Panda! Go Panda!

This is an anime of 2 TV movies about a girl and 2 pandas made back in the early 70s. Done by 2 Master filmmakers: Isao Takahata(Grave of the Firflies, Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, and My Neighbors the Yamadas) directed it. And Hayao Miyazaki(Nausicaa, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Mononoke, Spirited Away, etc.) wrote it/animation key/screen played it.

It's known to be Miyazaki's promo to My neighbor Totoro, instead of a big furry forest spirit, it's a big panda bear. This all has to do with a little girl now living by herself till she encounters a small Panada and a big Panda which she decides to keep them as her own family.

The animation is well done for an anime from the 70s. Once you watch it you'll be surprised this anime was actually written by the Famed Hayao Miyazaki. The story of this anime didn't even looked like it was done by Miyazaki. It doesn't have much of his usual trademarks he'd often put in his films.

I wouldn't blame him for not putting too much effort in writing an anime about Pandas, since this is back when he did TV anime and before he moved to doing Anime movies. Just this one isn't as memorable as his other works.

Overrole it's decent for one of Miyazaki's earlier works before he did Castle of Cagliostro. Recommended for all ages, the Big Panda smokes a pipe, but there's nothing too offending, perfectly safe for little kids to watch.

Only flaw is it might give kids a wrong idea about burglars are fun to have and it's OK to stay home alone. So you parents out there make sure they don't get any ideas that burglars and staying home alone is fun.

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.

Okay, maybe my expectations were set too high up. I mean, I thought this would be a cute TV film when I first saw the poster, even more so after I found out that Hayao Miyazaki created the whole idea of this film. Well, let me tell you this, "Panda! Go Panda!", while having cute music to go along with the seemingly-cute characters, was a big disappointment. I thought the whole idea of a small child having familial relationships with pandas was just ridiculous and too over the top.

Then again, I could just be saying all of this because of the HORRIBLE English dubbing. I searched everywhere for a Japnanese dub/English subbed version of this short film, but to no avail. I'm still glad I got to get a chance, of seeing Hayao Miyazaki's earlier works. It goes to show that he's really improved from the olden days. This might have been popular back in the 1970s, but I just didn't feel it..

Tip for those who want to watch it: Don't watch the English dubbing. The voices, particularly Papanda's, were annoying and turned me off. Otherwise, this could be a good film for very young children. It definitely wasn't targeted for anyone older than 7, though.

Viewed on: May 1, 2011

This endearing tale is a fine example of Hayao Miyazaki's lighter writing. Papa (papanda) really elevates the amusement....and the theme song is perfectly suited.

Panda! Go Panda! is a great film for everyone young and young at heart. Panda! is the story of a little girl who has no papa and mama, who meets two pandas, a papa and a baby who join her little family and have really cool adventures. My favorite scenes are the ones with Neimiko and Papa and Panny sailing on a bed over a flooded town. A must see for all animation fans!