Audience Member
I grew up with this movie. it has beautiful animation and artwork, is based on a sad/romantic and old legend. Panda and the Magic Serpent has served as inspiration for many animators, including one master of anime over at Studio Ghibli :)
It's also one of the first 3 anime movies to make it across the Pacific to the United States, if not the first, so it is also a piece of priceless history.
Well, don't just take my word for it, it's good, go watch it!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
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Audience Member
Features all the charm and creativity as the likes of early Disney classics, Panda and the Magic Serpent is a playfully animated, enjoyable film that is a lot better than the majority of modern anime that took influence from it.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
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Audience Member
Simply one of the most overlooked and unknown animated movies ever made. I think being the first Anime colour movie it's the first of its kind and no doubt it would have been a hit and also Toho's first full length animated movie costing millions. All I can do at this moment is stick it into my favourite animated flicks easy.
[IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/2wmnmue.jpg[/IMG]
Xu-Xian, a young boy, once owned a pet snake in West Lake until his parents forced him to give her up. Years pass and during a violent storm, the snake magically transforms into the beautiful princess Bai-Niang. Bai-Niang finds Xu-Xian, but the lovers are separated by a local monk, Fa-Hai, who believes that Bai-Niang is an evil spirit. Xu-Xian's two Panda pets, Panda and Mimi, try to find Xu-Xian. In the end, Bai-Niang gives up her magical powers and remains in human form to prove that her love for Xu-Xian is genuine.
Even though it runs for 78 minutes I guess I didn't like the story I think maybe for being a Japanese film it should be japan? Not china? But it has some majorly amazing visual animation for its time and somewhat better then Disney. It sure did take the idea from Disney movies if you ever do watch it with some references to a normal movie by them. Again the animation and characters have some strikingly amazing quality to it and landscapes designs. Amazing for the 50s and I must still say that traditional is better than CGI and I will always say that. The music is impressive as well as other details to it.
The film is essentially an adaptation of the Song dynasty folktale from Chinese mythology Madame White Snake. Shin Uehara adapted the folktale and kept the Chinese-style characters and names. The decision of a Chinese story being used as the concept blueprint came from Toei president Hiroshi Ōkawa, who wanted to strike a tone of reconciliation with the Asian neighbors.
Given the point in time, the film pushed Japanese animation technology to the limit. The film was a large scale major project, involving a total of 13,590 staff; surprisingly, it only took eight months to finish. And while the film received honors at the Venice Children's Film Festival in Italy in 1959, it was regarded as a disappointment when released to the US on March 15, 1961 by Global Pictures. Historically, this film marked Tōei Dōga's first attempt to follow the example of American feature animation studios and become the so-called "Disney of the east."
Rintaro, who would later go on to become a well-known and respected director of Japanese animation, had his first job in the animation industry (at age 17) as an in-between animator on this film.
Overall epic feature and amazing for its time and my final verdict is highly recommended.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
[font=Courier New]Not sure if you ever noticed all these $1 DVDs that keep popping up at places like Wal-Mart. Usually it is filled with crap you probably should never see, but sometimes one of the DVDs will interest you for some reason. [i]Panda and the Magic Serpent[/i] is one of those movies.
Now, the DVD was extremely poor quality, but that isnt the reason this movie is getting such a low rating. I didnt mind the scratches and all, but did mind some elements of the movie. While the visuals do contain some really beautiful artwork, but the story is something less than stellar.
I liked all the characters, but felt little was done to help us to get to know them more. Instead we get a quick intro to everyone, and then the movie just moves forward. Even the struggle for love between the two main characters seems like it isnt important enough to really get the most out of it in this movie.
I did like this movie in the end, and am glad I bought the DVD. At only $1, the movie is more than worth it to see at least once. If you happen to see this movie at Wal-Mart, and have a liking toward Japanese animation, maybe you should give this a try. At the low price, can you really complain if you hate it?[/font]
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
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