Summary
BeforeStudio Ghibliwas established, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were already in the business of making movies. In fact, 13 years before the famousStudio Ghibliwas founded, they made another movie together. The movie still has fans around the world, but for many, it has been lost to time and overshadowed by Studio Ghibli’s considerably more famous movies.
Panda! Go Panda!was made by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata in 1972. The first Studio Ghibli movie,Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, didn’t come to theaters until 1984 - 12 years later. And now, to celebrate the legacy ofPanda! Go Panda!a special interactive exhibithas opened in a museum called Ishinomori Manga Museum in Miyagi, Japan.
Panda! Go Panda!was released at the height of the “panda craze” in Japan, which was initiated when a pair of pandaswere loaned to Ueno Zoo from China. It is a children’s story about a lonely girl named Mimiko who finds a baby panda named Panny sleeping on her back porch. After the father of the panda, PapaPanda, arrives, they decide to become a family together, with Mimiko as the baby panda’s mother.
Panda! Go Panda!was extremely well received in Japan when it was released, with its simple but strange concept endearing it to many people. This was especially significant to Miyazaki and Takahata as they were coming off a disappointing rejection from the creator ofPippy Longstockingafter the duo sought permission to create their own animated version. Many of theiroriginal ideas for that filmmade it intoPanda! Go Panda!though, so their dreams were still made, and more.
The exhibition at Ishinomori Manga Museum is a fun, fully interactive one that has so muchmore than just reading plaquesand learning about the movie. It has some of the original storyboards used in the movie’s production, recreations of some of the sets and scenes, original merchandise and posters from the movie’s first release, and, of course, plenty of places to take photos. The storyboards are housed inside a replica of Mimiko’s house from the movie, which is a unique environment to learn more about the film’s story and production. Plus there is a huge plush PapaPanda and Panny statue.
Of course, it would not be a limited exhibition in Japan without a special café menu! There areplenty of themed foods to enjoy, including Panda Pasta with PapaPanda and Panny’s images in it, panda-shaped curry and rice, latte art based on the movie, and colorful sodas and ice creams with characters from the movie on top of them. Plus, every order comes with a free random coaster, so even if you do not have a lot of money to buy something from the special gift shop, you can still take home something tangible along with your photos from the museum and café.
ThePanda! Go Panda!exhibition is happening until February 18 at Ishinomori Manga Museum in Miyagi, Japan.
