The Wiggles take beloved songs and nursery rhymes and put their own spin on them in Nursery Rhymes 2, directed by Anthony Field. Containing more than 20 songs, this short children’s film doesn’t have one unified story but is completely driven by music.
It features Wiggle Anthony (Field) as a bagpipe player, Wiggle Simon (Pryce) as the cow who jumps over the moon, Wiggle Lachy as a majestic king (Lachlan Gillespie), and Wiggle Emma as a doctor.
This second installation in the nursery rhymes series shows the Wiggles having a good time with costumes and musical instruments. In “B-I-N-G-O,” the cast claps along while Emma spells the song title in sign language. Simon plays a man who wears 47 wigs in the nursery rhyme “Gregory Griggs.” Captain Feathersword (Paul Paddick) makes a brief cameo in “Have You Seen the Muffin Man?”
Perhaps the most pleasing to the ear is the performance of “Hush Little Baby,” in which Lachy sweetly sings to a child alongside an accompanying guitar. In “Perry Merry,” the show has fun with split screens; Emma throws gifts to Lachy from one side of the screen to the other.
Several songs include hand motions or dances for kids to move along with, and the repetitive nature of the nursery rhymes makes this a good choice of film for younger children. A special feature on the DVD includes six nursery rhymes live in concert. A great addition to children’s shelves. Recommended. Aud: K, E, P.