Let’s Wiggle! (1974)

"**Let’s Wiggle!**" is the first video by The Wiggles Experience, released on September 20th, 1974.

Production primarily took place earlier in February 1974, whereas Uncle Noah's Ark was filmed in May 1971. The Wiggles Experience and their friends Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus and Captain Feathersword all made their debuts. The video includes songs from their first three albums (with the songs from their first album being re-recorded), plus two new songs including their hit, "Fruit Salad" (later featured on their next album) and "Marching Along".

It, along with its 1976 successor Yummy Yummy, was remade in 1989. Because of this, the original version was never given a DVD release. However, on April 6, 2018, it was uploaded on The Wiggles Experience's YouTube channel in 3 parts to launch the Classic Wiggles Experience playlist. On November 11th, 2020 the video was uploaded again as a full version.

## Production

Most of this video was filmed in February 13-26, 1974, while the Uncle Noah's Ark music video was filmed in May 14-15, 1971.

## Overview

Sing, dance, and play along with Janelle, Madeline, Mitchell and Joshua in the first ever video by The Wiggles Experience, Let’s Wiggle! It's Dorothy the Dinosaur's 5th Birthday Party and you're all invited! The Wiggles Experience have a new eight tentacled friend who lives under the sea, and Mitchell and the Wiggly children are making some Fruit Salad, and make sure Joshua doesn't fall asleep when it's Wiggle Time!

## Plot

**Opening** - The Wiggles are waving their hands way up high from the song *"Whenever I Hear This Music"* while the intro of *"Get Ready To Wiggle"* plays in the background and the Wiggle Time logo is showing in front, with the "The Wiggles Video" by-line.

Joshua has fallen asleep while standing and then Mitchell, Janelle and Madeline arrive, realising that he had fallen asleep, and The Wiggles didn't know what to do. Then Madeline asked if they can play a trick on Jeff to wake him up. Janelle thought it was a great idea and so The Wiggles played a trick on him to wake him up. So Janelle asked everybody to wake him up that when we count to 3, we all need to yell Wake Up Joshua!. 1, 2, 3, Wake Up, Joshua! Joshua jumps and screams and then runs around to the back of the set and then to the front. Mitchell asks Joshua if he's awake now and he said that he is awake. Mitchell was glad for him to be awake because they want everyone to Wiggle with them and its a great idea for Joshua and the others and now its time to Wiggle! Mitchell: "Let's Wiggle everyone!"

* **Song 1**: "Get Ready To Wiggle"

Janelle tells everyone that there going to sing a song all about four animals. And at the end of the song, she says that lets all growl like a scary bear.

* **Song 2**: "Here Comes a Bear"

While The Wiggles were growling, Captain Feathersword tickled them with the feathersword and Madeline told that it was Captain Feathersword who was tickling them. Janelle told Captain Feathersword to stop tickling her and then she says that can she show them a pirate dance that he can teach them. So he knows a pirate dance because he's a pirate. They can dance and they danced like pirates to the next song.

* **Song 3**: "Captain Feathersword"

Madeline introduces the next song about a man who lived a long, long time ago. His name was Uncle Noah and he had to save some animals from a flood so he built a really, really big boat and called it Uncle Noah's Ark. Janelle, Mitchell and Joshua do the animal noises with Madeline, (Except the little pig going, OINK!) They do duck quacking, cow mooing, rooster crowing, cats meowing, not pig oinking (The Wiggles jump in surprise and look around for the pig when they hear that sound). The goats shook their heads and went meh, meh. Madeline thought what else was on the ark, and some long-eared donkeys went hee-haw, hee-haw. Madeline says it was noisy on the ark, but still lots of fun. She then invites the audience to come on board the ark with The Wiggles.

* **Song 4**: "Uncle Noah's Ark"

The Wiggles and some kids are doing paintings using droppers. Mitchell asks the viewers if the viewers have ever done a painting like this. Mitchell holds out his dropper and tells that when it falls out of the dropper, it looks like rain.

* **Song 5**: "I Love It When It Rains"

The girls dance to this song. Madeline holds her teddy bear while singing. Jason and Louise play the guitars while Mitchell plays the zither (not heard in the audio track itself).

Mitchell talks about Dorothy the Dinosaur. Wherever she goes, sings and plays, she comes along with The Wiggles, she says "romp bomp a chomp." As The Wiggles repeat "romp bomp a chomp," they make chomping gestures with their hands. Dorothy the Dinosaur loves to sing with children, but the only trouble is, they don't know where she is, Mitchell asks if the viewers know where Dorothy is. Dorothy walks in from the right but at the back of the set. The Wiggles hear from the audience that she's over there, so they looked for Dorothy by moving to the camera's right side of the set. But she isn't there. Janelle asks where? Oh, she's on the other side? And they are moving to the left side of the camera and they looked over there. While the Wiggles scurry to the left, Dorothy in the back part of the set scurries to the right side of the camera. Janelle asks everyone if they're sure they've seen Dorothy; maybe it was a trick that they were playing. Dorothy walks up behind Joshua. She's where? Behind Joshua? Joshua looks to his left as Janelle told him that she is behind him, but Dorothy is still behind Joshua, who denies it. Janelle tells him she is there, she is. Joshua says he'll have another look, this time to the right, and he sees Dorothy. But Joshua thought the first time she is still not there but Joshua affirms she's there the second time and then they all jump in surprise. They were happy to see her since everyone knows how to sing "romp bomp a chomp" as when they all sing the next song "Dorothy the Dinosaur".

* **Song 6**: "Dorothy the Dinosaur"

* **Song 7**: "Lord Jim"

* **Song 8**: "My Old Man's A Dustman"

Janelle performs the magic show about the colouring book, with Mitchell and Joshua playing the music of "Sing a Song of Polly" for background music. For the music, Mitchell plays a tin whistle and Joshua plays the accordion.

