パンダコパンダ (1972) &
パンダコパンダ雨ふりサーカス (1973)
Panda and Child & Panda and Child, Rainy Day Circus

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A significant work in Miyazaki's history, as Panda kopanda was the first anime that Miyazaki was responsible for creating. It was also directed by Takahata. These two short films are directly aimed at the young kids, but it is certainly interesting to watch if you are a fan of Miyazaki or Takahata. The way they would influence Miyazaki's later, and most popular, work "Tonari no Totoro" is obvious. The style of the story, character design, setting and even the opening credits for "Tonari no Totoro" can all be seen in these two short films, albeit in preliminary design.

R2 release through Buena Vista Japan, December 2001
2 Single sided, Dual layered disc.
Film(s) presented in original 4:3 aspect ratio.
Image encoded as NTSC format.
Contains Original Japanese soundtrack, in mono presented as DD stereo.
Contains remastered Japanese soundtrack, in DD stereo.
Contains English dub soundtrack, in DD stereo.
Contains English subtitles.
Contains Japanese subtitles.
10 Chapter stops.
DVD packaged in a white DVD Amaray case, one sheet insert with chapter list, DVD technical specs and handling advise. Plus flyers for other releases.
Contains significant extras.
Expect to pay around £30 / $50.

Unbelievable! I thought the R1 transfer was good considering the age of the film, but this is something else. Stable as a rock, free from compression artefacts, and superbly presented, the transfer is near perfect. There is the odd scratch or mark seen, but these are rare. Bit rate averages at 7Mbps, and the whole of the first layer is devoted to the two films, with the second layer devoted to the extras.

Sound quality is almost identical to the R1 release, except the soundtrack is a bit cleaner. Also there is a remastered Japanese soundtrack with the same style of pseudo-stereo imaging as heard on the R2 release of Castle of Cagliostro. Original Japanese track is presented as DD2.0, but is a mono track. Bit rates: 384kbps for the original track, and 192kbps for the remastered track and the English dub.

The English soundtrack is identical to the R1 release, so i will say no more on that. The English subtitles are true subtitles, a quick comparison with the R1 release reveals that they are the same as the R1 subtitles. The Extras are interesting, but like the Goshu release, useful only if you can understand Japanese - A 40 minute interview with Takahata recorded very recently (September 2001) and an interview with Takahata and Miyazaki recorded back in 1994. There is also an E-Knote found on the second disc, and trailers for the Ghibli DVD collection and the original trailers for the presented show. As usual, the packaging and covers are excellent.

 R1 release through Pioneer, July 2000
Single sided, single layered disc.
Film(s) presented in original 4:3 aspect ratio.
Image encoded as NTSC format.
Contains Original Japanese soundtrack, in mono presented as DD stereo.
Contains English dub soundtrack, in DD stereo.
Contains English subtitles.
18 Chapter stops.
DVD packaged in a white plastic Amaray DVD case, one sheet insert with chapter list and Pioneer contact information.
Contains a few extras.
Expect to pay around £15 / $23.

The image quality is good for a thirty year old show. The picture isn't rock solid stable, and has quite a few scratches and damage, but it is still a very respectable transfer. Pioneer have taken advantage of the short running time by keeping the bit rate at a steady 6MBps. Colours are solid, lines are clear and compression artefacts are not visible. The image is presented in the original 4:3 aspect ratio.

The Japanese track is the original mono soundtrack presented in DD stereo. encoded at 384kbps the noise level is still high and damage can be heard. Although this is not surprising considering the age of the negative. The soundtrack is what would be expected of a release aimed at the young kids - lots of short voice parts and music which is a recurring theme of the title track. This is what we get, and for this purpose a mono soundtrack is sufficient.

Being a recent dub, the English soundtrack is presented in stereo. The sound quality is much better than the Japanese soundtrack. The dub is pretty standard kids cartoon style acting. Like the Japanese track, the English track is also encoded at 384kbps.

You can't expect many extras on an obscure thirty year old Japanese film. However, Pioneer have included a couple. Short Biographies of Takahata and Miyazaki; 20 stills from the films; animated menus; and, most interesting of all, the original opening credits - which bear an uncanny resemblance to the opening credits of "Tonari no Totoro"

If you have young children then the R1 release of Panda kopanda is a great way to introduce them to Miyazaki. Or if you are a fan of Miyazaki (or just a completionist ^_^) then it is also a good buy. If you are really interested in a higher quality release with more extras, and are prepared to shell out an extra £15, then go for the R2 release.


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