Are These Friendly Aliens The New Garden Gnomes?

Like many people this time of year, I have been spending a lot of time online looking for things to do around the yard. Eventually, my attention turned to the garden, where I stumbled upon this popular product on Amazon:

Qingo Fairy Garden Accessories Glow in Dark Tree Elves Garden Decor Miniature Luminous Ghost 10pcs kit for Micro Landscape Gnomes Garden Decoration Outdoor Patio Lawn Yard Kit — $11.98

As you can imagine, my attention was immediately arrested. Most of the top products on Amazon in the gardening category are either flower beds or hoses. What dimension did this 10-pack of extraterrestrial critters come from?

The description does not give many helpful details. They are variously called gnomes, fairies, and tree elves, but the word “alien” is mysteriously absent. Is that intentional?

I decided I had to do some digging. These are obviously popular purchases, as evidenced not only by their high sales rank but also by the fact that versions of the creatures are listed by several competing Amazon sellers. These include LYT and LOVONLIVE.

LYT Garden gnome Statue Statue, Princess Mononoke Luminous Tree Spirit Elves Little Jade Gardening Potted Plants, Ten Packs, for Terrace, Balcony, Yard, Lawn Decoration (White) (10Pcs) — $10.66

This is where I find my answer. As prominently displayed in the title text for the LYT figurines, these little guys are from “Princess Mononoke,” a 1997 Japanese film from Studio Ghibli. It turns out the original Qingo listing was correct: They are in fact “tree elves,” and their presence around flora indicates healthy and thriving plant life.

I feel edified having discovered this factoid, but after reading many customer reviews, it does not seem all that important. Most Americans treat the set as a bunch of friendly aliens. You do not need to be familiar with Japanese animated movies to spruce up your garden with these adorable inch-high statuettes. I am fairly certain they don’t bite.