marytara's Full Review: Wiggly Safari by The Wiggles
Preparing for the Wiggly Safari
For several years I have had a bizarre fascination (dare I say-- Crush?) for The Crocodile Hunter and enjoy watching reruns of this program on The Animal Planet. There is just something really sick and cool about this guy who jumps into murky water and wrestles an enormous crocodile all the while telling you how dangerous it is. Ok, well - I think its funny.
For the past 6 months I have developed this same bizarre fascination for The Wiggles after first seeing them on Playhouse Disney and then getting my hands on their CDs and Videos. You see, my son REALLY enjoys them. Ok, Ok. I do too! (You'd never have guessed that though). These 4 attractive, educated, fun, and talented guys and their cast and crew of Wiggly friends are reaching out and getting kids Wiggling all over the world. How cool is that? Very cool!
So, about 2 months ago while surfing the web, I saw that my son's favorite entertainers, The Wiggles were joining up with Steve Irwin aka The Crocodile Hunter for a video and CD I literally fell out of my chair. Could it be true? As it turns out Steve and Terri Irwin have a preschooler of their own, Bindi. (And she is a DOLL). On the Wiggles website it says that 1 in 2 Australian Toddlers have either gone to a Wiggles Concert, listened to a CD, or watched a video. So -- I guess we know who Bindi enjoys watching?
I got online right away with a close personal friend of mine (you know that crazy Australian batchelor that I've referenced in a few other of my Wiggles reviews) and he agreed to send me the CD...err send my son the CD, I mean. As the video format is different between the US (NTSC) and Australia (PAL), I would have to wait til the movie got released here in the fall of 2002 instead of summer.
Will the wait be worth it?
YES. A resounding YES. I can hardly contain myself!!!
The Wiggly Safari Begins
After a few weeks of daily/nightly instant messages and emails (ok maybe it was more like 1 week and a half but it seemd much longer), my Wiggly Safari CD arrived.
It made a great first impression with colorful packaging in one of those carboard "eco-packs" instead of a plastic jewelcase. I'm hell on jewelcases, so this was appreciated. The CD and the case are both done in hunter green with bright yellow accents. The cover features Steve Irwin and Captain Feathersword swinging from ropes while The Wiggles (Greg, Anthony, Jeff, and Murray), their friends (Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, and Wags the Dog), and Terri and Bindi Irwin gaze up in amusement at them. On the inside cover of the CD there is a photo of The Wiggles whilst on Safari. In it, they are wearing khaki pants and short sleeved shirts over top of their colorful skivvies, and are wearing colored hats (Yellow, Blue, Red, and Purple). On the back of the case is a picture of the whole gang in and around the Big Red Car.
Also included with this CD is a Song Booklet (14 pages) that includes the lyrics to 16 of the 17 songs on the Wiggly Safari. The medley is not included as most of the lyrics are from other songs represented on the CD.
Please note: I have an Australian copy of this CD. For the movies, the Australian and US/Canada versions were released with differing covers. The US covers were a lime green color that featured a close up photo.
Song List:
The Crocodile Hunter
Australia Zoo
Do The Owl
Wobbly Camel
Cocky Want a Cracker
Old Man Emu
Swim With Me
Feeding Time
Dingo Tango
Snakes (You can look but you better not touch)
Kookaburra Choir
We're The Crocodile Band
Koala La La
You Might Like A Pet
Dorothy Queen of The Roses
Butterfly Flit
The Wiggle Owl Medley
Before each of the 17 songs there is an audio track that includes an introductory skit ranging anywhere from 10-60 seconds. On the CD these intros each make up their own track listing, meaning that there are a total of 32 tracks on the CD.
The opening track introduces us to The Wiggles who are joining Steve and Terri Irwin at the Australian Zoo for a Wiggly Safari. The song The Crocodile Hunter is all about Steve and describes how he wears his khaki uniform and saves crocs. Quotes from Steve are mixed in between the verses, including "Crikey! Its a croc.. Danger Danger Danger.." and a couple other fun ones. Terri Irwin follows up Steve's intro with an overview of all the fun stuff to do at The Australia Zoo followed by a song of the same too about all the different "animal adventures" to be found at this fun zoo. Murray plays his guitar for the crocs, Greg does some magic tricks for the koalas, and Jeff falls asleep (big surprise).
And now that the introductions are done with, we are ready to Wiggle
Murray leads us in a special dance called "The Owl", in Do The Owl. The song tells us a little bit about the owl using some fun facts and encourages kids to play along. The owl is a type of bird. Found all around the world. Get your hands and make big owl eyes. We're gonna do the owl. Most of all the Do the Owl has a catchy chorus. Hoo Hoo, Hoo Hoo.. Do the owl
Did you know that there are camels in Australia? I never knew that. The Wobbly Camel song is all about a camel ride along a desert trail including fun facts about camels. Jeff falls asleep on the camel, of course. "Wake Up Jeff!"
The titling of the next song is a bit unfortunate. Cocky Want a Cracker is a song sung by Captain Feathersword, Steve Irwin, a singing cock-a-too named Cocky, and of course The Wiggles. Lots of squawking and talking about how "Cocky wants a cracker", etc. Ok, whatever - I could do without this one, even though Captain Feathersword happens to be my favorite.
Old Man Emu is the tale of an interview with an Emu and all about this great bird that can't fly, but I'm telling you he can run the pants off a kangaroo. The song has a hoe-down type of tune and is quite informative about Emus. Once again, I learned quite abit about this bird that can't do things like fly or swim, and doesn't even have wings! The Wiggles must like Emus since they also have a song Move Like an Emu on Hoop-Dee-Doo It's a Wiggly Party.
