His kids are three and five, and already David Bond is worried that they’re spending too much time in front of TV and tablet screens, instead of running around outside like he did at their age. So he appoints himself Marketing Director for Nature, and tries to figure out how to sell open space, greenery and wild stuff to today’s tech-addicted kids and their over-protective parents.
If the message seems a bit obvious and the delivery something of a ‘Super Size Me’ gimmick, Bond at least keeps the film pacy, packed with cute animation and worthwhile experts. He conjures up some heart-tugging moments – like the city kid who walks his dog on a patch of grass little bigger than a rug. Still, it always feels like we’re watching a campaign video, so the preaching-to-the converted vibe is inescapable. Though credit where it’s due, the film has prompted the National Trust and RSPB to form The Wild Network to bring families and nature together. And, perhaps inevitably, there’s also an iPhone app, Wildtime, because while getting children into green space is one thing, getting them off their phones is another entirely.