The Taiwanese Wiggles (later known as The Wiggles Asia and then The Mandarin Wiggles) was a localization of The Wiggles for the Taiwan market, created by Walt Disney Taiwan in 2003 and discontinued in 2007.
History
The Wiggles signed a licensing agreement with Walt Disney International in 2001 and auditions commenced in June 2002.
To make sure that the mannerisms of Taiwan's Wiggles remained as close to the original group as possible, Carlos, Anni, Danny, Arthur and stand-in, Kurt were packed off to Sydney. There the group underwent six weeks of training at "Wiggles boot camp".[1]
Broadcasting
The Taiwanese Wiggles television series aired on Disney Channel Taiwan weekdays at 7:30 am and 11:00 am and on weekends at 6:00 am and 8:55 am.
Cast Members
- First lineup (2002 - 2005)
- Danny Shao - Purple Wiggle
- Arthur Chen - Blue Wiggle
- Anni Hsu - Red Wiggle
- Carlos Chang - Yellow Wiggle
- Second lineup (2005 - 2007)
- Arthur Chen - Yellow Wiggle
- Danny Shao - Purple Wiggle
- Vivi Lin - Red Wiggle
- Samuel Chung - Blue Wiggle
- Kaeng Chan - Captain Feathersword
- Cathy Mete/Clare Field - Dorothy the Dinosaur
- Kristy Talbot - Wags the Dog
- Katherine Patrick - Henry the Octopus
Guest stars
- Pu Hsueh-Liang - guest vocalist on 歡樂Party!
In addition to being Wiggles, Danny Shao and Anni Hsu also provided the voices for the Wiggly Friends; Henry the Octopus and Wags the Dog were voiced by Shao, and Hsu voiced Dorothy the Dinosaur.
Localized Names
The Wiggly Friends were given names in Mandarin for the first iteration of the Taiwanese group. In the second iteration, their names were reverted back to their original English versions.
| Original Name | Mandarin Name | Phoneticized |
|---|---|---|
| Wags the Dog | 狗狗Wags | Gǒu Gǒu Wags |
| Captain Feathersword | 飛毛船長 | Fēi máo chuánzhǎng |
| Dorothy the Dinosaur | 小恐龍Dorothy | Xiǎo kǒnglóng Dorothy |
| Henry the Octopus | 章魚Henry | Zhāngyú Henry |
Releases
Discography
- 大家來Wiggle! (2003)
- 歡樂Party! (2003)
Videography
- 大家來Wiggle! (2003)
- 歡樂Party! (2003)
- Arthur的烤蛋糕 (2004)
- Lights, Camera, Action! 好戲上場 (2006)
Other
- Wiggly Summertime! (2004/05)
Trivia
- The Taiwanese Wiggles was a supporting act for Disney on Ice.
- On April 7, 2007, The Taiwanese Wiggles performed a Spring festival concert at Taipei's Family Fun Theater in Taipei City, Taiwan. Tickets for the concert went on sale almost two months earlier, on February 16th.
- From 2006 to 2007, The Taiwanese Wiggles hosted their own radio show.
- There was an unidentified understudy (possibly Kurt Wiggle) who sometimes filled in for Danny in their live shows.
- Like the regular Australian Wiggles, The Taiwan Wiggles used sound effects from Warner Bros and Hanna Barbera, but unlike the regular Australian Wiggles, The Taiwan Wiggles used comical sound effects from Series 4000 (although The Australian Wiggles used the comical sound effects in Sprout's Wiggly Waffle and The Wiggles Movie, as well as many of their North American trailers by HIT Entertainment)
