Another story of a girl abandoned by her legal guardians this week, but with a much happier take on the whole ordeal. We'll be looking at a forgotten Miyazaki title as we explore:
Background:
Released By: Geneon/Pioneer
Length: 70 minutes
Year of Production: 1972+1973
Language: Sub and Dub both included, Dub reviewed
Available on Netflix: Yes
Are you a Miyazaki fan? Have you ever heard of this little gem? While not by Studio Ghibli, this an interesting little set of movies by Miyazaki. It is clearly a Totoro prototype as evidenced by the creepy smile of the panda. It is also Miyazaki's first writing credit. When I first watched this with some of my college buddies years ago it was amazing how much they all loved it and insisted on showing it to everyone else. Any kids' title that can elicit such childlike joy from college students is a winner in my book.
This Week's Pets
I'm not sure if "pet" is the right word here
. There are two pandas, a baby and an adult male. The Father acts a surrogate parent to Mimiko. In return Mimiko acts as a mother to the baby panda Panny. Papa Panda loves bamboo (duh) and likes to describe everything as "nice". His voice in English is amazing and always makes me smile. I can't describe it too well, but try to imagine a less crude Borat.
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| Papa Panda is addicted to nicotine. I'm not joking. |
Panny is a hyperactive little ball of fur that likes to cling to his papa and mama and can't stay out of trouble to save his life. When excited he likes to scream and run in circles. This is the most adorable thing ever.
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| Most adorable version of Frogger ever. |
Story:
The story opens with Mimiko seeing her grandmother off at the train station
. Granny is taking a trip out of town for a while to attend her late husband's memorial service. Mimiko has to stay home so she can keep attending school but the young child insists she can do all the cooking and cleaning on her own. As she walks home she convinces the concerned townsfolk that she isn't scared of burglars and she'll beat up any ghosts that dare show up.
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| You can't see it but she just kicked a ghost in the nuts |
Mimiko walks up to her house, conveniently situated in a bamboo grove, and notices a lot of little paw prints. There are also some knocked over tools and half eaten bamboo stalks. She notices a small, round, little animal on her back porch. The two startle each other at first but make friends quickly and she takes him inside to get some food. While they enjoy their little snack, a large creepy face appears in the window.
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| Peekaboo! |
Papa comes in the front door looking for his son and is invited inside by Mimiko. After breaking some furniture they manage to find something that can support his girth. Papa Panda is appalled that the little girl is living alone and offers to be her father, since he already has experience in that particular career field. Mimiko offers to be Panny's mom in exchange. So to summarize, Panny's Mother is also his Father's Daughter. Mimiko takes her new parental role seriously and prepares some bamboo for dinner.
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| Mimiko apparently grows the good stuff |
She gives Papa a makeover featuring a hat, pipe and newspaper. Now he is a proper Papa! That night Mimiko writes a letter to her grandma telling her she has a new Papa and a baby. How this letter did not give her granny a heart attack I'll never know. The next morning Mimiko packs a few lunches and tells Papa he has to go to work. Poor Papa looks terribly confused and rather unenthusiastic at the idea of working for a living. Picking up on this Mimiko declares it is Papa's day off and that everyday would be his day off. Mimiko on the other hand has to get to school and Panny sneaks along after her. Pandas are not known for being sneaky though and he gets spotted quickly.
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| Could you stay mad at that face? |
Mimiko doesn't have the time to take him back, so she opts for the "pretend-tiny-animal-is-a-stuffed-toy" strategy. All the other kids want to play with her doll so teacher forces her to put it away, and Mimiko drops Panny off behind the school. He promises to stay put and keep out of trouble, but as soon as Mama leaves he makes a bear-line for the kitchen. Panny proceeds to soil bread, break dishes and cover himself in curry. The entire school chases the yellow bear until Mimiko is able to snag him and wash him clean. Fooled, the mob disperses.
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| I'd try eating panda curry |
A police officer comes by the next day to see how Mimiko is doing without granny. He is greeted by a truly terrifying sight. Mimiko introduces him to her new family and the poor civil servant does not take this well at all. In fact he recognizes the pandas as zoo escapees and flees in terror. Leaving the little girl behind of course.
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| That smile would scare me too |
The Panda Family takes this opportunity to go for a walk along the river where they fish and jump rope. Things take a turn for the worse when some young bullies recognize the escaped pandas from a TV report. One goes off to get to police while the other has his dog attack the pandas. Papa scares off the dog with one growl.
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| The better to eat you with my dear! |
The dog decides to try an easier fight and goes after Panny instead. Dog bites Panny on the head which mysteriously does no damage. Even more mysteriously, Panny exhibits super strength and hurls the dog back at his owner. Panny then celebrates by rolling down a hill and disappearing from view. Mimiko asks Papa about the zoo and he explains he ran away because their bamboo tasted terrible.
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| After seeing this, I want to be bitten by a radioactive panda |
As Mama Mimiko and Papa Panda search for the missing Panny the are ambushed by the police and some zookeepers. The zoo director asks Papa to return to the zoo, but he politely declines, citing his new family and missing son as the reason. Everyone starts looking for Panny and a zookeeper finds him floating down the river and heading toward a dangerous floodgate. Mimiko jumps in to protect him while Papa uses his super panda strength to close the gate. Then everyone goes for a victory swim.
