Nanalan'
Encyclopedia
Nanalan' is a Canadian
television
show broadcast by the CBC
in Canada
and by PBS in the US, created by the puppet troupe, The Grogs
. Its target audience is preschool children and, according to the CBC, Nanalan is "designed to foster children's curiosity and love of learning, with the hope they will carry it with them as they grow." Excerpts from the show also air on Fox Kids UK.
The show's main protagonist is a 3-year-old girl named Monica "Mona" (voiced by Jamie Shannon
). In each episode, Mrs. Bea Lan, Mona's grandmother(voiced by Marty Stelnick), Mona's mother, drops her off nana's (voiced by Jason Hopley) house in the morning and picks her up at the end of the episode. Mona, Nana, and Russell the Dog (Mona's sidekick and partner and Nana's puppy dog, voiced by Jason Hopley) spend the day exploring, learning, visiting Harold "Hank" Wooka (Nana's next-door neighbor, voiced by Todd Doldersum
), and playing.
Nanalan began airing in 1999. In 2004, it was nominated for the following three Gemini Award
s: 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, an award shared by Jamie Shannon
, Jason Hopley, Marty Stelnick, Todd Doldersum
, and Ali Eisner
.
Several compilation DVD
s of the show and a CD of musical highlights are also available.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show broadcast by the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and by PBS in the US, created by the puppet troupe, The Grogs
The Grogs
The Grogs were a Canadian puppet company troupe best known for their work in the CBC Television children's television show Nanalan.The Grogs or Grogs Inc. were founded by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley in 1992 in Toronto, Ontario...
. Its target audience is preschool children and, according to the CBC, Nanalan is "designed to foster children's curiosity and love of learning, with the hope they will carry it with them as they grow." Excerpts from the show also air on Fox Kids UK.
The show's main protagonist is a 3-year-old girl named Monica "Mona" (voiced by Jamie Shannon
Jamie Shannon
Jamie Shannon is a Canadian actor, director, writer, producer, and voice artist, best known for his work in the Canadian television series, Nanalan.-Career:...
). In each episode, Mrs. Bea Lan, Mona's grandmother(voiced by Marty Stelnick), Mona's mother, drops her off nana's (voiced by Jason Hopley) house in the morning and picks her up at the end of the episode. Mona, Nana, and Russell the Dog (Mona's sidekick and partner and Nana's puppy dog, voiced by Jason Hopley) spend the day exploring, learning, visiting Harold "Hank" Wooka (Nana's next-door neighbor, voiced by Todd Doldersum
Todd Doldersum
Todd Doldersum is an Canadian voice actor, puppeteer, and comedian. He is best known for voicing Hank Wooka in Nanalan. He's also known for voicing Doug and many other characters in Mr. Meaty. Doldersum also worked in the puppet-based series Big & Small....
), and playing.
Nanalan began airing in 1999. In 2004, it was nominated for the following three Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
s: 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, an award shared by Jamie Shannon
Jamie Shannon
Jamie Shannon is a Canadian actor, director, writer, producer, and voice artist, best known for his work in the Canadian television series, Nanalan.-Career:...
, Jason Hopley, Marty Stelnick, Todd Doldersum
Todd Doldersum
Todd Doldersum is an Canadian voice actor, puppeteer, and comedian. He is best known for voicing Hank Wooka in Nanalan. He's also known for voicing Doug and many other characters in Mr. Meaty. Doldersum also worked in the puppet-based series Big & Small....
, and Ali Eisner
Ali Eisner
Ali Eisner is a puppeteer, writer, musician and composer on/for Children's Television. She can currently be seen on Kids' CBC as "Mamma Yamma" , on TVO Kids as "Jay" the Blue Jay, and as "Banjo" on PBS's The Let's Go Show.-External links:...
.
Several compilation DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s of the show and a CD of musical highlights are also available.
Cast
- Jamie ShannonJamie ShannonJamie Shannon is a Canadian actor, director, writer, producer, and voice artist, best known for his work in the Canadian television series, Nanalan.-Career:...
as Monica "Mona" Bea - Jason Hopley as Nana Bea / Russell Bea the Dog / Random Cat
- Marty Stelnick as Mrs. Bea
- Todd DoldersumTodd DoldersumTodd Doldersum is an Canadian voice actor, puppeteer, and comedian. He is best known for voicing Hank Wooka in Nanalan. He's also known for voicing Doug and many other characters in Mr. Meaty. Doldersum also worked in the puppet-based series Big & Small....
as Harold "Hank" Wooka - Ali EisnerAli EisnerAli Eisner is a puppeteer, writer, musician and composer on/for Children's Television. She can currently be seen on Kids' CBC as "Mamma Yamma" , on TVO Kids as "Jay" the Blue Jay, and as "Banjo" on PBS's The Let's Go Show.-External links:...
as Russell Bea the Dog (performer)
Paper Construction
- Jason LeeJason Lee (actor)Jason Michael Lee is an American actor and skateboarder known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles, his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and his work with director Kevin...
- Tara Murphy
- Todd DoldersumTodd DoldersumTodd Doldersum is an Canadian voice actor, puppeteer, and comedian. He is best known for voicing Hank Wooka in Nanalan. He's also known for voicing Doug and many other characters in Mr. Meaty. Doldersum also worked in the puppet-based series Big & Small....
- Brad White
- Steven Dawley
- Geoff HillGeoff HillGeoff Hill is a journalist and author based in Johannesburg, South Africa.-Biography:Geoffrey Rex Alexander Middleton Hill spent his childhood in Malawi, Rhodesia, and South Africa....
