The Disney Channel home of family entertainment and new home of The Wiggles!
Jun 21 '02 (Updated Jun 26 '02)
The Bottom Line Something for everyone from the best of Walt to simply the best, The Wiggles. Disney delivers quality programming.
I've been watching The Disney Channel since they first launched back when I was a kid myself. The program lineup has changed over the years, but so have I.
As the mother of two, I've seen my share of children's programming and frankly have been less than impressed with many preschool shows. Then I discovered Playhouse Disney and continue to be impressed.
Most recently, they proved that viewer feedback really matters when they began airing The Wiggles television show, much to the delight of fans around the USA.
What is "Playhouse Disney" anyway?
The Disney Channel devotes the weekday morning lineup to preschoolers. From 5:00 am until 1:00 pm (Eastern/Pacific), a variety of quality shows air. Two of the newer shows The Book of Pooh and Stanley received Emmy Awards recently.
Other shows include a cartoon series called PB&J Otter, the computer-animated Rolie Polie Olie, the musical live-action Out of the Box, the animated version of children's book series Madeline and the popular Jim Henson and Disney's Bear in the Big Blue House.
If you would like to see the full Playhouse Disney schedule, point your browser to http://disney.go.com/disneychannel/playhouse/grown-ups/tvsched.html
for the morning lineup.
What about The Wiggles?
Just this week, a show began airing that inspired me to write this. I am so happy that The Disney Channel added The Wiggles to Playhouse Disney. I suspect that a persistent letter-writing campaign started at a message board for Wiggles fans influenced Disney to go beyond the short songs shown as interstitials between other shows.
My kids and I first discovered The Wiggles when their catchy songs like Hot Potato and Rock-A-Bye Your Bear began being shown while we waited for other programs like Bear in the Big Blue House and Rolie Polie Olie to begin.
I did some checking into The Wiggles online and discovered their terrific videos and heard how huge they were in Australia. I also found out that they had a following in other countries, including the United States. In the USA, all we had were the videos and the short interstitials on Playhouse Disney. In their native Australia, they had a half hour television series.
I was then advised of a letter writing campaign to PBS stations and The Disney Channel asking them to air The Wiggles television series...The short songs weren't enough!
What is a "Wiggle" anyway?
I suppose I should explain who The Wiggles are and why so many families are WILD about them. You can also visit my profile page to find links to my many reviews of Wiggles videos.
Just take The Monkees, add a tiny smidgeon of Teletubbies, have them hang around with Raffi, Mr. Rogers and Joe Scruggs. Then give them Aussie accents and colorful skivvies and give them a cast of dancing animals and friendly pirates. You have The Wiggles!
The fab four of the children's set is comprised of singer Greg Page (in yellow), guitar playing Murray Cook (in red), perpetually hungry and especially bouncy Anthony Field (in blue) and sleepy keyboardist Jeff Fatt. These colorful and charismatic entertainers delight toddlers all the way through adults with their antics, dancing and those catchy, infectious, fun-to-wiggle to songs.
Besides being talented performers, The Wiggles also have a background and training in Early Childhood Education. They have an amazing stage presence and seem to charm parents just as much (if not more) than children of all ages.
Along with costumed characters Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and Officer Beaples, The Wiggles have among the best children's series I've ever seen.
Each episode is almost a half hour and includes comic skits, lessons to learn and of course, SONGS galore. Who better to discuss manners and friendship, nutrition and safety than the immensely creative and entertaining cast of The Wiggles.
Between here and down under, The Wiggles have 10 albums, 13 videos, one DVD, a movie (not released in the US) and sell out theatres when they perform live. My kids are looking forward to seeing the show this summer when they play in Chicago.
Live action and computer animation with musical performances make up each of the 39 half-hour episodes. Talented scriptwriter Don Arioli, best known for work on Sesame Street is one more reason to watch The Wiggles.
Kudos to The Disney Channel!
I always feel safe turning on The Disney Channel knowing that the programs will entertain my children while teaching them new ways to play, learn and share. I haven't met anyone with toddlers who doesn't love Bear in the Big Blue House.
On June 12, 2002, it was announced that The Disney Channel would air The Wiggles twice daily beginning June 17, 2002. I could almost hear the cheers of fans across the USA when I read the press release.
From the press release:
" 6/12/02 "The Wiggles" have written and recorded a special song and music video for Disney Channel to herald their entry onto the Playhouse Disney schedule. Entitled "Imagine What We Can Learn," it begins airing in interstitial programming next week.
6/26/02- Check out the new video online http://www.thewiggles.com.au/Videos/disney/playhouse.html
The Wiggles is an excellent addition to Playhouse Disney, such a good addition that I'll forgive Disney for giving them the time slot formerly held by Bear in the Big Blue House. I have noticed that the short song segments are still airing between shows along with another segment called Sharing Time.
I hope that as summer ends, The Disney Channel will also add The Wiggles to the fall schedule...But maybe they could have...say...the time slot being occupied by Out of the Box?
What else should I know about The Disney Channel
Though we primarily watch Playhouse Disney in our house, there are programs for everyone in the family as well. The shows are family friendly, you won't find "junk" on the schedule at all.
For elementary school aged children, cartoons like Pepper Ann and Doug are afternoon offerings.Newer cartoons featuring some brand new characters include The Proud Family and Kim Possible but can be fun for kids of many ages. For older kids and "tweens" there are some original series such as Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire and So Weird.
Zoog Disney is what they call teen programming, though pre-teens seem to be the target audience too. Original movies are frequently featured. One we recently watched was called Double Teamed and was about twins who played high school basketball and ended up going pro in the WNBA.
Reruns of Boy Meets World are fun to watch in the late afternoon to early evening. Later at night they even show old Zorro and Mickey Mouse Club episodes.
Feature films from Disney and other family movies are aired. Some Disney Classics have been shown, the also go behind the scenes of various Disney films quite often. There really is something for everyone.
My final thoughts...
Disney is a name that I respect and expect quality from. The Disney Channel delivers superb programming, especially for toddlers and preschoolers. Adding The Wiggles only proves to me that viewer satisfaction matters.
If your child turns on the television at any time, they can safely watch The Disney Channel and you need not worry about them viewing sex and violence. Older children won't feel as though they are watching "Mickey Mouse" television with the cartoons, comedies, dramas and movies made just for them.
Adults can relive their childhood watching timeless classics or get a glimpse into the past when films of Disneyland on opening day. I enjoy watching Walt Disney himself narrate programs from "Vault Disney." It is even more fun to watch these clips with the kids to see their reactions.
"Mom, they sure dress funny!"
"Why is this in black and white?"
"Why isn't Britney Spears on Mickey Mouse Club?"
"Disney World wasn't always there?"
I prefer that my children watch The Disney Channel rather than Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network. There is just something safe and comforting about the Disney name.
From Playhouse Disney to Walt Disney Presents, there is something for everyone on The Disney Channel. It is more than Mickey Mouse, is not always Goofy and a is heck of a lot cheaper than a trip to The Magic Kingdom.
Okay, okay...The have The Wiggles and that's reason enough for me to tune in!
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jenb123
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