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| Water is fun now that it isn't killing us! |
All that is left is the small matter of the zoo. Papa and Panny agree to go back, but as employees instead of exhibit animals. They commute by train every morning, clock in, act cute, and clock out after the zoo closes. They then commute home to live with Mimiko and eat her delicious bamboo dinner. So ends the first mini-movie.
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| He ALWAYS gets a seat |
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The second segment begins with two shady looking men breaking into Mimiko's house. They claim to be looking for a tiger. As they explore the house they get intimidated by bear sized utensils, furniture and food. The two men see three spooky faces appear in the windows before the trio come in the door. The men are understandably spooked and run screaming into the night.
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| Hello~! Hello~! Hello~!........HELLO! |
Having dealt with their pre-dinner entertainment, Mimiko, Papa and Panny sit down to dinner. Papa digs right in but Panny has a problem. Someone has eaten his dinner! While Mama Mimiko rustles up some more bamboo curry, Panny has a little Goldilocks style adventure.
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| Someone's been soiling my towel! |
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| Someone's been blowing my horn! |
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| Someone's been sleeping in my bed! And I woke him up! |
After a short freak-out, the two small animals become fast friends and the little tiger named Tiny is invited to stay at the house. Mimiko gets to play mother to one more tiny exotic animal. They have an extra happy sleepover including jumping up and down, bathing outside, and property destruction. In the morning all of the house's residents do the laundry together and Mimiko and the two smallest critters go off to run some errands.
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| There are an amazing number of handstand panty-shots in this show |
While Mimiko goes to the post office she leaves the kids next to the train tracks and tells them to stay put. We've already seen how well this command works on Panny and Tiny is no better. Tiny starts running off down the tracks saying he needs to go see his "other Mama." When Mimiko realizes her kids are gone she goes looking through town. While there she meets up with some friends who tell her the circus is in town. Mimiko puts 2 and 2 together and realizes the tiger came from the circus.
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| The child-pleasing magic of a traveling band of miscreants |
Panny and Tiny arrive at the circus and get into a "who can balance on this ball better" contest. Tiny wins, as he is a professional, and Panny rolls through the circus, causing yet another crowd chase which ends with the poor little bear in the adult tiger's cage. The circus folks are terrified at the thought of the tiger eating the panda and slowly try to coax it away. Mimiko and Tiny arrive on the scene and the tiger is revealed as Tiny's mother. The two females exchange babies and there is much roaring and rejoicing.
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| Looks like Mimko threw her back out...... |
Relieved that a little girl did not get eaten by the tiger, the ring master gives her free tickets for her, Panny and Papa. The trio plans to visit the circus the next day but there is a massive rainstorm. The rain keeps coming and coming so the circus trip is postponed. The family has a picnic and fishing party on the roof to make the best of the situation. They would have kept having fun except they find an emergency SOS from the circus animals. Papa throws the bed out the window, they load it up with supplies and go off to hep the other critters.
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| That can't be good for the mattress. |
The rescue party finds the circus train stranded in the rising water. Papa Panda goes car to car ripping off roofs and bending iron bars to release the trapped animals. Mimiko gives all of the animals snacks, and Panny gives Tiny a cookie. Panny and Tiny play in the engine room and accidentally start the train. It goes up and down the hills causing the entire train to submerge and come back up again. Eventually they hit the end of the tracks and the train goes careening through town, causing remarkably little damage. The circus train speeds up as it goes down main street and approaches city hall. Papa leaps in front of the train and stops it with his super panda strength. He then apologizes to the mayor for all the noise. Everyone is safe and happy.
The End
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| Panda Vs. Train, sounds like a bad SyFy movie |
Why watch?
1. Papa's Voice - The dubbed voice for Papa Panda is truly awe inspiring. I've really never heard anything like it and I'm truly sad the DVD doesn't list individual credits. I'd really like to know who to thank for this amazing performance. His trademark of saying everything is "nice" makes me smile every single time I hear it.
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| Papa's oral hygiene is nice! |
2. Excited Panny
- When the little panda gets excited he runs around in circles proclaiming his excitement for whatever it is that caught his attention. The acting in these moments is especially great and accurately captures the joy little kids feel about the simple things in life. It is another recurring aspect in the show that is sure to induce smiles in all viewers.
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| Sometimes Tiny joins in too, Bunshin no Jutsu! |
Should you be watching?
A million times yes! This title earns my second "You Must Watch" rating for the blog. I can not put into words how amazingly delightful this title is. After all, who doesn't enjoy a good Miyazaki movie? This has all the charm of his other films distilled into its most simplistic form, the essence of joyful animation. It may not have the amazing animation of a Studio Ghibli picture, but it really doesn't need it. Panda! Go Panda! is a perfect kids' movie. Not only will it please most any children but it can bring out the inner child in all but the most hardened of adults. Go watch this now!
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| See you next time when we'll break one of my usual rules! |
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