from the Police Academy movies.
David A. Rooney Jan 18th 2010 at 04:40 pm 11
Tim O’Shenko - this is Caufield we’re dealing with; the most loquacious 7 year old in comicdom. Interesting that Frazz knew exactly which teacher Caufield had been sharing the joke with without being told.
And the original Pink Panther cartoons were actually about 30+ years ago (I watched them as a kid). No dialogue at all, just sight-gags galore. Then they remade them about 15 years ago and, as is usual with any kind of remake, they sucked.
Jeff S. Jan 18th 2010 at 04:41 pm 12
Tim @5 — While the movie was made in 1963, the cartoon tv show didn’t hit the air until 1969.
Kevin A Jan 18th 2010 at 05:07 pm 13
We had the dead ant joke back in high school (early 70s) or before. Ha!
There are 4 Mancini movie selections that I really love. I have a set of the original songs on my computer I call “My_Mancini” that I use for warming up in the morning:
1) The Pink Panther Theme
2) A Shot in the Dark
3) Peter Gunn
4) Baby Elephant Walk (from “Hatari”)
I guess “Peter Gunn” was actually a TV show; I never saw it so I don’t know in what country it was on. (We didn’t get ABC where I lived in the 60s; channel seven wouldn’t bend over the mountain.)
Andrew Jan 18th 2010 at 05:13 pm 14
And we all know how Alfred calls Batman to dinner.
furrykef Jan 18th 2010 at 05:16 pm 15
I’m 25 and well familiar with the “dead ant” joke. I first got it from either my aunt or my mother; my mother lives here in Oklahoma, and my aunt lives in Texas, though she grew up here in Oklahoma.
I do wonder why Caulfield specified a carpenter ant, though. Mrs. Olsen’s right on that one: as far as I can tell, it’s superfluous. (One might think he did it just to bait Mrs. Olsen, but his expression indicates that he didn’t expect such a response.) You shouldn’t add superfluous elements to a joke, or else your audience might mistake the superfluous detail for an important one… which we’ve seen happen a few times here on CIDU.
I don’t think any of the kids I knew growing up would have had a clue who Henry Mancini was.
That’s part of the joke; Caulfield is very learned, especially for his age, so he ends up associating the theme with its composer more than the Pink Panther itself. It’s also sort of like Commander Data saying “ignite the midnight petroleum” instead of “burn the midnight oil”.
it’s still a little too old for a 7-year old kid to be aware of.
Eh? I dunno if they still do, but Nickelodeon showed ‘em all the time.
turquoise cow Jan 18th 2010 at 06:24 pm 16
I used to love, love, love the pink panther cartoon show when I was a kid (I’ve still never seen any of the movies). My sister used to play the flute, and one of the songs she used to practice was the theme song. We used to watch it on TNT on saturday mornings, but that was a long time ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the cable stations reran it on a regular basis, though.
As I often argue in the case of music, just being born *after* the fact doesn’t mean that you’ve never come in contact with the song (or, in this case, television show/movie). Kids grow up listening to and watching what their parents enjoy. At least I did, which explains why, at thirteen, I knew more about the Drifters than Nirvana.
That aside, however, I never heard this joke before and I’m very glad this website exists so you could explain it to me!
Lord-z Jan 18th 2010 at 06:50 pm 17
Well, it is a running gag that the kid knows pop-culture way beyond his level. I believe that it is him who dresses as some sort of semi-obscure literary figure for halloween each year.
Cidu Bill Jan 18th 2010 at 07:15 pm 18
I would say though, David, that remakes don’t suck anywhere near as reliably as prequels.
George P Jan 18th 2010 at 08:18 pm 19
Yes, Mancini wrote the song, but more people know the context than the composer, so using the Pink Panther in the joke reaches a wider audience without making the joke less funny.
While Roxanne wasn’t horrible, Steve Martin hasn’t done anything worth watching since LA Story (or so I assume, since I’ve skipped most of them based on the commercials; I caught pieces of Sgt Bilko and Cheaper By the Dozen, which makes me feel good about my decision).
