Premise
The show focuses on Mona, a three-year-old girl 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.Characters
*Mona ( Jamie Shannon) is the main character of the series. She is an almost-three-year-old with lime green skin, lime green hair styled in pigtails, a spherical head, and large bean-shaped eyes. 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 has bright orange skin and a very tall forehead. She wears a multicolored dress and large, round 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 green corduroy pants held up with suspenders. 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, but when she does appear, she is often at odds with Russell. Like with Russell, Mona mispronounces her name, often calls her "Ally".Episodes
Season 1 (2003–04)
NOTE: All episodes in this season were written by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley and directed by Tim Williams.Season 2 (2004–06)
NOTE: All episodes in this season were written and directed by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley.Production
The show was filmed in a building "reputed to be an old munitions factory" in the television production district of Liberty Village inBroadcast and home media
''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. CBC premiered the full-length episodes beginning September 1, 2003 and aired the series until 2007. The show also aired in the U.S. on select PBS Kids stations from July 8, 2006 through 2013. 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''. The full-length seasons were neither released to DVD nor VHS. The episodes were uploaded to YouTube in 2007 (but have since been deleted). In 2023, an official YouTube channel for the show was created. Shorts and full-length episodes are uploaded weekly.Reception
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 ''Awards and nominations
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
* '' Mr. Meaty'', Hopley and Shannon's second television seriesReferences
External links