| Nanalan' | |
|---|---|
 Russell (left) and Mona (right) | |
| Created by | |
| Directed by | Michael Larsh |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Jack Lenz |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 72(shorts) 41(full-length) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jack Lenz Jamie Shannon |
| Producer | Tim Williams |
| Cinematography | John M. Tran |
| Running time | 3 minutes(shorts) 21 minutes(full-length) |
| Production company | The Grogs |
| Original release | |
| Network |
|
| Release | September 7, 1998 (1998-09-07) – November 1, 2004 (2004-11-01) |
Nanalan' is a Canadianchildren's television series created byJamie Shannon andJason Hopley. It began in 1998[1] as a series of three-minute shorts originally broadcast onYTV; it later ran for two seasons of full-length (21 minutes) episodes that were first broadcast byCBC. The series chronicles the small-scale adventures and discoveries of a three-year-old puppet girl named Mona in her grandmother Nana's backyard. The title is a contraction of the phrase "Nana Land," referring to the setting.
Hopley and Shannon produced the series through their puppetry troupeThe Grogs in association withLenz Entertainment. The show uses a blend of hand puppetry and the manipulation of cardboard cutouts, particularly in the opening theme. While the shorts do not follow a structure, the half-hour episodes follow a loose format that includes at least one song or reading an original story to the viewers.
The show received three nominations at the 2004Gemini Awards and was fairly well received by Canadian and U.S. press, with some critics calling attention to the show's surreal presentation and genuine approach to its concept. In 2004, select shorts were released across severalDVDs andVHS in the U.S. In the mid-2010s and early 2020s, the serieswent viral with a resurgence in popularity on websites such asTumblr andYouTube for its bizarre nature.[2][3][4]
Interest in the series was renewed in late 2023 after video clips of it went viral onTikTok.[5][6] The new success led to Hopley and Shannon reuniting for the first time since disbanding The Grogs in 2009, reprising Nana and Mona for interviews and online videos.[7]
The show focuses on Mona, a three-year-old girl[8] with a big imagination and a tendency to repeat short words or phrases while also mispronouncing them. Each episode begins with Mona's mother dropping her daughter off at Nana's house while heading for work and then picks Mona up after that. Mona, Nana, and Nana's pet dog, Russell, spend the day exploring, learning, and visiting Nana's next-door neighbour Mr. Wooka.[9]
NOTE: All episodes in this season were written by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley and directed by Tim Williams.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Lollipop" | November 3, 2003 (2003-11-03) |
| 2 | 2 | "Sunshine" | October 31, 2003 (2003-10-31) |
| 3 | 3 | "Big Girl" | September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05) |
| 4 | 4 | "Rainy Day" | November 10, 2003 (2003-11-10) |
| 5 | 5 | "Free" | September 1, 2003 (2003-09-01) |
| 6 | 6 | "Purple Juice" | September 3, 2003 (2003-09-03) |
| 7 | 7 | "Snow" | December 29, 2003 (2003-12-29) |
| 8 | 8 | "Chirp" | October 17, 2003 (2003-10-17) |
| 9 | 9 | "Play Day" | December 31, 2003 (2003-12-31) |
| 10 | 10 | "Bye Bye" | December 30, 2003 (2003-12-30) |
| 11 | 11 | "Chipmunk in the House" | October 7, 2003 (2003-10-07) |
| 12 | 12 | "Hummingbird" | November 7, 2003 (2003-11-07) |
| 13 | 13 | "Love" | December 28, 2003 (2003-12-28) |
| 14 | 14 | "Home" | September 4, 2003 (2003-09-04) |
| 15 | 15 | "Birdsong" | September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02) |
NOTE: All episodes in this season were written and directed by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1 | "Hooray For You" | August 30, 2004 (2004-08-30) |
| 17 | 2 | "Smelly Smell" | August 31, 2004 (2004-08-31) |
| 18 | 3 | "Brownies" | September 1, 2004 (2004-09-01) |
| 19 | 4 | "Hootenanny" | September 2, 2004 (2004-09-02) |
| 20 | 5 | "Under My Wing" | September 3, 2004 (2004-09-03) |
| 21 | 6 | "Sick As A Dog" | September 6, 2004 (2004-09-06) |
