Panda! Go, Panda!

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Panda! Go Panda! is a 1972 Japanese anime written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Isao Takahata, predating Studio Ghibli. The actual Japanese title, Panda Kopanda!, translates to "Panda, Baby Panda." This short movie hit Japan at the height of Panda madness, when China began lending its treasured pandas to Japan and America.

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 and a second episode, The Rainy Day Circus was made. Many fans see the Pandas as precursors of the Totoros, while the spunky red-headed heroine, Mimiko, is seen as a proptotype for later heroines, such as Heidi in the Takahata-Miyazaki collaboration Heidi, Girl of the Alps.

The Works of Hayao Miyazaki
Films	Director, Screenplay, and Storyboard:	The Castle of Cagliostro • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind • Castle in the Sky • My Neighbor Totoro • Kiki's Delivery Service • Porco Rosso • Princess Mononoke • Spirited Away • Howl's Moving Castle • Ponyo on a Cliff
	Screenplay and Storyboard:	Panda! Go, Panda! • Whisper of the Heart
	Chief Animator and Concept Artist:	Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon • Horus: Prince of the Sun • Puss in Boots • Flying Ghost Ship • Animal Treasure Island • Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
TV Series	Director, Screenplay, and Storyboard:	Lupin III • Conan, The Boy in Future • Sherlock Hound
TV Series	Scene Design and Layout:	Heidi, Girl of the Alps • 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother • Anne of Green Gables
OVA	Director, Screenplay, and Storyboard:	Lupin III's Greatest Capers
Manga	Story and Art:	Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind • The Age of the Flying Boat
Misc.	Director, Screenplay, and Storyboards:	On Your Mark • Mei and the Kittenbus • Mizugumo Monmon
Future Projects:		I Lost My Little Boy