Panda! Go Panda! (1972)
Director: Isao Takahata Run Time: 79 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 1972
Starring: Kazuko Sugiyama, Kazuo Kumakura, Yasuo Yamada, Yoshiko Ohta
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Gateway Film Center presents 50th Anniversary Screenings in high definition with newly restored colors, in partnership with GKIDS.
About the film:
PANDA! GO PANDA! is a seminal work in animation history, directed by Isao Takahata and written by Hayao Miyazaki over a decade before co-founding Studio Ghibli.
Produced by TMS Entertainment at the height of Japan’s “panda craze,” PANDA! GO PANDA! follows a bright and cheerful country girl named Mimiko. While her grandmother is away, Mimiko is visited by Papanda and his cub Panny, and adventures ensue as Mimiko discovers the challenges of taking care of her new cuddly friends.
“for lovers of adorable things everywhere”
—Kyle Anderson for Nerdist
About the filmmaker:
A key figure in Japanese animation, Isao Takahata co-founded the internationally renowned Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki in 1985. Known for his sophisticated, character-driven animations and diverse range of themes and aesthetic styles, Takahata has crafted fantastical and imaginative worlds, including his feature directorial debut The Little Norse Prince (1968). He directed five films with Studio Ghibli: Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), and the universally acclaimed Academy Award-nominated The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).
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