"I have a little sister Lola,
     and she is small and very funny..."
 

    Charlie (7) is big brother to little Lola (4-going-on-5), and together they tumble,
    tussle and giggle their way through childhood, learning how to get along, how to
    behave and how to live their young lives in such a big and busy world...

    The press blurb tells us that this series is adapted from the award-winning
    picture books by Lauren Child. But that's not right, because this series isn't just
    "adapted", it has literally leapt off the page and cartwheeled down a twirling pink
    and white drinking straw, in to our living rooms. Charlie and his sister hop, step,
    and jump through their enormous, everyday adventures. That same press blurb
    continues to tell us that the series was made using cut-out photomontage
    CelAction 2D animation, but again, we beg to differ because the children's'
    world is a fantabulous higgledy-piggledy hotchpotch of colours, photo cutouts
    and textile swatches, and we're right in there with them as they gambol 
    through it, and my goodness, when you're as young as Lola and Charlie,
    the littlest of everyday issues, like haircuts and spiders and loose teeth,
    completely take over your day!

    

    Lauren Child's picture books have been phenomenally successful. She previously
    brought us the delights of "Clarice Bean", and "Clarice Bean, That's Me" was
    shortlisted for the Smarties Prize. In 2002 "That Pesky Rat" went a step further
    by picking up a Smarties Gold Award. The first "Charlie and Lola" book, "I Will
    Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato" was published in 2001, and it won the prestigious
    Kate Greenaway medal. Lauren followed it up with "I Am Not Sleepy and I Will
    Not Go To Bed" and "I Am Too Absoloutely Small For School". Needless to say,
    the "Charlie and Lola" tv series has its own accompaniment of books too.

    Tiger Aspect first brought the series idea to Cartoon Forum, in September 2003,
    where it went down like a scrummy strawberry milkshake. In August the following
    year, the BBC fizzed and popped about their acquisition, like - well - fizzy pop.
    And you can see why they were so excited. It's an effervescent instant classic
    that takes us right inside the mindset of these two child stars. The very littlest
    of things, or the tiniest of issues become magnified and stretched by Charlie
    and Lola's over-imagination. We've had childs-eye series like this before, of
    course - Joe comes to mind, in particular - but this is the first to go that step
    further and actually delve into the amplified cacophony of a four-year-old's
    thought processes. It's wild, it's ridiculous, it's a little bit scary, but more
    often than not it's delightfully, gleefully adventurous, inquisitive and silly...
    

   

    » Charlie has a best friend called Marv, whilst Lola's best pal is Lotta.
        Sneaky Lola also has an imaginary best friend called Soren Lorenson...

    » The character of Lola was based upon an inquisitive little girl whom Lauren Child
        encountered on a train, in Denmark. She was asking her parents all sorts of
        questions, and Lauren's boyfriend translated the conversation for her. Her
        imagination piqued, Lauren went away and worked up a story about her...

    » Tiger Aspect previously brought us the bumbling delights of Mr Bean...

 

    Charlies & Lolas

     Now pay attention all you Nostalgia Fans, because three different pairs
     of children put their voices to Charlie and Lola during production of the series:

                         Charlie                      Lola
    Series One      Jethro Lundie-Brown    Maisie Cowell
    Series Two      Daniel Meyers             Clementine Cowell
    Series Three    Oriel Agranoff             Holly Callaway   

 

     In the news

     The Hound: August 2004
     The BBC pick up the show...

     The Hound: September 2003
     Charlie and Lola at Forum...

 

    Broadcast info

   "Charlie and Lola" premiered on CBBC on Monday, 7th November, 2005...

 

     Awards

     2008 Children's BAFTA - Best Animation
             Children's BAFTA - Best Pre-School Animation
     2007 Children's BAFTA - Best Pre-School Animation
             Annecy Animation Festival - Special Award for a TV Series
             Broadcast Awards - Best Children's Programme
             RTS Craft & Design Awards - Best Music, Original Score
     2006 Cartoons On The Bay - Best Series For Infants
             Cartoons On The Bay - Best Programme
             Cartoons On The Bay - Raisat YOYO - Best Series
             Bradford Animation Festival - Best TV Series for Children & Adults

 

      

     Charlie and Lola books

      There were three picture books published prior to the series:

     2000 - I Will Not Never Ever Eat a Tomato
      2001 - I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed
     2003 - I Am Too Absolutely Small for School

     And then, well, everything exploded. We have tie-ins and repackaged
     publications a-plenty. The selection is quite extraordinary!