- Caitlin O' Reilly
- Brad Archdekins
- Millennia Lytle
Episodes
- 101 Puppet - Mona's mother is going to the beauty parlor today. But she is leaving her daughter, Mona, under a care of her nanny (Nana) and her dog, Russell. There, Mona learns about living in a new house for the very first time. Nana also introduces Mona to her neighbor, Mr. Wooka, who likes puppets.
- 102 Sneeze - Mona is allergic to dust. Nana teaches Mona the importance of washing hands even when she sneezes.
- 103 Free - Mona and Russell captures a frog and learns about letting animals free and herself as well.
- 104 Bird Song
- 105 Purple Juice - Mona accidentally wet her stuffed duck, Fleefer, with her purple juice. Luckily for her, she learns about sharing when Russell cleans Fleefer up with water. While they wait, they ate lunch and read a story called, "Oranges to Share".
- 106 Home - After watching a puppet show with Mr. Wooka, Mona, Nana, and Russell ran to their house on a rainy day to learn about home living.
- 107 Big Girl
- 108 Chipmunk In The House
- 109 Chirp
- 120 Sunshine
- 121 Lollipop - Russell ruined Mona's lollipop for the sixteenth time. That's when Nana teaches Mona about playing fair.
- 122 Hummingbird
- 123 Rainy Day - It's raining in Nanalan' and poor Mona wants to go outside and have fun. Nana teaches Mona that she can have fun inside.
- 124 Love - Mona learns the importance of love no matter how much she loves mommy, Nana, Russell, and even Mr. Wooka.
- 125 Snow - It's a snowy day here in Nanalan'. Here, Mona goes sledding, makes a snowman, drinks hot cocoa, has a snowball fight, and makes snow angels. it's a winter wonderland!
- 126 Bye Bye - Mona accidentally lets go of her balloon until she realizes that it's okay to give up what she wants and to say "Good-bye".
- 127 Play Day - Today is Play Day! A day devoted to playtime! On that day, Mona plays as a bee, Nana, and a princess.
- 128 Hooray For You - Nana teaches Mona how she is the most important girl in the whole wide world!
- 129 Smelly Smells - Russell likes to smell things from his trash can until a skunk arrives to spray him! He learns the important thing about his sense... of smell!
- 130 Brownies - Mona ate one brownie too many! Luckily for her, Nana teaches Mona the importance of eating healthy foods.
- 131 Hootenanny - Mr. Wooka decided to invite Mona, Nana, and Russell over to his house to make a band.
- 132 Under My Wing - Mona and Russell decided to care for Nana even when they learn all about caring.
- 133 Sick As A Dog - Mona is not feeling well. Luckily, Nana lets Mona rest in her bed and brings the outside, inside!
- 134 Nanalympics - Watching too much television can be fun, but when you are exercising with Nana, Mona, and Russell, you'll know that it's more fun!
- 135 Spring - Today is Spring! And it can only mean one thing... spring cleaning! Also, Mona finds a butterfly.
- 136 Bee Sting - Scaring bees can be fun when you are a dog like Russell. But when a bee stings him, he learns about "bee"ing careful when he scares bees... like Mona as a bee.
- 137 Purple Monster - Mona likes to scare people sometimes, even if she is a purple monster!
- 138 Bubbles - Mona likes to blow bubbles... from a cup of milk! But after Russell spills milk on Mona, she learns the importance of feelings.
- 139 Helpful Girl - Mona wants to help Nana with everything and she even helps Mr. Wooka with his show.
- 140 Pumpkin - Russell's afraid of Halloween. In order to cheer him up, he listens to a story of how a boy named Bobby Bilings overcame his fears of Halloween.
- 141 Russell Did It - After breaking Nana's cat statue, Mona admits that Russell "did it" but learns about telling the truth.
- 142 Mud Puddle - Mona likes to swim in the mud to get dirty and in a tub to get clean even when she learns about being dirty and clean.
- 143 Camp Wooka - Mona's mommy drops her daughter off to have a nighttime play date with Nana. Just as they were about to watch a movie, the lights came off and they decided to visit Mr. Wooka to have fun... by camping!
- 144 Toad And Budgie - Nana babysits a bird named Budgie while the owner is away. Mona even shows Budgie a toad.
- 145 Mona A Go-Go - Mona learns about her firsts when she is with Nana. On that episode, it is revealed that Mona has been with Nana ever since she was a baby!
- 146 New Friends - Normally, Mona would go to the park with her mommy. But when she sees a squirrel in the park, she goes there with Nana and Russell. There, they chase squirrels, see Mr. Wooka's sneak peek, and Mona makes new friends.
- 147 Treasure - Finding bugs for your bug collection might sound adventurous... even if you find a lost pearl for Mona's Nana!
- 148 Night Night Nana - Mona's mommy drops her daughter off to have a sleepover with Nana. During that time, they had fun at nighttime before sleeping in Nana's room while reading a bedtime story, "Simon Squirrel".
- 149 123 Apple Tree - Mr. Wooka convinces Mona to get three apples from the apple tree for Nana.
- 150 Windy Day - It's a windy day! Mona has windy day fun and flies a kite in the end.
- 151 Soft As Nana - Mona removes a rock from Russell's doghouse and learns all about soft and hard textures by touch. Mr. Wooka stops by to sing a song about Nana.
- 152 Winter Wonderland
- 153 Four-Part Harmony - Mona, Nana, and Russell invites Mr. Wooka over for a four-part harmony.
See also
- Children's television seriesChildren's television seriesChildren's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
- Jack LenzJack LenzJack Lenz is a Canadian Bahá'í composer. He has written, performed, and produced music for film, television, and theatre, along with working on non-soundtrack album ventures. He is also the founder of Live Unity Enterprises, an organization devoted to the production of music for the Bahá'í...
(executive producer and music director)