Let's all Wiggle with Wiggly Play Time!
Written: Apr 29 '02
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Pros: Great get-up-and-move music, fun for kids
Cons: Parents have to listen to this, songs began to sink into our memories too!
The Bottom Line: Fun songs and play with The Wiggles!
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| ariel10575's Full Review: Wiggles, The: Wiggly Play Time |
When we first encountered The Wiggles last year on the beginning of my son's Bob the Builder - Bob's White Christmas video, I was worried. My husband simply fast-forwarded past it, and refused to let the kids watch it. Little did we know just how strong the Wiggles phenomenon was growing within our own children!
After months of trying to avoid it, I saw the invasion beginning! Even our friends from Australia were apologizing to us for this abomination. But it kept coming, and singing, and wiggling, until it culminated in one purchase - Wiggly Play Time!
WHY, oh WHY did I buy this?!
Well, truth be told, I did not buy it, but I did pick it out. I couldn't buy it since my husband has been out of work, and he'd kill me if he knew I spent his hard-earned money on what he equates with garbage. Instead, I voiced my concern about how my children seemed to like The Wiggles, and how it got them moving and dancing, to my mom. She was with us at Wal-Mart, and as it was the only Wiggles video currently on the shelf (the other one was sold out), we picked it up, and she brought it to her home. Her home, her rules! So now she and I get to suffer through The Wiggles every time that the kids and I come over.
Just who/what is this "Wiggles" anyway?
The Wiggles are a group of 4 Australians that sing and dance, and basically entertain children. Their aim is at toddlers, and I know that they are hitting their mark! They started back over 10 years ago, when 3 of the members - Anthony Field, Murray Cook, and Greg Page - were studying Early Childhood Education at Macquarie University in Sydney, Austrailia. Their children's songs began as a class project, but once they graduated, their path had been laid out, as they launched their careers into this field of entertainment. They recruited their friend and 4th member, Jeff Fatt, in 1991, and that was the birth of The Wiggles!
You will recognize them from their bright solid-colored t-shirts (or "skivvies" in Aussie Speak), and black pants. There is a yellow one, a purple one, a red one, and a blue one. The only one whose name I'm always sure of is Jeff, the purple one. He's known for narcolepsy, as especially evident in another video by them titled Wake Up, Jeff! I've learned from reading that Greg is the yellow one, Anthony is the blue one, and Murray is the red one. Along with these 4 front men, there are other characters that come into each video like Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and Wags the Dog.
So what is this video all about, then?
This video is made up of thirteen songs, and of course interaction and funny spots in between. The songs included were the following:
Get Ready To Wiggle (Young Wiggles)
Go Captain Feathersword, Ahoy!
Uncle Noah's Ark
Havenu Shalom Alechem
Dorothy The Dinosaur (Tell Me Who Is That Knocking?)
John Bradlelum
Get Ready To Wiggle
Move Your Arms Like Henry
We're Dancing With Wags The Dog
Having Fun At The Beach
Captain Feathersword Fell Asleep On His Pirate Ship
The Monkey Dance
Ponies
From what I understand, many of these songs appear on other videos, so there really is not new material on this tape - it is just longer than others, and put together differently, as this was made for TV instead of video. In between the songs are skits with The Wiggles and their friends.
My oldest son likes the part on this video where they think back in time to when they were little Wiggles, and even compare the size of their shirts then and now - you can see a big difference! They even do a bit with them as children, and that just tickles my 4-year-old! I like it best when they go back to prehistoric days as cavemen, and Jeff falls asleep again! An interesting thing in that bit is that they all have long shirts like Fred Flintstone, and their feet are covered by the same material! Not used to seeing so much color on a Wiggle!
The other favorite skits they have are interactions (or lack thereof!) between Anthony, Murray, and the rabbit in the magic hat! In the first one, we come upon Anthony trying to coax the rabbit out of the hat with bananas. He is trying to do the same magic tricks that apparently Greg is known to be an expert at. While Anthony is doing this, Jeff comes in and eats a banana to try to show the rabbit that they are good. The guys get distracted, and do not notice when the rabbit comes up, grabs the bananas, and disappears again! Oops! My son just rolls on the floor laughing from that one.
