'Who's that wonderful girl?' Behind the viral TikTok trend inspired by a Canadian puppet show
If you've been on TikTok lately, you can practically hear the tune to the words: "Who's that wonderful girl? Could she be any cuter?"
That's because the sound has gone viral on the app, playing a fitting backdrop to a range of videos related to being hyped up or hyping up those around you. In each, a little green puppet appears boasting a pink tiara and wand; an older orange puppet begins singing the words, praising her three-year-old granddaughter.
Turns out, the song is from an old Canadian children's series, created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley and centered on the aforementioned grandmother-granddaughter puppet duo. Making its debut in 1999, Nanalan served up adorable slice-of-life moments between Mona and her Nana Bea (voiced by Shannon and Hopley, respectively). The show mostly takes place in the grandmother's backyard, which Mona pronounces as "Nanalan" or "Nana Land". First appearing as shorts, the series grew into full episodes that aired on CBC, Nickelodeon, and PBS for Kids.
The song's newfound virality, according to The New York Times, is thanks to a video posted in October which garnered close to 10 million views on TikTok. In it, the user posted the exact clip from Nanalan, in which Mona's grandmother sings to her as she enters the room dressed like a princess.
This isn't the first time Mona and Nana have found internet fame. In 2016, Nanalan made the rounds on Tumblr and Instagram, but for entirely different reasons — mostly focused around its lo-fi quality and fever-dream-like plotlines.
TikTok's adoption of the trend is much sweeter, being applied to wholesome scenarios, relationship memes, and a whole lot of cat content. A sample of the captions show just why the song is being used: "Me hyping myself up before leaving for class everyday" or "me hyping up my little sister after she got a new outfit". Then there are the boyfriend-centric memes: "My man being extra nice when I'm on my period and he's actually scared" or "my bf coming when I finally come out of my room not grumpy anymore". You get the gist.
Like many TikTok trends, this one has also "taken on a gendered tinge", as Mashable's Christianna Silva has noted of others on the platform.
But mostly, it's a lighthearted trend based on relatability — and is still going strong on the app. Thanks to TikTok, a nearly 20-year-old puppet show has found relevance today. And that song will be hard to forget again.