Wiggle and Learn
| Wiggle and Learn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Directed by | Paul Field |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme | "Wiggle and Learn" |
| Ending theme | "Goodbye from the Wiggles" |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes |
|
| Production | |
| Executive producer | The Wiggles |
| Producer | Paul Field |
| Production location | Hot Potato Studios |
| Running time |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC1 (Australia) |
| Release | 12 May – 27 August 2008 |
| Related | |
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Wiggle and Learn is an Australian TV show that aired on the ABC. It ran from 12 May 2007 to 10 February 2010. It is The Wiggles 6th TV series. It was the first TV series to not feature Greg Page, who had to depart the group in 2006 due to poor health, and the only one to feature Sam Moran as the Yellow Wiggle, as well as the last Wiggles show until Ready, Steady, Wiggle! in 2013. It was also the final series with Murray Cook and Jeff Fatt as the Red Wiggle and Purple Wiggle, respectively.
Unlike the Wiggles’ five previous TV series, Wiggle and Learn uses Nursery Rhymes in addition to self-written songs.
Supporting cast[edit]
- Paul Paddick as Captain Feathersword
- Emily McGlinn as Dorothy the Dinosaur
- Voiced by Carolyn Ferrie
- Adrian Quinnell, Kristy Talbot, and Ben Murray as Wags the Dog
- Voiced by Mic Conway
- Mario Martinez-Diaz and Rebecca Knox as Henry the Octopus
- Voiced by Paul Paddick
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The Wiggles first pitched the idea in early 2006 and wanted to have Greg Page in it. Page helped write all the songs for a related video and album called Getting Strong!. However, one of the songs, the series' theme song, was originally written for one of the idents that promoted ABC Kids, with Page as the lead singer and the chorus lyrics "ABC Kids" in place of the actual "Wiggle and Learn", as well as a different backing track where additional instruments and back-up voices were added.[2] After filming three episodes, Page was diagnosed with Dysautonomia and was unable to participate and the episodes were eventually re-shot with Sam Moran. In 2015, Anthony Field, Murray Cook, and Jeff Fatt found the original footage while lurking around on the computer.[3] The original footage of the sets was also used for their very first documentary 15 Years of Wiggly Fun.[4]
Episodes[edit]
| No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Move and Groove" | 13 December 2009 (USA) |
| 2 | "Musical Landscape" | 10 December 2009 (USA) |
| 3 | "Wiggle Dance" | 17 December 2009 (USA) |
| 4 | "The King of Swing" | 9 December 2009 (USA) |
| 5 | "Bailar y Cantar" | 21 December 2009 (USA) |
| 6 | "Barnyard Boogie" | 11 December 2009 (USA) |
| 7 | "The Bobby Bounce" | 28 December 2009 (USA) |
| 8 | "The Black Velvet Band" | 19 December 2009 (USA) |
| 9 | "Fun in the Sun" | 12 December 2009 (USA) |
| 10 | "My Fair Lady!" | 14 December 2009 (USA) |
| 11 | "So Early in the Morning" | 15 December 2009 (USA) |
| 12 | "Soy Capitan!" | 16 December 2009 (USA) |
| 13 | "Together We Live So Happily" | 18 December 2009 (USA) |
| 14 | "Oh, Captain!" | 23 December 2009 (USA) |
| 15 | "The Biggest Smile of All" | 29 December 2009 (USA) |
| 16 | "The Queen of the Land" | 25 December 2009 (USA) |
| 17 | "Get the Rhythm of the Hips" | 26 December 2009 (USA) |
| 18 | "Hear the Drumbeat" | 22 December 2009 (USA) |
| 19 | "Teddy Bear Touch the Ground" | 22 January 2010 (USA) |
| 20 | "Meadowsweet and Lady Smocks" | 8 January 2010 (USA) |
| 21 | "Ding, Ding, Dong!" | 6 January 2010 (USA) |
| 22 | "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz" | 13 January 2010 (USA) |
| 23 | "Shall We Dance?" | 20 January 2010 (USA) |
| 24 | "Dance This Way" | 27 January 2010 (USA) |
| 25 | "Kittens and Mittens" | 3 February 2010 (USA) |
| 26 | "Surf, Sand and Sun" | 10 February 2010 (USA) |
11-minute versions[edit]
| No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "We Feel Like Dancing!" | 12 May 2007 |
| 2 | "The Shimmie Shake" | 13 May 2007 |
| 3 | "Let's Get the Rhythm" | 14 May 2007 |
| 4 | "Over in the Meadow" | 15 May 2007 |
| 5 | "I Spy" | 16 May 2007 |
| 6 | "Keep Moving!" | 19 May 2007 |
| 7 | "Who Am I?" | 20 May 2007 |
| 8 | "Murray Had a Turtle" | 21 May 2007 |
| 9 | "La Bamba" | 22 May 2007 |
| 10 | "Oranges and Lemons" | 23 May 2007 |
| 11 | "Hey Diddle Diddle" | 26 May 2007 |
| 12 | "This Way and That Way" | 27 May 2007 |
| 13 | "Jeff Gets a Letter" | 28 May 2007 |
| 14 | "This Old Man" | 29 May 2007 |
| 15 | "A Sailor Went to Sea" | 30 May 2007 |
| 16 | "Her Eyes Shone Like Diamonds" | 2 June 2007 |
| 17 | "Beach, Beach, Sandy Beach" | 3 June 2007 |
| 18 | "Old Dan Tucker" | 4 June 2007 |
| 19 | "London Bridge" | 5 June 2007 |
| 20 | "There Was a Princess" | 6 June 2007 |
| 21 | "The Banana Boat" | 9 June 2007 |
| 22 | "Incy Wincy Spider" | 10 June 2007 |
| 23 | "Fairy Dancing!" | 11 June 2007 |
| 24 | "Getting Strong" | 12 June 2007 |
| 25 | "Pussycat, Pussycat" | 13 January 2008 |
| 26 | "Fun at Wigglehouse" | 16 January 2008 |
| 27 | "Hello!" | 23 February 2008 |
| 28 | "The Five Senses" | 24 January 2008 |
| 29 | "Big, Bigger, Biggest!" | 25 February 2008 |
| 30 | "See-Saw" | 28 February 2008 |
| 31 | "Musical Landscape" | 29 February 2008 |
| 32 | "D is for Dorothy" | 30 February 2008 |
| 33 | "The Sporting Salsa!" | 31 February 2008 |
| 34 | "Jack and Jill" | 6 August 2008 |
| 35 | "Wags House" | 4 August 2008 |
| 36 | "Two Fine Gentleman" | 5 August 2008 |
| 37 | "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" | 6 August 2008 |
| 38 | "Wiggletastic" | 7 August 2008 |
| 39 | "English Country Garden" | 8 August 2008 |
| 40 | "Circus Fun" | 11 August 2008 |
| 41 | "Frère Jacques" | 12 August 2008 |
| 42 | "The Turkey in the Straw" | 13 August 2008 |
| 43 | "Twinkle Twinkle" | 14 August 2008 |
| 44 | "Sam Gets a Letter" | 15 August 2008 |
| 45 | "I'm a Cowboy" | 18 August 2008 |
| 46 | "Smell Your Way Through the Day" | 19 August 2008 |
| 47 | "The Horn Pipe" | 20 August 2008 |
| 48 | "Miss Polly Had a Dolly" | 21 August 2009 |
| 49 | "Allo, Allo, Allo!" | 22 August 2009 |
| 50 | "Three Little Kittens" | 25 August 2009 |
| 51 | "Nick Nack Paddy Wack" | 26 August 2009 |
| 52 | "I Drive the Big Red Car" | 27 August 2009 |
Writing[edit]
The original draft consists of three plots:
- The Wiggles and Dorothy the Dinosaur plan to go on a picnic.
- The Wiggles play soccer on the beach.
- The Wiggles must save their friends by singing songs.
Broadcast[edit]
The Australian version aired from 2007 to 2008 on ABC and Playhouse Disney. Then the Canadian version premiered April 2008 on Treehouse TV and the US version aired December 2008 at 7/6c am on Playhouse Disney. It also re-ran on that block in January 2009 running at 11am weekdays, 7am weekends, and would continue to do so up until May of that year.
It is also the first Wiggles TV show to be completely dubbed in another language (In other countries such as Italy, earlier Wiggles TV shows had the dialogue dubbed but the songs remained in English). It aired in Spanish as "Wiggle y Aprende" on Playhouse Disney in Latin America and later Disney Junior, and on Disney Junior in Brazil as "Wiggle e Aprenda".
The show remained in reruns in some countries, most notably Australia and Latin America, until 2013 or 2014, despite Moran being fired from the Wiggles in 2012 due to Page's return, and Cook and Fatt leaving the group in 2013.
DVD releases[edit]
| DVD Title | Region 1 | Discs | Episodes | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiggle and Learn: Vol 1 | August 22, 2007 | 2 | 1-12 | Behind the scenes; Special Extras; Pilot & 2nd episode of The Wiggles Show |
| Wiggle and Learn: Vol 2 | September 1, 2011 | 1 | 13-19 | Bonus Episode; Photo gallery |
References[edit]
- ^ "Australian Children's Content 2011" (PDF). Screen Australia. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ^ "The Wiggles ABC For Kids Promo Song (2006)". YouTube.
- ^ "The Wiggles". Facebook.
- ^ Field, Paul; Roberts, David; Australian Broadcasting Corporation; Wiggles (Musical group); Sunday Telegraph (Sydney, N.S.W.) (2006), The Wiggles 15th birthday, Consolidated Press Ltd?, retrieved 5 April 2013
External links[edit]
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
- Australian children's television series
- Australian television shows featuring puppetry
- 2000s Australian television series
- 2007 Australian television series debuts
- 2008 Australian television series endings
- 2008 American television series debuts
- 2009 American television series endings
- The Wiggles
- Musical television series
- American English-language television shows
- Australian preschool education television series
- 2000s preschool education television series