*****Repetition Alert***** I am planning on reviewing a few different Wiggles CD’s and videos – The opening overview of characters will be identical. I thought it necessary as they are the main feature – and if you love them, you’ll love their music and videos!

The Wiggles: an Overview
What do you get when mix a classy octopus, a girly-girl dinosaur, a friendly pirate, an energetic dog and four dancing and singing guys in a big red car? Nope, it's not a really bad dream - it's The Wiggles! And the best part, they're not half bad, in fact, they may just be the best thing that happened to children's entertainment since Mr. Rogers.

Introductions, Please!
Here they are, up close and personal! Well, as personal as they can get considering I never met the guys, but, wow, have I read a lot of websites devoted to this Australian quartet.

Greg Page: The Yellow Wiggle He likes to do magic tricks and stand apart from the crowd. When the other Wiggles are rolling down hills or watching out for snakes – this lead singer is looking on calmly. Sadly, Greg had to retire from The Wiggles in 2006 due to poor health – he was diagnosed with orthostatic intolerance.

Jeff Fatt: The Purple Wiggle Jeff likes to sleep. He is the only member of The Wiggles who was not studying to become an Early Childhood Educator before their big break, so I guess it’s perfectly understandable why he choose a shtick that allows him to participate without doing anything. Besides, we love Jeff’s antics, he’s great.

Antony Field: The Blue Wiggle Anthony loves to eat. Luckily, his favorite food is Fruit Salad so he isn’t suffering any health problems from his over indulgence.

Murray Cook: The Red Wiggle Murray loves to play guitar. He really loves it. Murray’s enthusiasm for his instrument can be contagious and I think everyone should Play Your Guitar with Murray!

Sam Moran: The Yellow Wiggle Sam replaced Greg in 2006 as the Yellow Wiggle who always looses things. Now, I miss Greg – he was one of my favorites – but I love Sam! How could I not? I always loose things to, so I guess I have a bit of an empathetic stance towards this newest Wiggle.

…and the rest of the crew!
Dorothy the Dinosaur: Dorothy likes butterflies and roses!
Wags the Dog: Wags eats so much that his tummy drags. He also likes to dig and dance – especially the Tango!
Henry the Octopus: Henry is one smartly dressed octopus – he loves to twist around as he dances on the ground!
Captain Feathersword: Ahoy there, Me Hearties The good Captain loves to cook and sail. He loves tickling his friends with his feather sword.


The Wiggles started off small as Greg, Anthony and Murray headed off to the recording studio to complete a school project - they were studying to become preschool teachers. Anthony persuaded Jeff to join them in the recording, and the rest is gold and platinum record studded history.

***** REPETITION ALERT CANCELED *****

Splish! Splash! Big Red Boat!
What's inside:

Big Red Boat (*****)
Think Big Red Car water style! I love it. This is a fun, energetic opener to this water-filled CD! We don’t mind that this boat is huge and only fits four guys in it – it’s still big and red, that’s all that matters!

We Like to Say Hello (****)
It’s kind of odd to me that they start out in The Big Red Boat and are back in the car for the second song on this CD… That being said, this is a fun song all about saying “hi” to everyone you meet. Maybe a little under cautious teaching your child to be extra friendly. But the Wiggles are friendly people.

Henry’s Underwater Big Band(****)
Okay, I’ve said it before, I am not a Henry fan. His voice gets to me after awhile so this song is not my favorite. But, it’s catchy, Wiggles style and lots of fun if you like underwater adventure! I do love the big band style music, so that added a star or two for me!

Fruit Salad (Esalada de Fruta) (****)
I think it is possible that Fruit Salad sounds better in Spanish. It has such a fun and catch tune. No Wiggles fan can mistake Fruit Salad for anything else – no matter what language it’s in. I love hearing the melody. I actually saw a Wiggles cartoon the other day with this song on it, it was so delightfully cheesy that I am still thinking about The Wiggles animated heads floating around with sombreros on, great, just great …and I mean it!

Having Fun at the Beach (***)
This track is kind of fun. It reminds me of a Beach Boys song. I love how The Wiggles can somehow explain building a sandcastle in a melody. It sounds like it should be pure dialog, but they make it sound decent sung. Don’t know how.

Guess What? (*****)
Such a fun song! It’s really cool and keeps things cold What could it possibly be? The entire song goes this way, cycling through common household furniture. It’s really cute to ask kids these riddles and see if they can figure it out. Mine can! But I can guarantee it’s because he heard The Wiggles singing about it. Oh, yeah – the answer to the question was a Fridge, I bet you had no idea.

Let’s Go (We’re Riding in the Big Red Car) (***)
Another Big Red Car song – I am seriously wondering now, what does this have to do with splish splashing? Oh yeah, they drive through sunshine and RAIN that must be it… I like this song, it’s fun and they go through different places you can drive to, but I am wondering at this point where the common theme is – anyone with me there? Besides, this song isn’t anywhere near as good as Big Red Car, it’s another that reminds me of The Beach Boys though. And it’s kind of fun that Jeff falls asleep at the end.

I Climb Ten Stairs (Subo Diez Escalones) (****)
I like the instrumental qualities of this song. It’s fun, it’s Mexican-like. Once again, I have no idea what they are saying, but I do like having my kids listen to bilingual music. It’s kind of fun when I get words stuck in my head that I don’t know. Sorry to all of you who speak Spanish – I really can’t tell you if this is a “good song” or not! It’s catchy though.

