The Garden Ape

Welcome to the point of view of The Garden Ape.

Before I say anything else, take a look:

I was completely taken with this when I first saw this, and it's currently my son's favorite 'magical creature'. This ad, which is part of a promotional campaign for Wonderlijk Wild aka, Miraculously Wild, is an effort to encourage home gardening in Belgium. It was created by Emma & Marc to show the feeling of wonder a child can have exploring the outdoors, even in such an area as your own backyard.

You're probably wondering what on earth (heh) it has to do with fairy tales. Before you accuse me of seeing and relating everything, everywhere to fairy tales (which, I do - and I don't see that to be a problem), when I saw the little boy staring out the window at the ape, I immediately thought of Iron Hans, and of the importance of getting in touch with your 'wild' side. (It also sort of reminds me of a domovoi , if it ever found it's way outside...)

Once I made the connection the ape really looked more like a Wild Man than an ape to me and I have seen it that way ever since.

Now Jack (my son) imagines he sees the ape everywhere in our garden (you'd think only very little kids would respond this way but seven and eight year olds adore this too - which is the perfect age to encourage a little more of the wild-side of exploring) and is even more keen to spend time among the green outside. I only wish we lived in a more lush place (we're currently in the middle of a drought here on the edge of a desert) so he could have more of a 'wild adventure' but we're working on making that happen this summer for him.

The ape is made of felted wool and is completely shot with live-action puppeteering (no CG).

Here's the booklet with tips from The Garden Ape on getting your wild side going. You can download a PDF version HERE (do 'save link as' on the link.) It's in Dutch but it's very visual so if you have kids, this will be great for your family if you'd like to encourage some gardening: