 Charlie and Lola is a British flash-animated children's television series based on the popular children's picture book series of the same name by Lauren Child. The show aired 78 episodes from 7 November 2005 to 24 April 2008. The series was produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, and has won multiple BAFTA awards. The animation uses a collage style that emulates the style of the original books. SynopsisCharlie has a little sister named Lola; she is 'small, and very funny'. Lola often gets caught up in situations that she (inadvertently) causes, whether it's running out of money at the zoo and having to borrow Charlie's, to forgetting her entire suitcase when having a sleepover at a friend's house. These situations are sometimes comedic (for example, in the episode 'Help! I Really Mean It!') but often reflect real world problems that younger children may face, for example losing a best friend, not getting the preferred part in a school play, or becoming too excited about an upcoming event and accidentally ruining it. When these situations happen, Charlie usually ends up having to solve her problems through imaginative or creative methods, or by explaining to Lola where she went wrong. This is particularly demonstrated in the episode 'I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato', when Charlie plays a trick on Lola to rename her least favourite food (carrots, mashed potatoes, fish fingers, and tomatoes) to more fantastical names so that she'll eat them, such as 'orange twiglets from Jupiter' and 'ocean nibblers from the supermarket under the sea'. In this same episode Lola imagines that the bowl of tomatoes in front of her are actually a bowl of "moonsquirters" making it the only time in history Lola actually EATS a tomato. So it might turn out she likes tomatoes. But in later episodes, it was proven otherwise. So it was back to the tomato-hating Lola we all know and love. This can teach little children to try different foods they never had (even tomatoes). In many episodes, Lola's best friend Lotta, Lola's imaginary friend Soren Lorenson, and Charlie's best friend Marv become involved in some way or another. Although adults are mentioned through dialogue, none of them are ever shown or heard on-screen. Episodes
CharactersCharlie SonnerCharlie is the imaginative and helpful brother of Lola. He is 7 years old and has platinum blonde hair like Lola. Charlie is often asked to look after Lola, and he sometimes has to think of creative ways to keep her busy. In both the TV series and the books, he breaks the fourth wall by talking about Lola to the viewers/readers. Lola SonnerLola is an imaginative, quirky 4-5-year-old girl. Lola is the younger sister of Charlie and is best friends with Lotta. She is described by her brother Charlie as "small and very funny". She likes playing and is full of character. She normally wears blue butterfly hairclips and has short blonde hair. She is often a drama queen. She also has an imaginary friend named Soren Lorenson. Marv LoweMarv is Charlie's best friend. He has a younger brother named Morten and an older brother named Marty. Marv also has a dog named Sizzles and a pet mouse named Squeak. He is the same age as Charlie. He resides at the third level in his flat like Charlie who resides on the third level too. LottaLotta is Lola's best friend. After meeting at school they became friends quickly and spend a lot of time together. Lotta usually follows Lola's lead, and is in awe of Lola's brother Charlie, his friend Marv, and Sizzles the dog. She has black curly hair. Soren LorensonSoren Lorenson is Lola's imaginary friend, rendered as monochrome and translucent. When Lola and Soren are playing, Soren is rather detailed (has the look of a real person only grey and translucent). When someone interrupts them (such as Charlie), Soren still has detail and he becomes more unknown. Minor charactersMarty Lowe Marty is Marv's older brother. He doesn't like to discard anything. Marty does not seem to like people in his room. His voice is heard in Look After Your Planet. He exclaims "Get out of my room, now! Played by Charlie Avery Minnie Reader Minnie Reader is a classmate and friends with the girls including Lola and Lotta and is very clever. She likes tap dancing, beads, ponies, patterns, colouring and knows a lot about guinea pigs and has one named Fluffy. She is serious and doesn't smile as much as the rest of the characters. She has short brown hair with two green circle shaped hairclips in it. She is usually seen with a teal sweater dress, orange and pink socks and black shoes but, sometimes she is seen with a brown coat and the same shoes. She has appeared on several episodes like "Look After Your Planet", "How Many More Minutes Are There Until