| 22 | 7 | "Nanalympics" | September 7, 2004 (2004-09-07) |
| 23 | 8 | "Spring" | September 8, 2004 (2004-09-08) |
| 24 | 9 | "Bee Sting" | September 9, 2004 (2004-09-09) |
| 25 | 10 | "Purple Monster" | September 10, 2004 (2004-09-10) |
| 26 | 11 | "Bubbles" | September 13, 2004 (2004-09-13) |
| 27 | 12 | "Helpful Girl" | September 14, 2004 (2004-09-14) |
| 28 | 13 | "Night, Night Nana" | September 15, 2004 (2004-09-15) |
| 29 | 14 | "Pumpkin" | October 29, 2004 (2004-10-29) |
| 30 | 15 | "1-2-3 Apple Tree" | October 30, 2004 (2004-10-30) |
| 31 | 16 | "Windy Day" | October 31, 2004 (2004-10-31) |
| 32 | 17 | "Russell Did It" | November 1, 2004 (2004-11-01) |
| 33 | 18 | "Treasure" | October 2, 2004 (2004-10-02) |
| 34 | 19 | "4-Part-Harmony" | October 6, 2004 (2004-10-06) |
| 35 | 20 | "Soft as Nana" | October 7, 2004 (2004-10-07) |
| 36 | 21 | "Mud Puddle" | October 9, 2004 (2004-10-09) |
| 37 | 22 | "Camp Wooka" | October 10, 2004 (2004-10-10) |
| 38 | 23 | "Toad Meets Budgie" | October 14, 2004 (2004-10-14) |
| 39 | 24 | "Mona-A-Go-Go" | October 15, 2004 (2004-10-15) |
| 40 | 25 | "New Friends" | October 17, 2004 (2004-10-17) |
| 41 | 26 | "Winter Wonderland" | October 20, 2004 (2004-10-20) |
The show was filmed in a building "reputed to be an old munitions factory" in the television production district ofLiberty Village inToronto, Ontario.[8] The shorts were produced in 1998 & 1999.
Nanalan' first aired as one of the short series broadcast during program breaks onYTV'sYTV Jr. block. In the United States, Nickelodeon'sNick Jr. block and its sister channelNoggin ran 21 of the 72Nanalan' shorts beginning in 1999. Repeats of the shorts continued to air on Nick Jr. until late 2003, when the first full-length season began airing. International distribution for the shorts was handled bySunbow Entertainment.[10]
CBC premiered the full-length episodes beginning September 1, 2003 and aired the series until 2007.[8] The show also aired in the U.S. on selectPBS Kids stations from July 8, 2006[11] through 2013.[12]
In 2004, Quality Special Products released a set of sixDVDs andVHSes including selections of the three-minute shorts. The discs and were mainly sold in the U.S. Rather than simplyNanalan', the home media billed the show asWelcome to Nanalan': As Seen on Nickelodeon.[13] The full-length seasons were neither released to DVD nor VHS.
The episodes were uploaded to YouTube in 2007 (but have since been deleted).[14] In 2023, an official YouTube channel for the show was created. Shorts and full-length episodes are uploaded weekly.[15]
During its short run, the series received mostly positive attention from media critics, some of which felt that the show's bizarre and unconventional nature made it more appealing and watchable by viewers of all ages. Although, the demographic for the show is geared toward children ages 3 to 11 years old. TheToronto Star said that "the series' surprising sweetness, simplicity and humour strike a universal chord with both young adults and kids."[16] Writers for theWindsor Star enjoyed its surreal approach to depicting early childhood, saying that "the creators have captured the essence of what it is to be three."[16] A review from the Canadian newspaperBroadcast Week said that "it made me laugh out loud, even though I'm out of the target audience by more than a couple of decades."[16]
In 2004, the series was nominated for the following threeGemini Awards: Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series; Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series; and Best Pre-School Program or Series.Nanalan' won Best Writing and Best Performance, and the award was shared by all of the puppeteers.
A particular scene from the show was uploaded to YouTube in August 2023, showing Nana singing "Who's That Wonderful Girl" while Mona is dressed in princess clothes. The clip amassed over 46,000 views and 1,400 likes in three months. This same clip was later reposted on TikTok, where it received more than 8 million plays, 1.5 million likes and inspired 615 other videos using the sound within a month.
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
.svg)
