Movie
Description
Papa Panda is a large male giant panda who appears as a central figure in the 1972 animated feature Panda! Go, Panda! and its sequel. He begins the story as a resident of a local zoo, where he lives with his young son, Panny. At some point the pair escape from the zoo and wander until they are drawn to the bamboo grove beside the home of a young girl named Mimiko, who has been left to look after herself while her grandmother is away. Mimiko immediately welcomes the two pandas into her life and asks Papa Panda to become her father, and he agrees, settling into the household as a kind of live-in papa.
In appearance, Papa Panda is a rounded, soft-bodied panda with a notably large, warm smile. His gentle and open expression matches his temperament, as he is easygoing, good-natured, and unfailingly friendly, greeting people warmly and offering kind words about them. He is also highly adaptable and accepts the human world on its own terms. When Mimiko explains that a proper papa should wear a hat, smoke, read the newspaper, and go to work, Papa Panda takes the instruction to heart. The only difficulty is that he has no office to report to, and when Mimiko suggests that he must simply have the day off, he cheerfully declares that his company is on permanent holiday. His favorite place is the bamboo grove, and his characteristic remark is an affectionate comment about how especially good the bamboo grove is.
Papa Panda's role in the story is that of a dependable protector and a substitute father. He gives Mimiko's household a sense of safety and comfort, and his large belly becomes a place where the children can cling to him. His steady confidence is most visible during a crisis. When Panny is carried down a river toward a dangerous sluice gate and waterfall, and Mimiko desperately holds on to keep them both from being swept over, Papa Panda arrives and uses his great strength to close the water gate, saving them. He acts without hesitation and keeps smiling in the face of danger, and his physical power is matched by an unshakable, generous nature.
Over the course of the story, Papa Panda develops from an escaped zoo animal into a working member of the community. After the rescue, he and Panny agree to return to the zoo, but on special terms: during the day they commute from Mimiko's house to the zoo, where Papa Panda punches a time card and receives a salary. In this way he finally fulfills the role Mimiko described, becoming a papa who genuinely goes to work, and Mimiko greets him at the station at the end of the day. In the sequel, the family circle grows to include Tiny, a tiger cub who has run away from a circus, and Papa Panda continues as the warm, steady father figure of this unusual household.
His key relationships are defined by care and responsibility. With Panny, he is a loving and protective father. With Mimiko, he is a surrogate papa who accepts her wishes and supports her independence, while also setting an example of reliability. He maintains a practical relationship with the zookeeper, since the arrangement that lets him work at the zoo is what anchors the family's new life together. His notable abilities lie less in any special skill and more in his combination of enormous physical strength, unshakable calm, and boundless warmth, which together make him the dependable center of the little family that forms around him.
In appearance, Papa Panda is a rounded, soft-bodied panda with a notably large, warm smile. His gentle and open expression matches his temperament, as he is easygoing, good-natured, and unfailingly friendly, greeting people warmly and offering kind words about them. He is also highly adaptable and accepts the human world on its own terms. When Mimiko explains that a proper papa should wear a hat, smoke, read the newspaper, and go to work, Papa Panda takes the instruction to heart. The only difficulty is that he has no office to report to, and when Mimiko suggests that he must simply have the day off, he cheerfully declares that his company is on permanent holiday. His favorite place is the bamboo grove, and his characteristic remark is an affectionate comment about how especially good the bamboo grove is.
Papa Panda's role in the story is that of a dependable protector and a substitute father. He gives Mimiko's household a sense of safety and comfort, and his large belly becomes a place where the children can cling to him. His steady confidence is most visible during a crisis. When Panny is carried down a river toward a dangerous sluice gate and waterfall, and Mimiko desperately holds on to keep them both from being swept over, Papa Panda arrives and uses his great strength to close the water gate, saving them. He acts without hesitation and keeps smiling in the face of danger, and his physical power is matched by an unshakable, generous nature.
Over the course of the story, Papa Panda develops from an escaped zoo animal into a working member of the community. After the rescue, he and Panny agree to return to the zoo, but on special terms: during the day they commute from Mimiko's house to the zoo, where Papa Panda punches a time card and receives a salary. In this way he finally fulfills the role Mimiko described, becoming a papa who genuinely goes to work, and Mimiko greets him at the station at the end of the day. In the sequel, the family circle grows to include Tiny, a tiger cub who has run away from a circus, and Papa Panda continues as the warm, steady father figure of this unusual household.
His key relationships are defined by care and responsibility. With Panny, he is a loving and protective father. With Mimiko, he is a surrogate papa who accepts her wishes and supports her independence, while also setting an example of reliability. He maintains a practical relationship with the zookeeper, since the arrangement that lets him work at the zoo is what anchors the family's new life together. His notable abilities lie less in any special skill and more in his combination of enormous physical strength, unshakable calm, and boundless warmth, which together make him the dependable center of the little family that forms around him.