Unused/Unreleased Material

This article contains all known information and images about unused, unreleased, and sometimes unfinished versions of Wiggles videos, TV episodes, and music videos that have never been released officially on DVD, VHS, or any digital medium.

Many of these have partially surfaced online in recent years thanks to fans who recorded them off of TV, while others have become known thanks to them being mentioned in or previewed in official Wiggles media, such as trailers of upcoming videos, or individual clips being used in a different video or episode.

Videos released on VHS but not on DVD will not be discussed, nor will concerts used exclusively in TV series, or any TV specials. The focus of this article is Wiggles-related media that cannot be seen in full.

Original 1996 version of Wake Up Jeff!
In 1996, ABC was pushing The Wiggles to look younger and more hip to appeal to kids, by changing their skivvies and pants with t-shirts and shorts, plus the addition of Wiggle-colored sneakers, and at one point also ball caps (which were ditched before filming began).

Only 4 songs are known to have ever been filmed, based on the trailer seen on some 1996 copies of Big Red Car; Everybody is Clever, Bing Bang Bong (That's a Pirate Song), Wake Up Jeff!, and Dorothy (Would You Like to Dance?). The latter two have surfaced online, as they appeared on ABC TV during the show/block “Mixy” likely some time before any version of the video was completed. It is currently unknown if the other two music videos were ever shown (as well as any other possible videos not featured in the trailer).

The video was of course completely restarted, with The Wiggles retaining their classic look, and Henry’s costume receiving an update. Re-shooting the video most likely began shortly after the filming of “Bing Bang Bong”, due to it using the same set as in the final version, while the other three were very heavily changed, possibly due to the backgrounds being demolished or repurposed.

1996 version of Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas
Like Yule Be Wiggling, the video for Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas began filming a year before it would be released, with production starting around the album’s release. However, in 1997 The Wiggles updated their skivvies and belts with their current logo. Since the video would be released only a couple months before The Wiggles Movie, which used this updated look, they reshot Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas to match.

It’s unknown how much of the video was done before the reshoots, with only Go Santa Go known to have been used as an album promotion in late 1996. An image taken on set of It's a Christmas Party on the Goodship Feathersword also exists. All the blue screen footage with Santa and his reindeer and elves was shot and edited in 1996, due to it being appearing in the Go Santa Go promo exactly as it was in 1997 (in fact, even with a couple unused shots), and with behind the scenes photos showing Anthony on set in his pre-logo skivvy. Since the blue screen work was (most likely) all done for the video this early on, it’s possible the CGI intro was too, which could explain the purple “i” in The Wiggles logo (this would have been the first produced use of the new logo, and the design may not have been finalized because of it).

Romp Bomp a Stomp (1997/1998 music video) and The Balloon Chase
Arguably the most infamous of all unreleased Wiggles media, both of these videos are seen in the intro to the first TV series, but are never seen in the series itself.

Romp Bomp a Stomp was rumored to have appeared in the original Australian airing of the episode Haircut in place of Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car (due to it being the only song from Toot Toot! to appear in the series), but the original airing of that episode has surfaced online and it's not there. It was also thought to have appeared as a Let's Wiggle segment, but the version of Romp Bomp a Stomp used there was the 1996 version. Currently, it's unknown if a full version of the music video exists anywhere, if it ever even did. Some people claim it used to be on YouTube (around 2012), but this number of people is very few when compared to how many people still active in The Wiggles' online community were on YouTube when the music video supposedly was.

The Balloon Chase has much fewer rumors surrounding it, as very few, if any people claim it was ever put anywhere online, nor are there any claims of original episodes it was in.

It's worth noting that these are the only music video and Chase scene to appear in the intro. It's possible neither of these videos were ever fully completed, and to make the footage useful they put brief clips in the intro.

Widescreen versions of Wiggle Bay, Whoo Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins, and Top of the Tots
While these 3 videos were The Wiggles’ first use of widescreen cameras, standard “full screen” TVs were still more popular at the time, resulting in them being cropped (or in the case of Top of the Tots, re-edited altogether) to fit.

