Wee Sing in Sillyville
Encyclopedia
Wee Sing in Sillyville is a video in the Wee Sing Video Series . It is the fourth release of the series. It was originally released on video in 1989. It had a re-release in 1995. It is now available on DVD, as of 2004. This is based on the cassette and CD "Wee Sing Silly Songs".
Barney bothers them. They decide to go outside and play, but Barney stays behind. In doing so, he notices that a colorful stick inside of the book's pages is spinning. Then, a rainbow
shoots from the paper, and Barney vanishes!
Hoping to find him, the kids go back inside. They cannot see him in the real world, but notice a dog that looks exactly like him in the coloring book. Realizing that, somehow, the dog is Barney, they are teleported into the book as well! They instantly find themselves in a world where balloons grow on trees and rocks smile. As they explore, they overhear strange whistling sounds and singing in the distance. The sounds are coming from the Spurdlegurgles, who wear yellow. After they sing their songs about being happy, they march away, leaving the children to meet a woman named Sillywhim. She, who gets her name from her free spirit (she acts on "silly whims"), explains that she used her magic to bring them into Sillyville. When asked why, she explains a problem.
It seems that, at some time in the recent pasts, the various groups that live throughout Sillyville decided to stop liking each other. Each group has its own unique color, and based their dislike on that fact. In a reflection of their discord and lack of beauty, Sillywhim's bright colorful clothing has faded into a depressing monochrome
. Now, she wants to have her old friends back, and implores the children to help. They, being nice, agree. To aid them in their quest, Sillywhim must turn them invisible, as their multi-hued clothing would offend other groups. She then leads them through the magical world of Sillyville, introducing them to the "colorful" characters who populate it.
First, the trio enters Sillyville Square, where they discover the harmonizing Twirlypops, all in blue. After helping them solve the dilemma of the line "begin again" in Michael Finnigan
, Sillywhim asks if they want to come to the pond. They disagree, saying that there is "too much green" down there-and sure enough, the next group is the green-wearing Jingleheimers, along with the Fruggy Frogs. After having fun with them, Sillywhim gets the same response that the Twirlypops gave her. Hoping to find some refuge at the house of the red Bittybooties, the gang travels there. They are a large family, and entertain Sillywhim with their songs as well, but they, too, are prejudiced against other colors.
Now depressed, Sillywhim does not know where to turn. The children try to think of a way to bring everyone together unknowingly. A party is suggested, but when Sillywhim tries the idea on the Spurdlegurgles, they balk. The children inspire her not to give up, and they decide to seek the aid of the purple
wearing Pasha, a wise woman who is not affected by the color divisions. They go there, and meet with her various strange friends: the Wump, the Twiddle Birds, and the Roly Polies. While the children (finally visible) enjoy the visit, Sillywhim ends up depressed again. Pasha tells her that she will have to bring the people of Sillyville together again to restore their friendship.
After wandering through all of Sillyville, they are at a loss. Finally, in the Town Square, Sillywhim believes she has a wonderful idea, but before she can say it, she takes a bad fall from the town's fountain and injures her ankle. She is unable to move, and the children, visible but willing to help their friend cry for help. All of the groups in Sillyville hear their cry, and rush to her aid. Pasha offers her diagnosis: the ankle is not broken, but must be wrapped. Not having any bandages, the people of Sillyville remove bows, handkerchiefs, ribbons, and scarfs from their own bodies and turn them into a makeshift cast. It alleviates Sillywhim's pain, but everyone also comments on how wonderful the colors look together. Then, slowly, they realize that they, too, make a wonderful rainbow by working and being together. In a flash of light, Sillywhim's colors are restored!
The group realizes that fighting over the colors that they wear is a "silly" thing to do, and the children point out that Sillyville could not even exist without unity. Singing songs of reconciliation and joy, the groups hug and reunite. As they make amends, the world glows, and the children are transported out of the coloring book. They wonder if the adventure even happened, but when Barney reappears carrying a rainbow-colored stick, they smile and know the truth. The credits roll over coloring book images of the people in Sillyville living happily ever after together.
The Yellow Spurdlegurgles: Consists of four people (two men, one woman, and one girl). They are unique in their cone shaped hats that shoot smoke when they are exceedingly happy, which is often. They are a little "crazier" than the rest of Sillyville, but they think that that is fine!
