Ape raised George Of The Jungle after finding him in the remains of a plane crash in Africa. Ape has an extraordinary intellect, and learned English from the books discovered on the plane. He is both a parent figure and friend to George, teaching him the ways of the jungle, and guiding him through life's travails. Nameer El-Kadi (AKA Nicholas Kadi ), began researching simian behavior in 1979 with his debut film, Quest For Fire , where he created the character Gaw based on chimpanzee research done by Jane Goodall. His first animatronic gorilla suit was for the film Congo . With contact lenses covering the entire eye, and two foot arm extensions, Mr. El-kadi provided the movement and, along with Rob Tygner's work as the puppeteer controlling the servo-run facial expressions, Ape was brought to life. John Cleese was cast as the voice and the character was complete.