‘Who is that wonderful girl? Could she be any cuter?’
“Nanalan’” hasn’t been on TV in years, but it’s the most popular show on TikTok.
A Canadian children’s show that first debuted in 1999 has seen a resurgence in recent weeks thanks to growing popularity on the social media platform, where it has been viewed millions of times.
Much of the show’s appeal lies in its devilishly catchy songs. One includes the lines: “Who is that wonderful girl? Could she be any cuter?
The girl in question is Mona, a small green doll with pigtails sticking out of either side of her head. No, she couldn’t be nicer.
The “who is that amazing girl?” earwig comes from a scene in which Mona enters a room dressed as a princess. Her grandmother, Nana, sings the song while accompanying herself on the organ. Nana’s dog, Russell, then appears in the attire of a royal courtier.
The clip started in mid-October after a TikTok user posted it with the caption “When the clothes you ordered arrive and you treat the family to a fashion show.” The video has been viewed more than 9.5 million times.
“Nanalan” joined TikTok, YouTube and other social media platforms this year. But it didn’t make much of a splash until the video of Mona in her princess outfit started circulating, said Jamie Shannon, who co-created the show with Jason Hopley. The pair began making “Nanalan'” short films in 1999, and the series eventually aired on CBC, Nickelodeon and PBS for Kids.
In addition to reposting old content, Mr. Shannon, 51, has started creating New videos with the ‘Nanalan’ social media dolls. He discussed the show’s new audience and asked why nostalgia is prevalent online. The conversation has been edited and condensed.
How did you get into the doll world?
I was traveling in Europe, I think it was 1990, and Jim Henson passed away. He was such a big part of my childhood. And I thought, “Well, that’s exactly what I want to do.” I was already something of a puppet maker and actor. So I kind of combined it all.
For many people online, this is their introduction to your show. What do they need to know?
It’s wild. Fifty-two percent of our audience on TikTok is American. “Nanalan’” is an abbreviation of Nana Land, which is what I called my grandmother’s backyard. It’s about a little girl in that backyard. Mother drops Mona off at her grandmother’s house every day and goes to work, just like many people do. We were so lucky that we could do it without scripts, improvised.
When does the show end?
In 1999 we made the original set of three-minute shorts. I think we did that again in 2000. We did a couple of half-hour episodes in 2003, and that was it.
Until social media discovered ‘Nanalan’.
Also in 2016 we had a huge viral outbreak. Someone did something hilarious. In one of the three-minute episodes, Mona describes the garden to Russell: “There’s a cooshie and a peepo.” Someone put the words on the screen, just the crazy words, and then Tumblr went crazy. It became one of those things where people said, “Try not to laugh.”
Sorry, a beep?
A pea pod. I try to imitate a child who imitates what a parent has said to him, but he doesn’t quite remember the word.
Why do you think TikTok has embraced Mona?
The world is so hard and scary right now, and the show is very comforting. Everything looks soft. There are no special effects. It’s a precursor to what I think people want to see, and that’s just something that’s real and authentic in the fake-fake-fake world. Everything is AI and people don’t know what is real.
Mona recently joined Cameo, a platform that allows celebrities to send video messages to fans for a fee. How is that?
I tried to join Cameo so long ago, and I guess they didn’t accept dolls. It’s great, I love it. It’s four or five videos a day. Also touching things. People say, “Grandma has passed away, can you…?” That’s why I do a lot of pep talks.