Wake Up Jeff! (******)
One of my favorites! I love Jeff , he just may be my favorite Wiggle. This is Jeff’s theme song. It’s fun, energetic and upbeat, and very, very loud! What’s that sound? It’s not Murray or Greg. Oh my goodness! It must be Jeff! This is such a funny song. The big question – does Jeff wake up? You better believe it, his exact words: Can you keep that noise down? I’m trying to sleep! (Notice how I “accidentally” gave it 6 stars?)

A Frog Went a Walking (*****)
Here’s a classic song redone Wiggles-style. I always thought this story was so funny – a frog marrying a mouse – it’s so classic. It reminds me of “A Wind in the Willows”, which is one of my favorite juvenile books.

Dorothy (Would You Like to Dance?) (***)
This song teaches us all how to dance together. It’s a fun, energetic song that we can all get up and dance to.

Take a Trip out on the Sea (****)
Yeah! Finally, what I have been waiting for since, umm, Having Fun at the Beach another Splishing and Splashing song. This one reminds me of a someone strumming a ukulele on a Hawaiian Island. It’s fun and soft – like walking on the beach in the evening.

Romp Bomp a Stomp (*****)
Dance! Sing! Do the Romp Bomp a Stomp! This song just screams Wiggles to me. It is what they are all about – Energy! Fun! Dance!

Move Your Arms Like Henry (Mueve Los Brazos Como Henry) (****)
Here’s another Spanish song. This time it’s Henry’s theme song. I really do like this song. It lets little kids learn how to dance just like Henry. It’s a fast moving, energetic song and it sounds great in Spanish.

We’re Playing a Trick on the Captain(***)
Umm, Pop Goes the Weasel meets Captain Feathersword. It’s kind of fun. Basically, it’s the good Captain’s birthday – and The Wiggles are tricking him into thinking they forgot – just in time for…

Have a Happy Birthday Captain (****)
This is a sing-song kind of song. We didn’t forget, we didn’t forget, it’s your birthday. They go through all those birthday things that happened in preparation for the big surprise birthday party! I like the change of pace for these two songs – it’s a calming kind of tune, instead of a get up and dance type.

I Can Do So Many Things (****)
What can you do? We can learn that we can do so many things that The Wiggles can do! This is a great song to copy the movements to. It’s fun for the kids to realize that they are gifted and can do so many energetic things! We can jump and pat our heads, we can touch our toes. We can sing La, La, La, La, La, La until we fade away. Okay, so the ending needs help.

Ponies (****)
I always loved watching ponies run – and as this song is all about watching them run, I guess I like it. It’s fun and has a country trail kind of twang and beat. This is a song that I wish was longer than 53 seconds.

Little Brown Ant (***)
Yep, ants are hard working. It’s a cute song – and the repetition will help kids learn it faster. But it’s one of those I’d skip if I could. Okay, the ending is fun, I’ve got one, two three, four, five, six legs, yeah sure beats the La, La, La of that one previous song. I upped the stars to three after that.

Wave to Wags (****)
I like dogs – so I like Wags. Plus, I think kids really love dogs. This song goes through all those dog-antics that are fun to see. He runs, he scratches fleas, he eats, he sleeps in the sun. Kids can hear this and say, “Hey! He’s not much different than my dog” except for that dancing thing, but I guess our dogs dance too.

Havenu Shalom Alechem (*****)
Hmm, this isn’t Spanish – this is Hebrew. Very interesting. I love this song – “We Bring Peace to You” yeah, I actually know what this one means; maybe that helps me to enjoy it more. I was kind of surprised to hear it thrown in here though. It seems out of place and kind of awkward. I’m not complaining – it got 5 stars, but I am scratching my head – do they have to put all the non-English songs on the same CD?

Captain Feathersword Fell Asleep on His Pirate Ship (N/A)
I’m not sure about this one. I don’t know what language it’s in – and just listening to it, I am not sure if it’s good or bad. It doesn’t seem to flow to me, but that could be the lack of knowledge on my part. I don’t want to commit myself one way or another to this one.

Where’s the Splash?

This CD has left me confused. I got the Splish - that little spray of water that you feel going through the tunnel – but I missed the big SPLASH you feel as you plummet down the steep drop into the onsetting deep waters. Yeah, I was kind of disappointed. Don’t get me wrong. This CD is full of great songs. But I don’t know how they go together. The overlying theme I can sense is more of a Spanish flare than a water-world. There were more songs about The Big Red Car than about The Big Red Boat. Henry had a couple songs – nothing that stood out though. Most of these songs (think Tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 18, 20) are on previous CD’s – and those are just the ones I could name off the top of my head, there may be more. In short, I am left with a CD that has great songs but is lacking The Wiggles standard of quality.

Why CD’s?

I am not a big video fan. We have a TV - we even watch it, but, I prefer to leave it off. The Wiggles CD's are so great because the songs speak for themselves. You don't have to let your child be glued to the TV to enjoy the antics of these four crazy guys - you can listen as you play or clean up.

I am trying to think here. It is hard, because, overall, I like most of these songs. But I think it is my lowest-rated Wiggles CD yet – of those I have rated and those I am thinking of, this is probably the worst. Yet, there are a couple groups of people I might still recommend this for:
Spanish Speakers This CD came out about the time that The Wiggles branched out. The Spanish Wiggles are different people, though they still have that Wiggles flare.
English speakers who want to expose their children to other languages might also enjoy this CD. I am actually in this category, but I do not believe that Splish Splash Big Red Boat will make my “to buy” list anytime soon. Over all, the more I dwell on this CD, the less I like it. I’m going to rate it now before it looses more stars.


Recommended: No

Great Music to Play While: With Family