Panda! Go Panda! (1972)
"Panda kopanda" (original title)

When her grandmother goes away on a trip, 7-year-old Mimiko stays at home by herself in her small, friendly village, unafraid of burglars. When she arrives back home from the train station ... See full summary »

Director:

Isao Takahata

Writers:

Hayao Miyazaki (original concept), Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)

Stars:

Kazuko Sugiyama, Kazuo Kumakura, Yoshiko Ohta

Cast

Credited cast:
Kazuko Sugiyama	...	Mimiko (voice)
Kazuo Kumakura	...	Papanda
Yoshiko Ohta	...	Pan-chan (voice)
Yasuo Yamada	...	Omawari-san
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexis A. Edward	...	(voice)
Katie Evans	...	(voice)
Leigh Everest	...	(voice)
Melissa Fahn	...	(voice)
Barbara Goodson	...	(voice)
Dougary Grant	...	(voice)
W.T. Hatch	...	(voice)
Chet Huntley	...	(voice)
Steve Kramer	...	(voice)
Cody MacKenzie	...	(voice)
Melanie MacQueen	...	(voice) (as Aline Leslie)

Storyline

When her grandmother goes away on a trip, 7-year-old Mimiko stays at home by herself in her small, friendly village, unafraid of burglars. When she arrives back home from the train station where she saw her grandmother off, she discovers she has a visitor-a baby panda. She quickly makes friends with the young panda and names it Pannie. She later meets Pannie's father, a large panda she calls Papanda. She dubs Pannie her son and Papanda her father, and the three become a happy family with their own big adventures.

---

Plot Keywords:

panda | anime | grandmother granddaughter relationship | animal in title | surrogate family | 

---

Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy

---

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

17 December 1972 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Panda! Go Panda!

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

35 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The little heroine Mimiko bears a superficial resemblance to Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking, who was a model for the character. Back in 1971 (a year before this film's release), Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata planned on doing an animated film adaptation of Lindgren's character. Both Miyazaki and Takahata went to Sweden to not only do location scouting, but personally discuss the production with Lindgren. Unfortunately, after their meeting, the rights were refused and the proposed project was canceled. (Watercolored storyboards by Miyazaki are among what remain of the project.)

---

Connections

Followed by Panda Kopanda Rainy Day Circus (1973)

User Reviews

Great for kids...interesting for Miyazaki and Takahata fans

This is a very cute little film. The animation is limited but elegant, the characters are very appealing (The Papa in particular is an interesting Proto-Totoro figure) and the story is very easy for young ones to follow. Adults will not really find much of interest unless the are real Miyazaki complete-ists like myself. And the song will stick in your brain.