'Who's that wonderful girl?': How TikTok revived a 20-year-old children's TV show

Audio from Canadian series Nanalan racks up millions of views

Canadian children's TV show Nanalan was created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. Photo: CBS

If you’ve been on Instagram or TikTok lately, you’ve probably opened a video to the tune of: “Who’s that wonderful girl? Could she be any cuter?” as two puppets are shown singing along.

The clip comes from a Canadian children’s show called Nanalan that first aired in 1999 and broadcast for three series, ending in 2006.

The girl in question is Mona, a three-year-old green puppet with pigtails sticking out from both sides of her head.

The catchy song comes from a scene in which Mona enters a room dressed as a princess with a pink gown, tiara and wand in hand. Her grandmother, Nana, is singing while playing the organ.

The sound has been going viral and tends to be used in videos to build up excitement for people or things. For example, an Instagram Reel uses the sound with the caption: “Me staring at myself during the Zoom meeting instead of listening," which has had more than 5.1 million views and has been shared more than 200,000 times.

The clip took off last month after a TikTok user posted the audio 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 was created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley initially as just three-minute shorts, eventually expanding into two seasons of full-length episodes spanning 21 minutes each.

It isn't the first time Mona and Nana have found internet fame. In 2016, Nanalan went viral on Tumblr and Instagram, but for entirely different reasons, mostly focused on the show's lo-fi quality and fever-dream-esque plotlines.