|
A Fit of the Wiggles
By Laura Hutchison, March 12, 2003 The Wiggles Australia's biggest musical export isn't Kylie Minogue - it's the Wiggles. And they're here to entertain China's 5-8 year olds Pandemonium broke out in Hong Kong last year when the Wiggles tickets sold out in less than two hours. Those parents who had been slow on getting to the ticket office had to go home to their four year olds empty handed - the dreams of seeing the superstars of the under-six year old music world thwarted. The Wiggles - the source of such scenes of chaos - are four men who took a passion for entertaining and matched it with a background in early childhood education. They are an institution in children's entertainment back home in Australia, and have recently become the top children's entertainment troupe in America. Songs, dances, magic tricks, jokes, and the marketing genius and merchandise to boot make Jeff, Anthony, Greg, and Murray the Beatles for four- to eight-year-olds. And they evoke similar extreme fanaticism. One parent was said to have purchased a cassette tape of Wiggles songs and had to forcibly remove it from her five-year-old's tape deck after the child played the it 40 times in one day. Although some of the language that the Wiggles use is more advanced than their stated age level, children seem to be mesmerized by the dancing, the melodies, and the rhythms. "Music is the best medium for children," says Irene Chan, Corporate Communications Director for Disney Hong Kong office. "Children may not understand every word, but they will know that after a few songs, it is all about fun. This fun crosses all borders." Chan comments that the Hong Kong performance of 2002 had a mix of both local Chinese and expatriate children dancing and wiggling about the concert hall - something that was very encouraging for Disney, who have plans to start localized versions of the foursome in China, Thailand, Japan, and Korea in the very near future. Although organizers Disney and Frontiers Group Ltd. face a market in China that has not been exposed to Wiggles merchandise, Disney is not worried. "We rely a lot on word of mouth," says Chan. "People will hear about the Wiggles from foreigners, at school, they will visit the website. Out first step is to focus on the performance." If past experience is anything to go by, tickets should sell out quickly. The Wiggles have an international reputation for not only providing ways to entertain children but a genuine dedication to education - hence Chan's "word-of-mouth" promotions. Those "in the know" about early childhood education, respect the Wiggles. And that includes the children themselves. |