The Wiggles characters are a group of characters who perform with the Wiggles, the Australian children's music group. Aside from the eight Wiggles, four secondary characters, along with a troupe of singers, actors, and dancers, appear in their television series, videos, and live concerts. These characters were developed in the 1990s and were originally played by group members and by Anthony Field's brother Paul Field, the band's manager. Later in the group's history, the characters were played by hired actors dressed in the characters' costumes.
Dorothy the Dinosaur
Dorothy the Dinosaur is a "rososaurus", a "yellow-spotted green herbivorous dinosaur (ornithischian) with surprisingly scary teeth". She lives in a pink and purple house with her own Rosy Orchestra and a rose garden in her backyard. She loves to eat roses and dance the ballet. She enjoys serving guests rose-derived treats such as "rosy-posy tea". She also has a distinctive, trill-like, descending laugh. She is the very first character to be introduced in the very beginning of the Wiggles in 1991.
Murray Cook created Dorothy from his experiences in working at a preschool, sensing a need to make up some good dinosaur songs. The Cockroaches song "Another Saturday Night" was reworked as her theme. Cook's wife Meg designed the first Dorothy costume. Dorothy was part of the band's early stage shows, and was originally played by Cook, then Wiggles choreographer Leeanne Ashley, and Wiggles dancers such as Caterina Mete and Lyn Stuckey. She is currently played by Caterina Mete, Chelsey Priadko, and Stephanie Di Coio.
Ashley was Dorothy's first full-time portrayer; according to Field, she "wrote the blueprint" for the character. Ashley developed movements that conveyed Dorothy's unique personality. She now works at a NSW dance studio called Squire Dance Academy.
South Australian opera singer and dancer, Carolyn Ferrie, has provided Dorothy's voice from 1997 to 2001, and again from 2004 to 2009. Ferrie described Dorothy as "a dinosaur superstar … very open, friendly, and warm. She is like a mother figure even though she is only meant to be five, and kids really respond to her … She is calm and mothering but friendly as well. She's young and still playful but has got a motherly feeling to her". Ferrie insisted that Dorothy "is number one after the boys including Captain Feathersword, in terms of who kids say they love". She is currently voiced by Maria Field (the youngest daughter of Anthony Field) and Caterina Mete. Paul Paddick, who plays Captain Feathersword, has also been providing Dorothy’s voice in live shows since 2018.
In 1996, shortly before moving into American markets, the Wiggles discovered that someone in Maine had registered Dorothy as a trademark, so they reached an agreement and paid a settlement. In 2007, Dorothy began to star in her own television show in Australia. The show had a distinct look and sound. Whereas the Wiggles' TV shows were "hyper-real and cartoonish" and had a pop sound, Dorothy's show was "really rich and beautiful looking" and based its sound on orchestral music.
Dorothy was the focus of her own touring production, which performed in smaller cities the Wiggles could not perform. The production, based upon the TV show, was written by Field, and Moran was the host of this show before he joined the band as the yellow Wiggle. Lyn Stuckey, who later married Moran, played Dorothy. This sub-brand was phased out in 2013 with the introduction of the new generation of Wiggles. Female Wiggle, Emma Watkins, filled this gap with her own sub-brand.
Dorothy the Dinosaur TV series videos
Dorothy the Dinosaur's Party (2007) Dorothy the Dinosaur – Memory Book (2008) (known in US as The Wiggles Present Dorothy the Dinosaur) Dorothy the Dinosaur Meets Santa Claus (2009) (Cartoon) Dorothy the Dinosaur – Rockin' Christmas (2010) Dorothy the Dinosaur – TV Series 1 (2010) Dorothy the Dinosaur's Travelling Show (2011) Dorothy The Dinosaur's Wonderful World (2012) Dorothy The Dinosaur's Beach Party (2012)