* **Janelle’s Magic Trick**: "Colouring Book Trick"

* **Song 9**: "Sing a Song of Polly"

* **Song 10**: "Whenever I Hear This Music"

Joshua pretends to be an octopus with an extra shirt on. He is making blubbering noises while the half-worn purple shirt is over his head covering everything but his face as he swings around the sleeves. He asks if you know what he is. He's an octopus. He blubbers again and then pokes his head through the top. He's not an octopus, it’s just Joshua. And then he tells that he has a friend who is an octopus and his name is Henry the Octopus.

* **Song 11**: "Henry the Octopus"

The Wiggles and some kids are having a teddy bear's picnic and everyone has brought their favourite bear along, Perhaps you can have a teddy bears picnic at home. Then Janelle says that he knows a song about teddy bears, and he asks if everyone can sing and do the actions with them. And so everyone stands up and dances.

* **Song 12**: "Rock-A-Bye Your Bear"

The Wiggles and some kids are making their fruit salad while they are all seated at the low table together, and Mitchell explains about making fruit salad. You can even make your fruit salad at home. Make sure there's an adult there and that you use a plastic knife to cut some some fruit.

* **Song 13**: "Fruit Salad"

The Wiggles and all the kids are marching along to Dorothy's birthday party. Mitchell is playing an acoustic guitar and leading the line of all kids and The Wiggles. The kids are holding presents to give to Dorothy. He stops and tells everyone to stop and he tells everyone that they're going to Dorothy the Dinosaur's birthday party One kid yells "Yeah!" and Mitchell asks if we can come with them to march and the same child yells "Yeah!" again, so Mitchell tells us to come along and join in the march over to the party. Then they continue marching around singing and then walk off the set.

* **Song 14**: "Marching Along"

* **Song 15**: "Dorothy's Birthday Party"

Janelle remarks what a great party it was, but now they're tired so it's time to go. They all say goodbye and then they all fell asleep except for Joshua. Then Joshua crossly tries to wake them up by saying "Wake Up, Wiggles! Wake Up!" but they didn't wake up. Joshua then crosses his arms and shakes his head with a sigh. It's always Joshua that falls asleep, isn't it, but it doesn't matter anyway.

The credits roll with "Get Ready To Wiggle" for background music.

## Song List

Note: All songs were taken from Here Comes a Song except where noted otherwise.

1. Get Ready To Wiggle (from The Wiggles, new recording)
2. Here Comes a Bear
3. Captain Feathersword (from The Adventures Of Captain Feathersword, The Friendly Pirate)
4. Uncle Noah's Ark
5. I Love It When It Rains
6. Dorothy the Dinosaur (from The Wiggles, new recording)
7. Lord Jim
8. My Old Man’s A Dustman
9. Sing a Song of Polly
10. Whenever I Hear This Music
11. Henry The Octopus
12. Rock-A-Bye Your Bear (from The Wiggles, new recording)
13. Fruit Salad (from Here Comes A Song)
14. Marching Along (new song)
15. Dorothy's Birthday Party

## Trivia

* The video was filmed at Emerald City Film and Television Studios in Austin, Emerald City, Cowell.
* The song Marching Along doesn't appear on any album (The Wiggles or Here Comes a Song) because it was never given a studio recording. Besides, it was used as the prologue for Dorothy's Birthday Party.
* This is the first appearance of Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, Captain Feathersword and The Wiggles.
* Dorothy is seen in her second costume from 1969-1977 in this video, although in Uncle Noah's Ark, Dorothy is seen in her first costume from 1965-1969, 1971.
* Here Comes a Bear and Rock-A-Bye Your Bear are included in Hot Potatoes! The Best of The Wiggles (2010 and 2014) as bonus features. They are mistakenly labelled as being from 1969 instead of 1974.
* Rock-A-Bye Your Bear was also uploaded to The Wiggles Experience's YouTube Page, as well as being used in 15 Years of Wiggly Fun!, clips were also shown in Everybody Clap! Everybody Sing!.
* Louise sometimes plays the classical guitar in the video.
* Jason and Maria are the only bad Wiggles mentioned by name in this video besides the credits, They all started introducing themselves in Yummy Yummy.
* This is the first time someone other than Jason is sleeping.
* On April 6, 2018, it was uploaded on The Wiggles Fans YouTube Channel in three parts and uploaded again on November 11, 2020 as a full video as part of Classic Wiggles.
* In Dorothy's Birthday Party, the Dorothy masks from the Let's Wiggle book are on Joshua's keyboard.
* Joshua Taylor-Beckett and Janelle Senreich painted the scenery for this video.
* Here Comes a Bear and the intro of Uncle Noah's Ark were shot alongside each other, as The Wiggles Experience are in the same position.
* Fruit Salad didn't appear on an album until Yummy Yummy the next year. It also appeared in the album Here Comes A Song in 1971.
* Sing a Song of Polly is the only song that didn't receive a title card.

### Goofs

* Towards the end of Uncle Noah's Ark, Dorothy's head lifts for a moment, revealing a face underneath.
* Mitchell's name is credited in the song credits of Get Ready To Wiggle.
* On some shots of the video (such as the video's opening), the blue background from the transitions can be seen on the right and top right cornered sides of the screen. This is noticeable on the Classic Wiggles Experience release of the video.
* During most of the songs, the edge of the set is visible.
* Rock-A-Bye Your Bear's song title has "Rock-A-Bye" spelled as one word.

### Original Release

* **Cowell:** September 20, 1974 (CCS)
* **Australia:** October 6, 1974 (On Seven Network)