Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Panda! Go Panda! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 6, 2022

Looking to make something adorable and approachable during the panda craze of the 1970s, director Isao Takahata and writer Hayao Miyazaki dream up a pair of short films in 1972’s “Panda! Go Panda!” and “Rainy Day Circus.” The tales are directly aimed at a young audience open to the primary- colored world of a little girl and her adventures with two pandas she befriends, giving the production opportunities to play with slapstick and cuteness overload as they cook up mild activities for the characters. There’s defined weirdness here that’s perhaps best left unexplored, but kids are almost guaranteed to enjoy the endeavors, which go out of their way to deliver spirited antics with broad personalities.

“Panda! Go Panda!” introduces audiences to Mimiko, an orphaned child eager to spend the week on her own while her grandmother attends a memorial service for her husband. Mimiko soon discovers Panny and Papa, two pandas in her backyard, insisting she become a mother figure to help them out, forcing Papa to take a job. “Rainy Day Circus” returns to Mimiko, Panny, and Papa, who continue to enjoy life while grandmother is away, but the trio is stopped by the arrival of Tiny, a baby tiger who’s escaped from a traveling circus, with the Ringmaster eager to collect his property.

Mimiko is an excitable child who experiences quite a few days while her grandmother is away. She’s extremely young, nursing a love of headstands (the filmmakers are strangely fixated on shots of her underwear), and she’s ready to be a mother to Panny, discovering the little panda in her backyard. And soon Papa enters the picture, with the enormous parent forced to become a spouse to Mimiko, who quickly demands he wear a hat, smoke a pipe, and get a job. Merriment is pumped into “Panda! Go Panda!” as the trio learn to live and play with one another, and Mimiko gets a full sense of mischief when Panny makes a mess of lunch at school. “Rainy Day Circus” sustains the same level of sunny day engagement, but this time there’s more of a “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”-like vibe, and something of a villain in the Ringmaster, who’s extremely careless with his animals, leaving them to die during a flood. Of course, the severity of this situation isn’t addressed, as Mimiko, Panny, and Papa are delighted to live in a house full of water. Wait until they get the mitigation bill.

Panda! Go Panda! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.36:1 aspect ratio) presentations for "Panda! Go Panda!" and "Rainy Day Circus" retain their bright, pleasant artistry for this release. Colors are clear and appreciable, delivering crisp primaries with the cartoon atmosphere of the feature. Mimiko's orange hair is a highlight, along with the balance of black and white on the pandas. Animation textures are retained, and the source is in good condition.

Panda! Go Panda! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA English mix provides a sharp listening experience for both short films, offering crisp voices and comfortable emphasis with dialogue exchanges. Scoring selections and theme song repetition is also clear, with defined vocals and instrumentation. The original Japanese track is present as well, and age is more obvious, with a slightly muddier quality.

Panda! Go Panda! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "From Mimi to Heidi, from Papanada to Totoro" (40:00, SD) is an interview with director Isao Takahata, recorded in 2001 at Studio Ghibli.

• "'Panda! Go Panda!' Exhibit – The Impact of Hayao Miyazaki's Image Boards" (13:09, HD) is a featurette highlighting the 2008 re-release of "Panda! Go Panda!" and "Rainy Day Circus," and an accompanying display at the Ghibli Museum Library. Also included is an interview with Goro Miyazaki.

• Interview (22:01, SD) is a 1994 interview with filmmakers Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki.

• And Trailers (6:25, HD) for "Panda! Go Panda!" 1972, "Rainy Day Circus" 1973, 2008 Re-release, and English Release are included.

Panda! Go Panda! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Both shorts are meant to delight children, and that's the extent of the entertainment value, with the production playing with broad reactions and bright colors, working to remain loveable, nothing more. There's charm in such a simple artistic approach, and the animation is delightful, but there's a limit to such hyperactivity, and both shorts find it quickly.