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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Wiggles-Yummy Yummy/Wiggle Time! (1998)

The Wiggles-Yummy Yummy/Wiggle Time! (1998)

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Released 28-Feb-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 1998
Running Time 75:02 (Case: 80)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By McTavish
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Murray Cook
Jeff Fatt
Anthony Field
Greg Page
Case Soft Brackley-Transp
RPI $34.95 Music The Wiggles


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    For anyone with young children, the Wiggles need no introduction; there is a very good chance that you own several tapes and that they are probably on their last legs. Young children seem to love both the songs that this group sing as well as the sheer energy that they portray during their shows. The songs and dances are all perfectly designed so that young children can join in and have a great time.

    I have watched many children bouncing around in time with these songs both at concerts and in my own home. The energy and enthusiasm that the Wiggles bring to their performances is incredible - watching them perform a stage show, you soon come to the conclusion that these are very fit people. You only need to watch the faces of the children that are dancing along with the music to see that they are having the times of their lives.

    On this disc are two of their shows that have previously been released on VHS; Yummy Yummy and Wiggle Time. The version of Yummy Yummy on this disc matches the tape that I own but Wiggle Time appears to have been redone. The songs are the same but some of the dances are different, as are the costumes that Dorothy The Dinosaur and Henry the Octopus wear. The production values are also much better. They have also tacked on a couple of songs from a live performance as well. I believe that they have re-recorded a particular show before as another tape that I own has a sticker on it advising that the show had been redone.

    As I point out in all my children's material reviews, one of the biggest advantages of the DVD medium when applied to children's material is its resistance to wear. I have seen VHS tapes reduced to almost clear backing tape as the recording material is worn off under the strain of constant repeat viewing. In self defense, I gave the kids their own VHS machine many years ago not wanting all that wear on the heads of my good player. With DVD, all this is a thing of the past, with the 1000th viewing as clear in picture and sound as the first.

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Track Listing

1. Hot Potato
2. D.O.R.O.T.H.Y
3. Pufferbillies
4. Henry's Dance
5. Walk
6. Joannie works with one hammer
7. The Monkey Dance
8. Shaky Shaky
9. Teddy Bear Hug
10. I Am A Dancer
11. Numbers Rhumba
12. Fruit Salad
13. Get Ready To Wiggle
14. Here Comes A Bear
15. Captain Feathersword
16. Uncle Noah's Ark
17. Ponies
18. Dorothy the Dinosaur
19. Whenever I Hear This
20. Music
21. Henry The Octopus
22. Rock-A-Bye Your Bear
23. I Love It When It Rains
24. Quack Quack
25. Marching Along
26. Dorothy's Birthday
27. Party
28. Wave To Wags
29. Five Little Ducks
30. Wiggly Medley

Transfer Quality

Video

   As mentioned, there are two shows on this disc and the quality varies between the two. Yummy Yummy appears older with a softer image and a few problems while Wiggle Time is sharper and in better condition.

   Both shows are presented at 1.33:1 and are not 16x9 enhanced.

    The sharpness is a little disappointing, particularly for Yummy Yummy. Long shots in particular are soft; at 2:44 a close up is not too bad but then this moves to a long shot at 3:26 and detail is lost. Shadow detail is a little hard to judge as the scenes are always brightly lit but it seems to be pretty good. There is a fair amount of video noise present, more in the first show but still present in the second.

    Colours are really bright but are affected by the video noise and lack of definition. Reds also have a slight problem in that they have a black border that looks similar to edge enhancement but is black, and it only appears on the vertical edges. This again is particularly noticeable in the first show and can be seen at 1:36.

    There are some minor MPEG artefacts present that can be seen along with a fair amount of edge enhancement at 1:36 in the first show. Edge enhancement is also present in the second show at 1:53 but is not as bad. This is obviously video sourced material with some video and chroma noise present and the accompanying loss of definition on long shots.

    There are no subtitles on this disc and it is single layered.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is a single English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack present that is mono.

    Dialogue quality is good with everything easy to understand, both spoken and sung. There are no problems with audio sync.

    The music is the usual fantastic Wiggles fare aimed squarely at the under five market, and they love it!

    The surrounds and subwoofer did not receive any signal.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     There are only the two shows present on this disc, though the concert footage at the end of Wiggle Time is 'extra' when compared to the original video release.

Menu

    A simple, partially animated menu with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     While the Americans seem to have both Yummy Yummy and Wiggle Time on VHS they don't yet seem to have this combined DVD.

Summary

    Just over an hour of fun and entertainment for the little ones. Song and dance is a great educator for both their minds and their bodies. While this is obviously sourced from video and is a little disappointing technically, as usual for this age group they will never notice either this or the mono soundtrack, although I must admit that I have a three year old that insists on using the big screen to watch his DVDs - a future DVD reviewer in the making?

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Terry McCracken (read my bio)
Saturday, May 04, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDSkyworth 1050p progressive scan, using RGB output
DisplaySony 1252Q CRT Projector, 254cm custom built 1.0 gain screen. Calibrated with AVIA Guide To Home Theatre. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with AVIA Guide To Home Theatre.
AmplificationSony STR-DB1070
SpeakersB&W DM305 (mains); CC3 (centre); S100 (surrounds); custom Adire Audio Tempest with Redgum plate amp (subwoofer)

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