Christmas"etc. She said she was going to be a Wicked Witch in "What Can I Wear For Halloween" but she is considering a nice rabbit instead of a witch. She had violet-rimmed glasses with orange flowers on it on "I Really Absolutely Must Have Glasses" Sometimes she is seen with Evie. Sometimes not. For unknown reasons, her name is never revealed. Morten Lowe Morten is Marv's younger brother and a friend of Lola's. He is quite shy but once he starts to play he's a lot of fun. Arnold Wolf Arnold is Lola's neighbour. Arnold is only featured in some episodes. In one episode, Arnold drops Lola's ice-cream. But he makes it up to her by letting her use his paddling pool. Granny and Grandpa Granny and Grandpa are Charlie and Lola's grandparents. Granny paints for a hobby, while it appears that Grandpa is good with horses. Like all other adult characters, they are referred to but are never seen. Mum and Dad Like the other adults in the show, Charlie and Lola's parents are mentioned but never seen, nor do they say anything. Evie Evie is a ruddy girl in Lola and Lotta's class. She has red hair which she wears in pigtails. She also wears a skirt, a long sleeve shirt and striped tights. Jack Jack is Marv's cousin. Lola and Lotta thought he was Marv's new best friend in the episode, "But Marv is Absolutely Charlie's Best Friend" Macy: Lotta's older cousin. Katsuki A Japanese girl who has the same hair clips just like Lola, a cardigan and a skirt with two long bunches. Other background charactersPetsSizzles - Marv's dog. Sizzles is a dachshund (weiner dog). Nibbles - Charlie and Lola's short-lived mouse. Squeak - Marv's white mouse. He can jump from one leg to another. Bert - Lola's class guinea pig. Despite the name, Bert is a girl. At first, Charlie and Lola thought Bert was a boy, until she had a litter of baby guinea pigs. Tickles - Charlie and Lola's second mouse. He can easily tickle anyone, hence the name. Casper - Charlie & Lola's grandparents' cat who comes to stay with Charlie and Lola sometimes. OtherBat Cat - A character from one of Charlie and Lola's favourite comics. He is a grey/black cat that goes about doing heroic deeds. Pirate Squidbones - Charlie and Marv's favourite cartoon, Pirate Squidbones tells of the adventures of a notorious one-eyed pirate and his motley crew. The villain in this TV show is the kraken. The Tooth Fairy - A fairy who takes teeth and leaves money. In the episode How Many More Minutes?". She teams up with Charlie and Lola to stop the evil pirates. Smiley children - A girl and a boy who has shiny clean teeth. They always smile. They later are kidnapped by the evil pirates. ToysFoxie - Lola's stuffed fox. It is her favourite toy. In the episode "What If I Get Lost In The Middle Of Nowhere?", after a long search for her lost toy, she later comes to find out that she simply left it under her pillow. Ellie - Lola's toy elephant. Ellie is a china elephant with nice pink flowery designs all over it. Frog - Lola's springy frog that she keeps on her bed stand. Apparently, this is also Søren Lorenson's favourite toy; he plays with it when Lola's not around. The Rocket - A class project of Charlie's making, the rocket is a model space rocket that won Charlie a First Place prize in school; he beat Marv and another boy named Harvey. Unfortunately, Lola in her curiosity had a bit of a mishap with it and broke the rocket. But Charlie, notwithstanding his crossness, was able to mend it like new. Daisy - Lola's rag doll, she is a blonde doll wearing a pink dress and a bow to match in its hair. She has blue buttons for eyes. Molly the Rabbit - An anthropomorphic female stuffed rabbit who's all pink with a red bow on its head. She is one of Lola's stuffed animals. Mr. Teddy - Charlie's former teddy bear from when he was Lola's age. He is yellow with green buttons for eyes and a blue bow tie. He now belongs to Lola.
Animation styleThe television series uses a collage style of animation which captures the style of the original books. 2D Flash animation, paper cutout, fabric design, real textures, photomontage, and archive footage are all employed and subsequently animated in software applications called Adobe Animate, ToonBoom, Adobe Flash, Adobe After Effects, and CelAction2D.[1] The cartoons are also notable for their use of children rather than adult voice actors, a technique pioneered by the Peanuts television specials. Both the books and the cartoon also follow a technique of never showing adults. DVD releases
In the United States and Canada, volumes 9 and 11 are reversed, however, volume 9 is titled "What Can I Wear for Halloween?" instead of "Everything is Different and Not the Same". Awards and nominations
ReferencesExternal links |
Advertisement
143
pages
Charlie and Lola
Advertisement