The Wiggles - fun for kids and adults!

Playing instrument, funny cartoons, puzzle game or a detective mask, you name it and you will get it at the wiggles, the perfect destination for kids. The Wiggles are a unique and dynamic musical group who entertain children, enchanting them with the pure joy of their own music and dance. The Wiggles was formed in 1991, Sydney, Australia. The Wiggles are easily recognizable, particularly by children, by their distinctively colored skivvies. They were honored in December 2005 at the Australian Export Awards as the overall winners for building a global business and earning more than A$45 million during the year. The target audience of the Wiggles are majorly kids, preschoolers, however toddlers and above also enjoy the various games of the wiggles.

Characters of the Wiggles:

Anthony, who loves eating fruit salad, hot potatoes, cold spaghetti and mashed banana. Anthony loves the color blue and likes to say Wahoo! He enjoys singing, plays the guitar and drums and also likes to joke around.

Sam: Sam likes to sing, play the guitar and drums and also likes to joke around. Singing and dancing is the role of Sam.

Jeff: Jeff spends the entire time in singing and playing his keyboard, he can't help falling asleep. You can wake him up by shouting ‘Wake Up Jeff!' Purple is Jeff's favorite color and he loves animals. Come and meet Jeff's Farmyard Friends at Wiggles World.

Murray: Murray and his guitar is always together. He too likes to sing and dance. He is famous to pull lots of funny faces. Murray loves the color red and has an enormous smile from ear to ear.

Initially singer Greg Page, was the the Yellow Wiggle, but he left for health reasons and San came.

Anthony and Jeff were members of the Australian pop band The Cockroaches in the 1980s, and Murray Cook was a member of several bands before meeting Field and Page at Macquarie University, where they were studying to become pre-school teachers. Aside from the four Wiggles, four secondary characters usually appear in their television series, videos, and live concerts.

Dorothy the Dinosaur: Dorothy is a "rososaurus", a "yellow-spotted green dinosaur with surprisingly scary teeth. She lives in a pink and purple house with her own Rosy Orchestra and a rose garden in her backyard. She loves to eat roses and dance the ballet.

Captain Feathersword: Captain Feathersword, "the friendly pirate", wears a hat, patch, and puffy shirt and wields a "feathery saber"

Wags the Dog: Wags is a tall, brown, furry dog with floppy ears and a happy face.

Henry the Octopus: Henry the Octopus, who directs an underwater band, likes to sing and to break dance with his eight legs

For their stage shows, The Wiggles used two 16-metre (52 ft) trucks, three tour buses, a cast of 13 dancers, and 10 permanent crew members.

How Wiggles help in education:

The concepts of early childhood development and how young children learn influenced The Wiggles' songwriting and simple choreography in their stage shows, videos, and television programs.
The group understood that challenging young children to engage in difficult tasks is more effective than simply telling them to do it.
Warren stated that asking children to interrupt Fatt's slumber helped them build confidence and to feel more in control of their lives.
Between 1999 and 2003, to test the group's appeal across cultures, Warren used one of The Wiggles' CDs as an educational tool in a village near Madang, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea.

Success of Wiggles:

By 1995, they had set records for video and music sales, and approached the ABC for a television series to create more awareness for the group.
The Wiggles, which was produced and shown in Australia on Channel Seven and the Disney Channel in 1998 and 1999. They continued their practice of featuring toddlers as performers in these early programs.
In 1998, Disney arranged for the group to perform at Disneyland, where they were discovered by Lyrick Studios.
Lyrick began to distribute Wiggles videos in the US, advertised them in their other videos, and hired the group to perform during the intermission of Barney Live stage shows in the US.
The Wiggles Movie, which became the fifth-highest grossing Australian film of 1998.
The Wiggles first trip to the USA in 1998 saw them perform at amusement parks such as Disneyland, Sea World and Busch Gardens.
In January 2002, Disney began showing a Wiggles video clip between programs of its morning Playhouse Disney block.
In 2002, The Wiggles filmed four seasons worth of shows exclusively with the ABC: "Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles" aired on Channel 7 in 2003, "The Wiggles Show" in 2004 and 2005, and "Wiggle and Learn" in 2008. The network called them "the most successful property that the ABC has represented in the pre-school genre"
Their success in music and television has led to extensive merchandising of Wiggles-branded books, toys, clothing, and other products for children by the Toronto-based toy company Spin Master since 2003.
By 2007, The Wiggles employed 20 full-time workers in offices in Sydney and Dallas, Texas, as well as another 30 employees on their tours.
The Wiggles became formally consolidated in 2005. The original four members serve as the group's only directors; Paul Field has been general manager of operations since the group was formed, and Mike Conway has been general manager since 2001.
In February 2008, The Wiggles were named as UNICEF GOODWILL AMBASSADORS joining the ranks of Shakira, David Beckham, Nicole Kidman and Roger Federer. The Wiggles have always been great supporters of organisations that help children.

When you will go to the website of the Wiggles, you will find lots of interesting games, puzzles, music, drawing and learning through fun kind of stuffs which not only attracts kids but adults enjoys them too. "The Wiggles" album has achieved Gold and Platinum status and The Wiggles themselves have gone on to become one of the most popular and successful performing acts in Australia, in any age group.

(Sources: goaustralia.about.com, partysupplieshut.com, dreamworld.com.au, thewiggles.com.au)