Every song from each video has appeared in widescreen in episodes of Series 3 and 4, though some use alternate shots compared to the original videos, and none of the other footage between songs appeared in these series. In addition, all songs from Top of the Tots used in Series 4 have song titles not seen in the original video, and all episodes of Series 3 containing the song Anthony's Workshop have credits laid over it (though they don’t cover any of the extra footage on the sides)

Wiggle Bay was shown on ABC TV in partial widescreen; rather than it being in 4:3 (full screen), or 16:9 (widescreen), its aspect ratio is somewhere in between. The trailer for it seen on the Wiggly Safari VHS shows complete widescreen footage, though the DVD version is cropped. Whoo Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins! Was also shown on ABC TV, though it’s unknown what version since this airing has never surfaced online. The trailer, seen on the Space Dancing! DVD and VHS, shows footage in the same aspect ratio as the TV airing of Wiggle Bay. On a related note, Wiggle Bay’s trailer seen on the Wiggly Safari VHS also shows the original widescreen footage, albeit squished to fit full screen (the version on the DVD is cropped instead).

As previously mentioned, Top of the Tots doesn’t seemed to just be cropped like the other two. Transitions showing footage zooming into the screen is different between the version seen on the DVD and the version used in TV episodes, and in some songs (not all) with footage shot in full screen, they appear stretched in the TV episodes, while they are not on the DVD.

The TV episodes seem to be the only places the original widescreen footage still exists. In Hot Potatoes! and Everybody Clap! Everybody Sing!, whenever footage of these videos is used, it’s the full screen versions used on their original DVDs. In contrast, Santa's Rockin'!, which was also cropped to full screen for its original DVD release, has its original widescreen footage used in both.

Gallery

 * For galleries containing pictures of each song, see each video’s individual page.

Greg versions of Getting Strong! and Wiggle and Learn TV series
The basic synopsis of these is pretty self-explanatory, mostly due to the lack of information currently known about either, but before Greg retired in 2006, The Wiggles had filmed parts of both Getting Strong and the Wiggle and Learn TV series.

Only two videos, and two other promotional images have been released from either of these (only 1 of which relates specifically to the series); Getting Strong and Smell Your Way Through The Day were released as bonuses on the iTunes version of Hit Songs and Rarities, with the digital booklet also containing a picture of A Frog Went A Walking, and last year The Wiggles’ Facebook teased a documentary for the 25th Anniversary to focus on these unfinished projects started with Greg, but finished with Sam. However, this documentary seems to have been cancelled. In addition, a shortened version of We're All Friends released in the audio CD of a book of the same name most likely came from this period of filming, and if so it would have likely been used in one or both of these.

They both used sets and backdrops, unlike the final versions with Sam where green screen/blue screen is used. The audio is unfinished, with vocals being performed by Greg on set to basic, unfinished backing tracks. The Hit Songs and Rarities CD contains a proper version of Getting Strong performed by Greg, but it was recorded in 2012, simulating what it would have been like had the project continued with him in 2006/2007.

11-minute versions of TV Series 1-6
Originally, Series 3-6 were all made in 2 forms. 52 11-minute versions were made for airing on ABC in Australia, and 26 22-minute versions for international airing. Additionally, around 2006, episodes from Series 1 and 2 were re-edited, splitting each episode into 2 11-minute ones, with Series 2 episodes using many of the transitions from Series 4 and 5 to hide these cuts.

Sprout is the only other network known to run these 11-minute versions when they had the rights to air The Wiggles in the USA, so they could air 2 episodes a day an hour apart, with other 11-minute shows in between. In fact, many fans were unaware the versions Sprout was airing were made for Australian TV beforehand, and thought Sprout customized these episodes themselves.

A little less than half of the 11-minute versions of Series 3 episodes were included as bonus features on various DVDs from 2004-2006. The first 18 episodes of Series 6 were released on the Wiggle and Learn: The Pick of TV Series 6 DVD. Beyond that, every other home video release has been of the 22-minute versions.

The main point of interest in these 11-minute versions, at least in terms of Series 3 and 6, is that they contain material not used in the 22-minute versions (though the same can be said with every series the other way around). Of the Series 3 episodes we have, 2 Music with Murray segments are used that are not in the full 22-minute versions, among other in between skits, and of the Series 6 episodes we have, one episode contains Pussycat, Pussycat, a song never used in the 22-minute versions, and it’s theorized the remaining episodes we don’t have may contain other unused segments that are known of through the two blooper reels of that series (seen in The Wiggles' Big Birthday! and the bonus features of Sing a Song of Wiggles)