Nanalan’:Who’s that wonderful girl?
Something very strange has been happening on TikTok and it’s the resurgence of nineties Canadian children’s show Nanalan’. This show follows puppets Mona, Nanna and dog Russell on their daily adventures at Nana’s house. Despite the show ending in 2006, on TikTok it has reached an entirely new audience that aren’t the typical target demographic. A little part of me is even wondering how the hell I am writing a blog on my grown up website about a 3 year old green puppet that has become such a large part of pop culture, and my life.
Who’s that wonderful girl?
The iconic song from the show is of course, “Who’s that wonderful girl?” as we see Mona prance along in a pink princess dress, tiara and wand. This song is forever going to haunt my dreams especially when my boyfriend recites this line at least five times a day (not towards me, but Mona). In addition to this song, there are some other key phrases that are synonymous with the show including “No, thasss okay”, “Hey birdy, I’m gonna look after you” or my personal favourite, “Russer”. These now famous catchphrases have resulted in unofficial merch for the series including greeting cards, cups, and clothing.
It’s the memes
My first experience with Nanalan’ is from the copious amount of memes featuring popular moments on the show and these are typically comparing Mona’s childlike behaviour to relationship dynamics. And I will not lie, they are totally spot on, who knew I’d see so much of myself in a 3-year old? Memes are a completely new form of language and certainly something I want to discuss in greater detail but for Nanalan’, the virality started as memes and now the creators are having to re-create new episodes to meet the rising demand. Some people have taken this to a new extreme and are requesting Cameos from Mona and Nana… I’d have to call it quits there.
But, like why?
It’s very difficult to pinpoint why bizarre and outlandish things take off on TikTok and become viral hits. Some trends leave as quickly as they come but Nanalan’ seems to be in its own league but why do young adults love it? I can’t answer for an entire generation but I love it because for one, Mona is a cutie and two, the sounds they all make are hilarious. I think children’s TV now is so computerised and having a real life puppet deliver so much emotion is incredible for everyone to see. It’s also pure escapism, would I rather be watching hilarious memes from Nanalan’ or someone trying to sell me makeup? I know which one I choose. On the other hand, the time I spend watching Nanalan’ may be the perfect example of the conspiracy that China is using TikTok to dumb down the western world and if that’s via clips of Mona, we’re all screwed.