for his rescue of Yasmin which is attended by Maria, Dreyfus, Cato, Prof. Balls and Jacqueline Gambrelli, where his clumsy antics disrupt the proceedings just like his father Inspector Clouseau's antics used to do in previous Pink Panther films. Gambrelli closes the film by saying "That felt good!" followed by the image of Gambrelli freezing as the animated Pink Panther walks across the still of Jacques, until an animated Gambrelli suddenly cuts away the head of live-action Gambrelli and pops out of the hole, dropping the head on the Panther's foot. Having been made a fool by Gambrelli once again, the enraged Panther chases him into fading blackness. Cast Roberto Benigni as Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus Claudia Cardinale as Maria Debrah Farentino as Princess Yasmin Jennifer Edwards as Yussa Robert Davi as Hans Zarba Mark Schneider as Arnon Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong Mike Starr as Hanif Kenny Spalding as Garth Anton Rodgers as Chief Lazar Graham Stark as Professor Auguste Balls Oliver Cotton as King Haroak Shabana Azmi as Queen Aharon Ipalé as Gen. Jaffar Dermot Crowley as Francois Duval Liz Smith as Marta Balls Nicoletta Braschi as Jaqueline Gambrelli Note: Claudia Cardinale played the Princess in the original Pink Panther film. Here she returns as Maria Gambrelli, the part originally played by Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark. Production This was the first Pink Panther film in a decade, following two unsuccessful attempts to continue the series following the death of Peter Sellers, who originated the character of Clouseau. Considered a relaunch of the series, the plan was for Roberto Benigni—a popular Italian comedian who had yet to be discovered in America—to continue on where Sellers had left off. However, Benigni was not Edwards' first choice for the role. Kevin Kline was attached for a while. He was a fan of the series and loved Edwards' work but decided after reading the script that the project just wouldn't work. Kline and Edwards were to work together on a project called Luck (not an Edwards script) that William Morris packaged as a replacement project for the duo, but after this film flopped the project fizzled. Kline would also later play Dreyfus in the 2006 remake, and was initially considered for the part of Clouseau. Rowan Atkinson was also offered the part, but declined (his star having risen considerably in the ensuing