Panda! Go, Panda!

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Panda! Go Panda!


caption = Cover of Japanese DVD
ja_name = パンダ・ゴパンダ
ja_name_trans = Panda Kopanda
genre = ComedyInfobox animanga/Movie
title =
director = Isao Takahata
producer = Shunzo Kato
writer = Hayao Miyazaki
music = Masahiko Satō
studio = Tokyo Movie Shinsha
licensor = flagicon|USA flagicon|Canada Geneon
flagicon|Australia flagicon|New Zealand Madman Entertainment
released = flagicon|Japan December 17, 1972
runtime = 30 minutes [ann anime|id=352, retrieved on 2007-10-18] Infobox animanga/Movie
title = The Rainy-Day Circus
director = Isao Takahata
producer = Shunzo Kato
writer = Hayao Miyazaki
music = Masahiko Satō
studio = Tokyo Movie Shinsha
licensor = flagicon|USA flagicon|Canada Geneon
flagicon|Australia flagicon|New Zealand Madman Entertainment
released = flagicon|Japan March 17, 1973
runtime = 38 minutes [ann anime|id=3703|title=Panda! Go Panda!: Rainy Day Circus, retrieved on 2007-10-18]

nihongo|"Panda! Go, Panda!"|パンダ・コパンダ|Panda Kopanda|literally "Panda, Baby Panda" is a Japanese animated film, first released in 1972. It was written and created by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Isao Takahata, predating Studio Ghibli. This short movie hit Japan at the height of panda madness, when China began lending its treasured giant pandas to Japan and the United States.

The plot follows Mimiko, a bright little girl left alone when her grandmother leaves on a trip. She comes home to her house in a bamboo grove to find a baby panda. His father soon comes to visit and they decide to become a family. The three have adventures which are continued in another short movie from the same staff, nihongo|"Panda! Go, Panda!: The Rainy-Day Circus"|パンダ・コパンダ 雨降りサーカスの巻|Panda Kopanda: Amefuri Circus no Maki.

The pandas of "Panda! Go, Panda!" are considered precursors of the Totoros,cite web|url=http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/panda/story.html|title=Story: Panda Kopanda|publisher=Nausicaa.net|accessdate=2008-03-21] cite web|url=http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=4046+title|title=Panda! Go Panda|date=2001-07-31|accessdate=2008-03-21|publisher=DVD Times] while the spunky red-headed heroine, Mimiko, is seen as a prototype Mei, the younger sister in "Totoro".

References

External links

*ann anime|id=352|title=Panda! Go, Panda!
*imdb title|id=0069058|title=Panda! Go, Panda!
* [http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/panda "Panda! Go, Panda!"] at Nausicaa.net