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Nanalan'

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Nanalan'
Russell (left) and Mona (right)
Created by
Directed byMichael Larsh
Starring
  • Jamie Shannon
  • Jason Hopley
  • Ali Eisner
  • Marty Stelnick
ComposerJack Lenz
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes72 (shorts)
41 (full-length)
Production
Executive producersJack Lenz
Jamie Shannon
ProducerTim Williams
CinematographyJohn M. Tran
Running time3 minutes (shorts)
21 minutes (full-length)
Production companyThe Grogs
Original release
Network
ReleaseSeptember 7, 1998 (1998-09-07) –
January 6, 2006 (2006-01-06)

Nanalan' is a Canadian children's television series created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. It began in 1998[1] as a series of three-minute shorts and later ran for two seasons of full-length episodes spanning 21 minutes each. It 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, who continued to work with Nickelodeon afterwards on their creation Mr. Meaty, produced the series through their puppetry troupe The Grogs in association with Lenz 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 2004 Gemini 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 several DVDs and VHS in the U.S. In the mid-2010s and early 2020s, the series went viral with a resurgence in popularity on websites such as Tumblr and YouTube for its bizarre nature.[2][3][4][5]

Interest in the series was renewed in late 2023 after video clips of it went viral on TikTok.[6][7] 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.[8]

Premise

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The show focuses on Mona, a three-year-old girl[9] 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 and ends with her picking Mona up. Mona, Nana, and Nana's pet dog Russell spend the day exploring, learning, and visiting Nana's next-door neighbour Mr. Wooka.[10]

Characters

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  • Mona (Jamie Shannon) is the main character of the series. She is an almost-three-year-old with green skin, a spherical head, wide bean-shaped eyes, and lime green hair styled in pigtails. In the original shorts, she cannot speak in full sentences and can only say a few words. She has a tendency to mispronounce words; for example, she says pea pod as "peepo" and mushroom as "shoosh."
  • Nana (Jason Hopley) is Mona's grandmother, who Mona stays with every weekday while her mother goes to work. Nana resembles a carrot (a vegetable), with bright orange skin and a very tall forehead. She wears a gaudy multicolored dress and big circular glasses. In the original shorts, her hair is auburn; in the full-length episodes, her hair is white.
  • Russell (Ali Eisner) is Nana's pet Jack Russell Terrier whom Mona plays with while visiting Nana's house. Russell does not talk, but often attempts to communicate by barking and gesturing. Mona often pronounces his name incorrectly, calling him "Russer."
  • Mr. Wooka (Todd Doldersum) is Nana's next-door neighbour who is a main character in the full-length episodes. He is an elderly man with yellow skin and a white mustache who wears blue overalls. Whenever Mona visits his yard, he puts on his own puppet shows to entertain her.
  • Mrs. Bea (Marty Stelnick) is Mona's mother and Nana's daughter. She has a similar appearance to Mona, but is taller and has brown hair in a bob. She is married to Mona’s unnamed father. She works during the day and leaves Mona in Nana's care while she works.
  • Alice is Nana's pet cat. She appears infrequently and is often at odds with Russell. Like with Russell, Mona mispronounces her name, often calls her "Ally".

Episodes

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Season 1 (2003–04)

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Lollipop"Tim WilliamsJamie Shannon and Jason HopleyTBA
2"Sunshine"Tim WilliamsJamie Shannon and Jason HopleyTBA
3"Big Girl"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley and Jamie ShannonTBA
4"Rainy Day"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley and Jamie ShannonTBA
5"Free"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley and Jamie ShannonTBA
6"Purple Juice"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley and Jamie ShannonTBA
7"Snow"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley and Jamie ShannonTBA
8"Chirp"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley and Jamie ShannonTBA
9"Play Day"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
10"Bye Bye"Tim WilliamsJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
11"Chipmunk in the House"Tim WilliamsJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
12"Hummingbird"Tim WilliamsJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
13"Love"Tim WilliamsJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
14"Home"Tim WilliamsJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
15"Bird Song"Tim WilliamsJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA

Season 2 (2004–06)

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
16"Hooray For You"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
17"Smelly Smell"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
18"Brownies"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
19"Hootenanny"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
20"Under My Wing"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
21"Sick As A Dog"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
22"Nanalympics"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
23"Spring"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
24"Bee Sting"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
25"Purple Monster"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
26"Bubbles"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
27"Helpful Girl"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
28"Pumpkin"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
29"1-2-3 Apple Tree"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
30"Windy Day"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
31"Russell Did It"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
32"Night, Night Nana"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
33"Treasure"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA
34"4 Part Harmony"Jason Hopley & Jamie ShannonJason Hopley & Jamie ShannonTBA
35"Soft as Nana"Jamie Shannon & Jason HopleyJamie Shannon & Jason HopleyTBA

Production

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The show was filmed in a building "reputed to be an old munitions factory" in the television production district of Liberty Village in Toronto, Ontario.[9] The shorts were produced in 1998 & 1999.

