Papanda, a towering anthropomorphic panda, evolves into a paternal guardian for Mimiko, a solitary girl residing in a bamboo grove. After fleeing a zoo alongside his son Panny, he forges an unconventional family with Mimiko, embracing fatherhood while she adopts a nurturing role toward Panny. His design—rotund frame, wide emotive eyes, and an unwavering smile—prefigures Studio Ghibli’s iconic Totoro.

Combining physical might with emotional attunement, Papanda safeguards his family, exemplified when he manually disengages a rusted floodgate to save Panny from surging waters. Though imposing, his gentleness surfaces through domestic rituals: cooking meals, orchestrating bedtime routines, and laboring daytime zoo shifts before reuniting nightly with Mimiko and Panny.

Facing external disruptions, Papanda thwarts circus operatives seeking a missing tiger cub and halts a runaway circus train during a deluge, leveraging his strength to avert disaster. These acts cement his dual identity as community protector and devoted caregiver. His playful curiosity emerges through experiments with outsized household objects, while temporary guardianship of a rescued tiger cub highlights adaptive parenting.

Confined narratively to two short films, Papanda’s origins pre-zoo remain unexplored, his focus fixed on sustaining familial ties over societal norms. His bonds center on Panny as his sole confirmed biological connection, with no elaboration on broader lineage or history beyond captivity.