One of my favorite things about my blog is putting random information out onto the web, only to have someone months or years later leave a comment saying they were involved in the project or have more information about it. It constantly happens and it’s always pretty rewarding.
Back in March 2023 I posted about the Mothercare tree, the huge animatronic tree that used to be located at the Mothercare store in Salmiya. I didn’t think a lot of people remembered it, so I was pretty surprised with the amount of engagement that post got.
19 months after my post, a person by the name of Roger left a comment saying he had worked on the project and had more photos. Roger came to Kuwait in 1998 to install the tree along with his team. His company supplied and programmed the tree and all the animated animals and their soundtracks. He had photos of the tree being built as well as ones from inside the tree. Roger had gotten the job because he had previously been involved animatronics when he worked for Madame Tussauds and Rock Circus.
The pictures were taken with his first digital camera and so aren’t that high resolution, but it’s definitely better than nothing. I’ve uploaded all the photos to Flickr and you can check them out here.
Thanks Roger for sharing!
10 replies on “Behind the Magic of the Mothercare Tree!”
Great.. does anyone know when and why did they remove the tree?
This tree is etched in my memory, reminds me of the Great Deku Tree! It takes me back to when my mother and I would shop there. I recall there being a coffee shop around it and every 20 minutes or so the tree would “wake up” and open it’s eyes, then a song would play. I loved waiting for that moment :).
I too wonder why this special tree ended up being removed.
long live the legend of zelda!
If i am not mistaken, the store was called Fashion Way when the tree was initially built.
No the store was called Mothercare. The building was called Fashion Way
Now that the building itself is demolished….lets all be happy with those wonderful memories
Love it! Sad its gone.
What an amazing find! Thanks, Roger! I thought this structure would only ever exist in my memories! 😭
This is awesome. Thanks Mark and Roger for the pics. Anyone has pics of the cafe under the tree? There was a Starbucks if I recall and before that a Seattle’s Best Coffee I think.
To be brutally frank I never took a shine to it much less was fond of its anchor tenant, Fashionway. The only pull for us in that building was ‘Chicken Tikka’ upstairs and for that we would always take the stairwell.