What confuses me about this is that LA Story is my second favorite Steve Martin movie, and it would probably be my first if I hadn’t been young and a devoted fan when the Jerk came out. LA Story has a perfect balance of subtle and obvious humor.
Chuck Jan 18th 2010 at 08:42 pm 20
This was one of my favorite jokes when I was 7. Not sure if my little sister would get it, though. She’s 11.
Jeff S. Jan 18th 2010 at 10:27 pm 21
furrykef @15 — According to Wikipedia, Nickelodeon just recently stopped showing them this past December. I never knew there were being aired, but them again, I have a tweenager, so she watches more Disney shows than Nick shows now.
Taigan Jan 18th 2010 at 10:44 pm 22
I’m with furrykef. I remember the joke from when I was a kid, but don’t get the “carpenter ant” reference. Except maybe her comment that “carpenter is superfluous” is the meant to refer to the “pedant” part. (i.e. “a person who is overly concerned with formalism and precision”) *shrug*
Morris Keesan Jan 18th 2010 at 11:59 pm 23
I’ve known the “dead ant” joke for a long time (probably only since the 1970s, prior to which I had arranged “The Pink Panther Theme” for the 5-piece dance band I played with in high school), but the “pedant” version was a LOL for me.
mkilby Jan 19th 2010 at 03:41 am 24
@ 2 - The Pink Panther never spoke (indeed, there was never any dialogue at all) in the original animated film cartoons (from the 60s and 70s), but when these cartoons were released in Germany, a spoken voice track was added, in which a narrarator describes the action in rhyming couplets (this same technique was also applied to the German versions of the Tom and Jerry cartoons). The spoken text is amusing, and Germans think of it as an integral part of the production, but I still prefer the “silent” version of the Pink Panther cartoons, with just the music in the background.
The later remake of the Pink Panther cartoon series (using video, not film) actually gave a voice to the Pink Panther. Whether or not this is irritating is irrelevant, because the writing and the production were already worthless enough to render the cartoons unwatchable.
chuckers Jan 19th 2010 at 05:06 am 25
@Andrew,
Actually, I don’t think I *do* know how Alfred calls Batman to dinner. Or else I have long since forgotten…
Dan Jan 19th 2010 at 07:22 am 26
The joke may be older than dirt, but I know it from the 1984 movie Revenge of the Nerds. It’s during the big talent competition between the houses near the end. Two guys are on stage (not our heroes, not the villains) and do the joke.
Freezer Jan 19th 2010 at 07:41 am 27
The “Dead Ant” joke pops up in the original “Revenge Of The Nerds” and at least one episode of MST3K.
chuckers Jan 19th 2010 at 07:56 am 28
Never mind about the Batman joke. Managed to google it. Hadn’t heard it before and I think I know why. Regional accent probably won’t allow for it. Dinner dinner etc isn’t even close to what I would think of as the Batman song.
billytheskink Jan 19th 2010 at 09:29 am 29
One of the local over-the-air stations shows a network called “This” on their digital subchannel that mostly airs old MGM movies. They air Pink Panther shorts (and other Friz Freleng/MGM/UA cartoons like the Ant and the Aardvark) when the preceding movie doesn’t end in time to start the next film at the top or middle of the hour.
Daniel J. Drazen Jan 19th 2010 at 09:45 am 30
Reminded of the B-Sharps ep from “The Simpsons.” Someone auditioning for the group sang Percy Faith’s “Theme From ‘A Summer Place’,” another great instrumental number:
“The theeeeme … to A Summer Plaaaaace
To A Summer Plaaaaace, the theme
To a Suuuuummer Place
It’s the Theeeeeme….”
I don’t know why that cracks me up, but it does.
And who can forget Bill Murrey’s:
“Star Waaaaaars!
Nothing but Star Waaaaars!….”