Jason Hopley and Jamie Shannon continued to build a relationship with Nickelodeon during and after Nanalan', appearing on the fellow Nick Jr. series Whoopi's Littleburg (with Goldberg) in 2004 and creating a teen-oriented sitcom for the network titled Mr. Meaty in 2005.

Broadcast and home media

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Nanalan' first aired as one of the short series broadcast during program breaks on YTV's YTV Jr. block. In the United States, Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block and its sister channel Noggin ran 21 of the 72 Nanalan' 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 by Sunbow Entertainment.[11]

CBC premiered the full-length episodes beginning September 1, 2003 and aired the series until 2007.[9] The show also aired in the U.S. on select PBS Kids stations from July 8, 2006[12] through 2013.[13]

In 2004, Quality Special Products released a set of six DVDs and VHSes including selections of the three-minute shorts. The discs and were mainly sold in the U.S. Rather than simply Nanalan', the home media billed the show as Welcome to Nanalan': As Seen on Nickelodeon.[14] The full-length seasons were neither released to DVD nor VHS.

The episodes were uploaded to YouTube in 2007 (but have since been deleted).[15] In 2023, an official YouTube channel for the show was created. Shorts and full-length episodes are uploaded weekly.[16]

Reception

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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. The Toronto Star said that "the series' surprising sweetness, simplicity and humour strike a universal chord with both young adults and kids."[17] Writers for the Windsor Star enjoyed its surreal approach to depicting early childhood, saying that "the creators have captured the essence of what it is to be three."[17] A review from the Canadian newspaper Broadcast 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."[17]

Awards and nominations

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In 2004, the series was nominated for the following three Gemini 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.

See also

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  • Mr. Meaty, Hopley and Shannon's second television series

References

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  1. ^ "YTV moves into a new zone". The Toronto Star. September 5, 1998. p. 262 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Chen, Tanya (May 10, 2016). "Teens On Tumblr Are Obsessed With This Fucked Up Canadian Kids Show". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  3. ^ Bobkin, Matt (2016-05-12). "Canadian kids' show Nanalan' goes viral, validates weirdness of Canadian millennials". National Post. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  4. ^ Van Wort, Amber (2020-04-17). "Nanalan Quarantine Videos Are Being Shared Online And It's Canadian Nostalgia Overload". Narcity. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  5. ^ May, Brigitte (August 21, 2018). "Nanalan': Canadian television treasure or collective children's fever dream - The Beaverton". www.thebeaverton.com. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  6. ^ Kircher, Madison Malone (November 21, 2023). "Who's That Wonderful Girl? How "Nanalan'" Found New Success on TikTok". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Cooper, Angelica (November 17, 2023). "Who's that wonderful girl? How Nanalan' is taking over TikTok, 20 years later". CBC Kids News.
  8. ^ Rashotte, Vivian (5 December 2023). "How Nanalan's viral TikTok success reunited the show's creators after 15 years". CBC. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Kohler, Nicholas (January 8, 2004). "Puppeteers pull their own strings". The Globe and Mail. The Woodbridge Company. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  10. ^ "IC Punch Media Inc. Announces Acquisition of Two New Children's Shows - "Nanalan" and "Jurassic Cubs" For VU Television Network Launch". ca.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  11. ^ US Copyright Office Document No. V3482D352 / 2001-11-23
  12. ^ "PBS Pressroom - NANALAN'". 6 November 2007. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  13. ^ "nineMagazine - July/August 2013 by Nine PBS - Issuu". issuu.com. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Welcome to Nanalan - Seasons DVD Canada online at SHOP.CA - 779836131591". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  15. ^ "Nanalan' Guys Surprised Own Nana with a Song". Neatorama. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  16. ^ "nanalan' official - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  17. ^ a b c "Nanalan' Info". The Grogs. Objektory. Archived from the original on June 21, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
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