Songs: "We're Here Because We're Here" (a song to the tune of Auld Lang Syne
), "Boom-Boom, Ain't It Great to Be Crazy?", "One Bottle of Pop"
The Blue Twirlypops: Consists of three harmonizing men. They wear blue tuxedos with buttons and ties that spin, which is where they get their name. They are also sticklers for rules, which causes problems in their singing. They also get confused easily, which leads to plenty of laughs.
Songs: "Michael Finnigan
", "No, No, Yes, Yes" (to the tune of Reveille
), "The Austrian Yodeler"
The Green Jingleheimers: Two boys that love to play leap-frog. They live at Sillyville Pond, and wear lily pad
-like clothing. They are good friends with the Fruggy Frogs, and invite Sillywhim to play and sing with them for a while.
Songs: "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
", "The First Grasshopper" (to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.)
The Red Bittybooties: The largest group in Sillyville, consisting of a father, a mother, and their four children. They all wear big red boots. They speak in drawling New England Maine accents, and their hobbies beside singing include rocking on the front porch, relaxing. They use their baby as an excuse to not see the other colors.
Songs: "Risseldy Rosseldy", "Bitty Booty Baby" (from "John Brown's Baby", also to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic.)
Purple Pasha: Pasha is the oldest and wisest person in Sillyville. She wears the long robes of a gypsy, and lives in a cave with various strange creatures. She possesses some magic power (she can light things up by spinning). She also doctors Sillywhim's ankle, and inspires everyone to work together.
Songs: "A-Ram-Sam-Sam", "Let Us Sing Together"
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Sillywhim: The free-spirited woman who used her magic to bring Scott and Laurie to Sillyville. She possesses a sparkling bubble-blower-like object shaped like a musical note that shoots rainbows. These can make people invisible, transport objects, people from place to place, and push people backward (in the case of the Blue Twirlypops).
Songs: "No, No, Yes, Yes", "Holy-Rocka-Kea", "Little Green Frog", "Down By The Bay
", "One Bottle of Pop", "A-Ram-Sam-Sam", "Make New Friends", "Let Us Sing Together"
Scott and Laurie: Two friends who are called to Sillyville to restore it. Laurie tends to be the more reckless of the pair, and is very adventurous. Scott is slower on the uptake, but tends to be a little more sensitive. They remain best friends and manage to solve Sillyville's problems by the movie's end.
Songs: "Do Your Ears Hang Low?
", "Let Us Sing Together"
The Nut: An acorn with a face; he is accidentally stepped on by Scott.
Song: "I'm A Nut"
The Fruggy Frogs: A croaking chorus that lives at Sillyville Pond.
Songs: "Little Green Frog", "Frog Round", "Down by the Bay
"
Pasha's Friends: Strange little creatures that live in her cave
Songs: "A-Ram-Sam-Sam" (Twiddle Birds), "Roll Over, Roll Over" (The Roly-Polies), "Be Kind to Your Web-Footed Friends" (to the tune of "Stars and Stripes Forever") (The Wump)
The Tree: A talking tree with a face that grows in the center of Sillyville. It befriends Scott, and explains the nature of Sillywhim's name. It is also one of the only characters who does not sing at all.
Barney the Basset Hound: The sleepy-eyed dog that inspires all of the children's adventures. He is the first to be warped to Sillyville via Sillywhim's magic, and wanders about chasing a floating stick throughout the rest of the film.
Plot summary
The hour-long film's plot centers around a magical world inside of a coloring book. Two children named Scott and Laurie are happily coloring one day when their old basset houndBasset Hound
The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits and hare by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound....
Barney bothers them. They decide to go outside and play, but Barney stays behind. In doing so, he notices that a colorful stick inside of the book's pages is spinning. Then, a rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
shoots from the paper, and Barney vanishes!
