We have been a Wiggles family for almost 3 years now. We first saw one of their videos as a preview to another children's video tape that we own, and my children would get up and dance to that song ("The Monkey Dance")every time, so I knew they would enjoy watching a full videotape of the Wiggles. At that time, The Wiggles were not as well known as they are now, so I searched and searched in stores as well as on the internet and finally located two videos: "Wiggle Time" and "Yummy, Yummy."

Just who (or what?) is a Wiggle? They are four grown Australian men who sing and dance with their friends Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword (the Friendly Pirate), Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus. Each Wiggle is identified by his special colored shirt: Anthony in blue, Murray in red, Jeff in purple and Greg in yellow.

Yummy, Yummy (ISBN: 1571324828) is billed on its cover as containing "14 Ooey, Gooey, Squishy, Squashy Songs!" This video is short, running only 36 minutes, and these are the songs it contains:

1. Hot Potato - we are introduced to the Wiggles and Paul the Cook. Captain Feathersword attempts to take the Cook's food while the Wiggles dance and sing lyrics like "hot potato", "cold spaghetti" and "mashed banana."

2. D.O.R.O.T.H.Y. (My Favorite Dinosaur) - is a friendly dinosaur with a floppy white hat. Dorothy and the Wiggles sing about her enjoying her garden.

3. Pufferbillies- a song I have heard on other children's tapes: "Down by the station, early in the morning, See the little Pufferbillies all in a row. See the Station Master turn a little handle, Puff, Puff! Toot Toot! Off we go."

4. Henry's Dance- this is one amazing Octopus! Henry has an underwater band and he teaches the Wiggles his special song and dance while bubbles float around them as if they are in the sea.

5. Walk - a song that has the Wiggles, and all of their friends, walking, running and jumping in place while they list all the places they can do those things.

6. Joannie Works with One Hammer-the Wiggles and some children sing this song and they pretend their hands, feet and heads are hammers. When all five of those hammers are hammering, they go to sleep, but, Jeff does not wake up. Jeff is notorious for sleeping, so everyone needs to yell "Wake Up Jeff!" When he wakes he tells us that he dreamt he was a monkey, doing a monkey dance.....

7. The Monkey Dance- is a definite get up and dance song for your children. They can pretend to be a monkey while swinging their arms, an elephant with a trunk, and a roaring lion, all the while jumping around.

8. Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes- Paul the Cook, Captain Feathersword and the Wiggles mix up milk, flour, muesli flakes and honey while they sing about "Crunchy Munchy Honey Cakes." No measurements are given, but they sing us through the steps needed to make this treat. They do point out that children should be with an adult if they want to use the oven.

9. Shaky Shaky- before performing this song, the Wiggles need to get into their "shaking clothes" and all return dressed in Elvis Presley-type outfits. They are not joined by any children or friends for this song, which allows my children to easily mimic the way in which the Wiggles are shaking at a given time - ie. if they are shaking their hands or their legs.

10. Can You Point Your Finger and do the Twist (Puppets)
- puppets in the likeness of the Wiggles and Captain Feathersword sing this song in very high pitched voices. Part of the lyrics are "Now we're gonna go up, And go down, Get back up and Turn Around" and my children always jump up off of the couch to do this part. I thought that the puppets were a slight bit scary, but my children did not seem to mind (and my daughter was only about one year old when we first saw this video)

11. Havenu Shalom Alachem- is a song in Hebrew. Anthony tells us that "Shalom" means "peace" and "hello" and as the Wiggles sing this song, six girls in traditional dress dance around.

12. I am A Dancer- Greg sings this mellow song that has the Wiggles and some of their friends dancing as if they are ballerinas.

13. Go Captain Feathersword, Ahoy! (Puppet)-the puppets and their high pitched voices are on a boat to sing a fun song about cheering for Captain Feathersword "from every wharf and pier."

14. Fruit Salad - this is probably our favorite song on this video. You will always know that you have Wiggle fans for guests if you serve fruit salad and hear a chorus of "Yummy, Yummy!" in response. This song shows the Wiggles and their friend the Cook preparing a fruit salad, and tells children that with plastic utensils and help from an adult, they can make their own fruit salad. As a mom, I like the fact that the Wiggles point out that after eating, they need to clean up.

Between some of the songs, one or more of the Wiggles occasionally does a project with some children. Anthony plays with colored dough and later on Greg attempts to do a magic trick. After saying "Ala Kazam!", he is eventually able to pull out a bunch of hankies out of his empty "Box of Mystery"."

"Yummy, Yummy" has been played many, many times in our household over the past few years, and my now almost 5 year old son and three and a half year old daughter still enjoy it on occasion. It remains in their core group of favorite videos, but as their Wiggles collection has increased, this one has had to be shelved somewhat to make time for the others.

This video does not have much in the way of fancy costumes or hi-tech set designs, but it is fun because the four Wiggles are very talented performers. It is recommended for ages 1 through 8 and even if a child is not familiar with The Wiggles as a group, they most certainly will enjoy the fun songs and silly dances that appear before them on the screen. I know mine did!


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This review is part of "Hoop-Re-View! It's a Wiggly Write-off!" hosted by jenb123 & marytara. The other participants are: lisado, ariel10575, ritag11, staceys1, mind-full, vbfc , CJsmommy , kurt_g, and mothermeatloaf.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8