OK, I’ll stop now.
W Klink Jan 19th 2010 at 11:47 am 31
Boomerang still shows The Pink Panther Show every day. They’re also available on DVD (in fact, The Inspector disc 2 is listed in Netflix but not yet released).
Also, there are two episodes from the original cartoon series where the Panther himself speaks (Sink Pink & Pink Ice).
Keera Jan 19th 2010 at 12:34 pm 32
Frazz’s reaction was actually a CIDU for me. Why would he say Henry Mancini stepped on Mrs. Olsen? That makes no sense to me. The Pink Panther joke does.
Another Josh Jan 19th 2010 at 12:51 pm 33
Because of the superfluous part of the question, now I do wonder what The Pink Panther Theme would sound like if it had been done by The Carpenters.
HM Jan 19th 2010 at 01:34 pm 34
My kids’ dentist office shows dvds of the Pink Panther cartoons in the waiting room. They’re perfect because they’re short, and the parents enjoy them as much as the kids. (They also have a Pac-Man machine that doesn’t require quarters but I never get a chance to play)
Kevin A Jan 19th 2010 at 06:26 pm 35
Keera - Caulfield has just presented Frazz with a modified version of the joke question. Frazz didn’t divine the situation solely from “pedant”.
Mark in Boston Jan 19th 2010 at 07:57 pm 36
And if you’re a fan of PBS’s “All Things Considered”, now you can sing along to the theme. Here are the words:
All things considered, all things considered,
all things considered, all things con ….
zbicyclist Jan 19th 2010 at 11:28 pm 37
“And who can forget Bill Murrey’s:
“Star Waaaaaars!
Nothing but Star Waaaaars!….”
If you have forgotten, or never heard this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53DQgbj2mIc
(not the original video)
Keera Jan 20th 2010 at 12:11 am 38
Kevin #35, that doesn’t explain it for me. Frazz’s question/conclusion makes no sense to me.
Kevin A Jan 20th 2010 at 01:27 am 39
Keera - Caulfield has just asked Frazz: “What did Henry Mancini sing when he stepped on Mrs. Olsen?” … and then followed that, in song, with his assessment [which the joke presumes is shared by Mr. Mancini] of Mrs. Olsen after she made such a correction of Caulfield’s joke. [This is independent of whether Mrs. Olsen’s correction of a 40 year old classic joke was properly judged as “pedantic”.] Frazz, of course, is giving the straight line.
(Perhaps I shouldn’t be writing after midnight.)
Keera Jan 20th 2010 at 12:31 pm 40
Kevin, this still isn’t parsing for me. If Caulfield did explain it to Frazz in a missing panel, then Frazz still has no reason to pose such a question.
Oh, well, chalk this up to another one of those things I don’t get. Frazz has now joined Jesus.
Michael Brown Jan 20th 2010 at 04:12 pm 41
Sellers is the only true Clouseau.
I remember as a kid in the late 70s/early 80s, watching several of the earlier, better ones on tv (big events) with my high school friends.
The ones to watch are “A Shot in the Dark”, “Return” and “Strikes Again”. “Revenge” is ok. The original PP is ok, but its tone is different from the others.
Any after Revenge are cr*p.
I never could get into the PP cartoons. Some are good, others not so much. You can get them all on DVD, along with sets of the movies.
Mark in Boston Jan 20th 2010 at 05:16 pm 42
And Don Adams is the only true Maxwell Smart.
Kevin A Jan 20th 2010 at 09:30 pm 43
Keera - Caulfield didn’t explain anything. He simply, out of the blue as far as Frazz was concerned, started to tell Frazz a bizarre joke. So bizarre that Frazz could neither recognize it nor even hear it completely as a joke. Yet to us, it was a parallel to the Pink Panther and ant joke. And the reader is amused because he or she has to figure out what Caulfield just said (and perhaps subconsiously wonder if Caulfield is in the least bit concerned about whether Frazz knows the original ant joke).