Hoping to find him, the kids go back inside. They cannot see him in the real world, but notice a dog that looks exactly like him in the coloring book. Realizing that, somehow, the dog is Barney, they are teleported into the book as well! They instantly find themselves in a world where balloons grow on trees and rocks smile. As they explore, they overhear strange whistling sounds and singing in the distance. The sounds are coming from the Spurdlegurgles, who wear yellow. After they sing their songs about being happy, they march away, leaving the children to meet a woman named Sillywhim. She, who gets her name from her free spirit (she acts on "silly whims"), explains that she used her magic to bring them into Sillyville. When asked why, she explains a problem.
It seems that, at some time in the recent pasts, the various groups that live throughout Sillyville decided to stop liking each other. Each group has its own unique color, and based their dislike on that fact. In a reflection of their discord and lack of beauty, Sillywhim's bright colorful clothing has faded into a depressing monochrome
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
. Now, she wants to have her old friends back, and implores the children to help. They, being nice, agree. To aid them in their quest, Sillywhim must turn them invisible, as their multi-hued clothing would offend other groups. She then leads them through the magical world of Sillyville, introducing them to the "colorful" characters who populate it.
First, the trio enters Sillyville Square, where they discover the harmonizing Twirlypops, all in blue. After helping them solve the dilemma of the line "begin again" in Michael Finnigan
Michael Finnegan (song)
Michael Finnegan is an example of an unboundedly long song, which can continue with numerous variations until the singer decides to stop. Like most other unboundedly long songs, this song tends to be sung by schoolchildren. It is a popular song often sung around a campfire or during scouting events...
, Sillywhim asks if they want to come to the pond. They disagree, saying that there is "too much green" down there-and sure enough, the next group is the green-wearing Jingleheimers, along with the Fruggy Frogs. After having fun with them, Sillywhim gets the same response that the Twirlypops gave her. Hoping to find some refuge at the house of the red Bittybooties, the gang travels there. They are a large family, and entertain Sillywhim with their songs as well, but they, too, are prejudiced against other colors.
Now depressed, Sillywhim does not know where to turn. The children try to think of a way to bring everyone together unknowingly. A party is suggested, but when Sillywhim tries the idea on the Spurdlegurgles, they balk. The children inspire her not to give up, and they decide to seek the aid of the purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
wearing Pasha, a wise woman who is not affected by the color divisions. They go there, and meet with her various strange friends: the Wump, the Twiddle Birds, and the Roly Polies. While the children (finally visible) enjoy the visit, Sillywhim ends up depressed again. Pasha tells her that she will have to bring the people of Sillyville together again to restore their friendship.
After wandering through all of Sillyville, they are at a loss. Finally, in the Town Square, Sillywhim believes she has a wonderful idea, but before she can say it, she takes a bad fall from the town's fountain and injures her ankle. She is unable to move, and the children, visible but willing to help their friend cry for help. All of the groups in Sillyville hear their cry, and rush to her aid. Pasha offers her diagnosis: the ankle is not broken, but must be wrapped. Not having any bandages, the people of Sillyville remove bows, handkerchiefs, ribbons, and scarfs from their own bodies and turn them into a makeshift cast. It alleviates Sillywhim's pain, but everyone also comments on how wonderful the colors look together. Then, slowly, they realize that they, too, make a wonderful rainbow by working and being together. In a flash of light, Sillywhim's colors are restored!
The group realizes that fighting over the colors that they wear is a "silly" thing to do, and the children point out that Sillyville could not even exist without unity. Singing songs of reconciliation and joy, the groups hug and reunite. As they make amends, the world glows, and the children are transported out of the coloring book. They wonder if the adventure even happened, but when Barney reappears carrying a rainbow-colored stick, they smile and know the truth. The credits roll over coloring book images of the people in Sillyville living happily ever after together.
Groups and Songs
The people of Sillyville are divided into groups by color. Each group sings a few songs, with outside characters providing some as well. They are:The Yellow Spurdlegurgles: Consists of four people (two men, one woman, and one girl). They are unique in their cone shaped hats that shoot smoke when they are exceedingly happy, which is often. They are a little "crazier" than the rest of Sillyville, but they think that that is fine!
Songs: "We're Here Because We're Here" (a song to the tune of Auld Lang Syne
Auld Lang Syne
"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
), "Boom-Boom, Ain't It Great to Be Crazy?", "One Bottle of Pop"
The Blue Twirlypops: Consists of three harmonizing men. They wear blue tuxedos with buttons and ties that spin, which is where they get their name. They are also sticklers for rules, which causes problems in their singing. They also get confused easily, which leads to plenty of laughs.