The other one is just with Murray and the rabbit. Murray is in the room, and wishes for new music to play on his guitar. He doesn't see it, but suddenly hears new music playing on the keyboard. The audience sees that it is that rabbit again, halfway out of the hat, playing the keyboard! Okay, that was pretty cute, I'll admit it!
The songs are pretty good, but as our exposure is still low, the kids do not know them very well. I can say for sure that The Monkey Dance is their favorite. Uncle Noah's Ark is kind of growing on us, too. We'll have to see how it goes with more viewings.
One thing with this video is that it is a little strange, cutting between songs and skits. It is like there is a plot going on with the skits, and then you cut to a song, and cut back to the skits, and so forth. It does keep my kids interested most of the time, so I guess it is okay. We all have to keep in mind that this was designed for the toddler mind, not the adult one. No wonder it hurts sometimes!
Technical Details
This video is designed for toddlers, but the tape itself says ages 1-8. I think that is kind of high, but I have no children over the age of 4, so I guess I'll find out! Upon reading the back of the box, I have learned that this 65-minute tape is really 3 episodes of The Wiggles television show from Australia rolled into one video. When I have watched this, I really haven't noticed where the breaks between episodes would be. I will have to check this out the next time I am at my mom's home.
Like other videos I like the kids to watch, this video does not have commercials before the action starts. What it does have is an extended preview of the video "Dance Party". This is very strange, as it is obviously a lower-quality production than what the rest of the video is, but it is so extended that I really thought at first that it *was* the video we purchased! I was shocked after several minutes when they put up the advertisement of the video cover, and then went in to the actual content we purchased. In a way, I like the extended previews, so we can check out more of the video ahead of time. I also like how they did this on the Bob the Builder video preview as well, as that is a sneaky way to let the kids get some Wiggle time without a Wiggle tape in the house! It is so bad that my 2-year-old son will ask to watch the Bob tape *JUST* to watch the Wiggles segment at the beginning!
Final Recommendation
After reading other reviews of The Wiggles videos, I think that we will have to seek out another video and see how it goes over. I do think this is a good video for children older than 1 to 3 years old. Make it 3 to 8 years old, and I think you've got a better chance of it going well. I just do not see many 1- to 3-year-olds handling a 65-minute video very well!
All in all, truthfully, it is not that bad. Okay, yes, I enjoyed this video to a point. My children were up and moving most of the time, but the switching in between songs and the so-called story didn't make sense all of the time. Maybe that was the switching of episodes that I did not quite catch yet.
What about my kids? Well, my older son sees it and says that he can watch it because Daddy is not at Grandma's home, and that Daddy does not like The Wiggles. My little one can almost say "Wiggle", but not quite. It is a lot of fun for me to see him jumping up and down and being very happy while watching them for a little while.
Okay, so they enjoy it, I can nearly enjoy it, and well, it is at my mom's home for now. We'll keep it, and I think that if you can bring it into your home, you will probably enjoy it too!
Keep on wiggling!
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For more information on HIT Entertainment, and their products, go to:
http://www.hitnewsonline.com/
You can find this video and other information, including press releases, photos, and a press kit, specifically at this link:
http://lyrick.wieck.com/forms/wiggles/
For more information on The Wiggles, go to:
http://www.thewiggles.com.au/
Other Videos from The Wiggles you might enjoy:
Wiggle Time
Yummy Yummy
Wake Up, Jeff!
Dance Party
Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas
Yule Be Wigglin'
Wiggly Wiggly World
Toot Toot!
Hoop-De-Doo! It's a Wiggly Party
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8
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Epinions.com ID:
ariel10575
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Member: Rebecca Murphy
Location: Granada Hills, Ca, USA
Reviews written: 117
Trusted by: 62 members
About Me:
I'm back, and getting ready to write again. :)
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