The Captain is sad so he tells Anthony that he's sad because he is missing a dorsal fin. Anthony doesn't know what a dorsal fin is, so the Captain tells him all about it then Anthony gets sad too. Swim With Me is all about a dolphins life swimming in the ocean. The Captain really wants to swim with the dolphins but he can't because he doesn't have a fin. I guess he never heard of the "Swimming with Dolphins" programs.
Steve tells Anthony that "Animals need their tucker just like we humans do". A song all about feeding time at the Australian Zoo, Feeding Time describes feeding the crocs who are having Chicken Dinners.
"Check that out, that's a Croc moving his huge ancient body silently through the water to get to his chicken dinner on the shore, Look at his teeth chomping". But more importantly, this song has an important chorus that applies to daily life and not just crocodiles! "Eat and Chew. Eat and Chew. That's what animals do. Eat and Chew. Eat and Chew. Animals Eat, and so do you!"
Dingo Tango is sweet song about the little dingo who doesn't bark but looks like a dog and loves to howl at the moon. Its short and sweet, nothing special..really.
My all time favorite song on this entire album, of all things is Snakes (You can look but you better not touch) a song about all about snakes complete with warning to tell an adult if you see one and do not touch them. You can look, but you better not touch! (Danger, Danger Danger) The same rules don't apply to Steve Irwin, though, of course!
Animals at the Australia Zoo like to sing and dance just like The Wiggles. The Kookaburra Choir is about the singing Kookaburras and We're the Crocodile Band is about the Wiggles performing for the crocs to make them smile. They'll be no crocodile tears here
I don't know about you but when I think about Australia I think about Koalas and Kangaroos, so it comes as no surprise that the next song is dedicated to Koalas. Koala La La is a lullaby-like tune about the Koala who's taking a snooze in the eucalyptus tree. Greg sings all about the baby koala clinging to his Mother's back. (Say Awwww now). I was touched, and you'll be too. This quiet, slower paced song provides a nice pause for kids to wind-down a bit.
You Might Like A Pet is a song about animals but not ones you'd find in the zoo. Instead, its about pets (dogs, cats, mice, goldfish, etc). The Wiggles stress how fun and special pets are and the importance of being responsible pet owners. I'm guessing that in the video this will include Wags the Dog somehow.
It wouldn't be The Wiggles without a visit from our rose-eating dinosaur friend. Dorothy Queen of The Roses is simply an ode to Dorothy and is about clapping hands for the queen of the roses I'm not sure how this relates to a Safari, but its The Wiggles so I like it. Dorothy than leads a song and dance called Butterfly Flit all about pretty butterflies flitting from flower to flower. The song ends in a quiet instrumental segment that is quite beautiful.
Like many productions from The Wiggles, this program ends in a Medley. The Wiggle Owl Medley includes songs from Wiggly Safari as well as other popular Wiggles Tunes including Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car, Hot Potatoe, The Monkey Dance, Romp Bomp a Stomp, Wags like to Shake Shake, Rock-a-Bye Your Bear, Wake up Jeff, Magic Buttons, Move like an Emu, Wiggly Party, and Do the Owl. This compilation is fast paced and lasts for 5 minutes unlike all the other 1 or 2 minute songs on Wiggly Safari.
Overall Thoughts on Wiggly Safari
I love it! Wiggly Safari is quite different than previous Wiggles albums because none had a specific theme like this. Teaming up with Steve and Terri Irwin made for a win/win situation and a fun and lively soundtrack from start to finish.
Young Wiggles fans (toddlers) will enjoy this fun CD very much because its The Wiggles but also because of the inclusion of animals. Preschoolers and older will enjoy this and learn from the different tidbits of animal factoids that are included in each song. If your child is a fan of The Crocodile Hunter but hasn't been exposed to The Wiggles, or is on the upper age limit for Wiggles (6-8) they will likely to enjoy Wiggly Safari because it is less "babyish". In fact, its not babyish at all!
My age recommendation for Wiggly Safari is age 1 through 8. Moms will find themselves humming and singing along (as usual). Dads, especially those who may not care for The Wiggles, might find Wiggly Safari more tolerable. My husband does like The Wiggles and enjoys and finds this album humorous, so I'm lucky.
Wiggly Safari is best suited for a playtime atmosphere or for in the car. All of the songs are high energy, upbeat and vibrant with the exceptions of Koala La La and Butterfly Flit which have a more calming and soothing tone.
My rating of Wiggly Safari: 5 out of 5 stars.
The only thing "negative" I could possibly say about it is that I have to wait until September 2002 to get my hands on the video version of this program.
Important dates:
SPRING 2002: Audio CD/cassette released in Down Under
6/23/02-6/29/02: Animal Planet "Croc Week" 8pm EDT
6/24/02: Audio CD/cassette release in the USA / Canada
7/8/02: Video release in Australia and New Zealand
7/12/02: The Crocodile Hunter Collision Course (MOVIE) release.
7/30/02: Amazon.com gets Audio CD/Cassette *PREORDER NOW*
9/3/02: DVD / VHS release in North America. *PREORDER NOW* on Amazon.com
Useful Web Links [copy and paste]
Wiggly Safari Site
http://www.thewiggles.com/CD/safari/wigglysafari.html
Hear samples of Wiggly Safari
http://www.thewiggles.com.au/CD/safari/wigglysafarimusic.html
Visit The Wiggles Website and see Tour Dates!
http://www.thewiggles.com.au
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