Songs: "Michael Finnigan
Michael Finnegan (song)
Michael Finnegan is an example of an unboundedly long song, which can continue with numerous variations until the singer decides to stop. Like most other unboundedly long songs, this song tends to be sung by schoolchildren. It is a popular song often sung around a campfire or during scouting events...
", "No, No, Yes, Yes" (to the tune of Reveille
Reveille
"Reveille" is a bugle call, trumpet call or pipes call most often associated with the military or summer camp; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise...
), "The Austrian Yodeler"
The Green Jingleheimers: Two boys that love to play leap-frog. They live at Sillyville Pond, and wear lily pad
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The genus...
-like clothing. They are good friends with the Fruggy Frogs, and invite Sillywhim to play and sing with them for a while.
Songs: "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" is a traditional children's song of obscure origin. Its lyrics are close variations of:John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,His name is my name, too.Whenever we go out,The people always shout,...
", "The First Grasshopper" (to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.)
The Red Bittybooties: The largest group in Sillyville, consisting of a father, a mother, and their four children. They all wear big red boots. They speak in drawling New England Maine accents, and their hobbies beside singing include rocking on the front porch, relaxing. They use their baby as an excuse to not see the other colors.
Songs: "Risseldy Rosseldy", "Bitty Booty Baby" (from "John Brown's Baby", also to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic.)
Purple Pasha: Pasha is the oldest and wisest person in Sillyville. She wears the long robes of a gypsy, and lives in a cave with various strange creatures. She possesses some magic power (she can light things up by spinning). She also doctors Sillywhim's ankle, and inspires everyone to work together.
Songs: "A-Ram-Sam-Sam", "Let Us Sing Together"
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Sillywhim: The free-spirited woman who used her magic to bring Scott and Laurie to Sillyville. She possesses a sparkling bubble-blower-like object shaped like a musical note that shoots rainbows. These can make people invisible, transport objects, people from place to place, and push people backward (in the case of the Blue Twirlypops).
Songs: "No, No, Yes, Yes", "Holy-Rocka-Kea", "Little Green Frog", "Down By The Bay
Down by the Bay
"Down by the Bay" is a traditional children's song. A famous version was performed by Raffi and appears on his 1976 album Singable Songs for the Very Young...
", "One Bottle of Pop", "A-Ram-Sam-Sam", "Make New Friends", "Let Us Sing Together"
Scott and Laurie: Two friends who are called to Sillyville to restore it. Laurie tends to be the more reckless of the pair, and is very adventurous. Scott is slower on the uptake, but tends to be a little more sensitive. They remain best friends and manage to solve Sillyville's problems by the movie's end.
Songs: "Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Do Your Ears Hang Low?
"Do Your Ears Hang Low?" is a children's song that is often sung in schools and at camps. The melody of this song was partially taken from another: "Turkey in the Straw." Various theories exist concerning the origin of the lyrics, but no conclusive evidence seems to exist.Various versions with...
", "Let Us Sing Together"
The Nut: An acorn with a face; he is accidentally stepped on by Scott.
Song: "I'm A Nut"
The Fruggy Frogs: A croaking chorus that lives at Sillyville Pond.
Songs: "Little Green Frog", "Frog Round", "Down by the Bay
Down by the Bay
"Down by the Bay" is a traditional children's song. A famous version was performed by Raffi and appears on his 1976 album Singable Songs for the Very Young...
"
Pasha's Friends: Strange little creatures that live in her cave
Songs: "A-Ram-Sam-Sam" (Twiddle Birds), "Roll Over, Roll Over" (The Roly-Polies), "Be Kind to Your Web-Footed Friends" (to the tune of "Stars and Stripes Forever") (The Wump)
The Tree: A talking tree with a face that grows in the center of Sillyville. It befriends Scott, and explains the nature of Sillywhim's name. It is also one of the only characters who does not sing at all.
Barney the Basset Hound: The sleepy-eyed dog that inspires all of the children's adventures. He is the first to be warped to Sillyville via Sillywhim's magic, and wanders about chasing a floating stick throughout the rest of the film.