 

     Charlie and Lola episodes

    Series One
     I Will Not Never Ever Eat a Tomato
     We Do Promise Honestly We can Look After Your Dog
     I Love Going to Granny and Grandpa's... It's Just That...
     I'm Far Too Extremely Busy
     It's a Secret
     I'm Just Not Keen on Spiders
     I'm Really Ever Not so Well
     I am Not Sleepy and I Will Not go to Bed
     But That is My Book
     Boo! Made you Jump!
     I Want to Play Music too!
     The Most Wonderfullest Picnic in the Whole Wide World
     You Won't Like This Present as Much as I Do!
     I Can Do Anything That's Everything All on My Own
     There is Only One Sun and That is Me
     I've Won, No I've Won, No I've Won
     It Wasn't Me!
     Say Cheese
     My Little Town
     I Like My Hair Completely the Way it is
     I Do Not Ever Never Want My Wobbly Tooth to Fall Out
     I Must Take Completely Everything
     I am Hurrying I am Almost Nearly Ready
     I Want to be Much More Bigger Like You
     But I am an Alligator
     Snow is My Favourite and is My Best
    
    Series Two
     You Can Be My Friend
     I Will Be Especially Very Careful
     Can You Maybe Turn the Light On?
     Too Many Big Words
     Please May I Have Some of Yours?
     Yes I am, No you're not
     It is Absolutely Completely Not Messy
     I Will Miss Our Mouse Too Much
     I Wish I Could Draw Exactly More Like You
     How Many More Minutes?
     Never Ever Never Step On the Cracks
     I am Collecting a Collection
     Welcome to Lolaland
     My Best Best Bestest Friend
     What if I got Lost in the Middle of Nowhere?
     I just Love my Red Shiny Shoes
     Look After Your Planet
     Will you Please Stop Messing About
     This is Actually My Party
     Lucky Lucky Me!
     I Spy with my Little Eyes
     I am Extremely Magic
     I am Really Really Really Concentrating
     I Completely Know about Guinea Pigs
     Charlie is Broken!
     I Really Wonder What Plant I am Growing

     + How Many More Minutes until Christmas? (Xmas special)

    Series Three
     Help! I Really mean it!
     I am Making a Craze
     I can Train your Dog
     It's Raining, it's Boring
     I Wish I could do That, and also That too
     I Can Dance Like a Dancer
     I am Extremely Absoloutely Boiling
     But Where Completely are we?
     I Really, Really Need Actual Ice-Skates
     I Can't Stop Hiccupping
     But I am Completely Hearing and also Listening
     Our Shop Sells Completely Everything
     I've Got Nobody to Play With
     Thunder Completely Does Not Scare Me
     I Really Absoloutely Must Have Glasses
     It is Very Special and Extremely Ancient
     But Marv is Absoloutely Charlie's Best Friend
     I am Inventing a Usefullish Invention
     I am Goody the Good
     What can I Wear for Halloween?
     But we Always do it Like This
     I am Going to Save a Panda
     I Slightly Want to go Home
     Do not Ever Never Let Go!
     I Would Like to Actually Keep It
     But I don't Really Like this Present

     + Everything is Different and Not the Same (Autumn Special)
      
 

    

    Charlie and Lola on UK DVD

     Here are the three series box sets:

     The Absoloutely Complete Series 3
     Region 2 / three discs / 2 Entertain / October 2009

     The Absolutely Complete Series 2
     Region 2 / four discs / 2 Entertain / November 2008

     The Absolutely Complete Series 1
     Region 2 / four discs / 2 Entertain / November 2006

     All the discs above have been released individually, too. Volumes Eight
     includes the Xmas special, and the Autumn special is on volume Eleven...

     Series One                                 Series Three
     Charlie and Lola: One             Charlie and Lola: Nine
     Charlie and Lola: Two             Charlie and Lola: Ten
     Charlie and Lola: Three          Charlie and Lola: Eleven
     Charlie and Lola: Four             

     Series Two
     Charlie and Lola: Five
     Charlie and Lola: Six
     Charlie and Lola: Seven
     Charlie and Lola: Eight

 

    First series credits

     originated and based upon the books by Lauren Child

     a Tiger Aspect production

    director:                 Kitty Taylor
    series producer:      Claudia Lloyd
    exec producer:        Andrew Zein
     associate
     producer:                Lauren Child
    art director:            Leigh Hodgkinson
    writers:                   Carol Noble, Bridget Hurst,
                                  Dave Ingham, Samantha Hill
    script editor:           Mellie Buse
    music:                    John Greswell, Chris Taylor
                                  Munk and Dyson
    storyboard artists:   Chris Drew, Barry Baker,
                                  Trevor Ricketts, Kevin Molloy,
                                  Jacques Gauthier, Simon Williams
    designers:               Al Douglas, Emma Lazenby,
                                  Manu Roig, Tonia Thorne
    animators:              Julian Hanshaw, Richard Jeffery,
                                  Lee Middleton, James O'Shea,
                                  Inna Phillimore, Dan Chambers,
                                  Tim Fehrenbach, David Greenaway,
                                  Matthew Hood, Sam Wooldridge,
                                  Phil Hall, Emma Lazenby
    technical advisors:  Andy Blazdell, Simon Lipowicz
    prod accountant:     Alex Frost
    business affairs:      Gill Johnson
    prod executive:       Catherine T Elliott
    prod assistant:        Clare Winkworth
    prod coordinator:     Betti Doherty
    prod manager:        Tom Beattie
    dubbing editors:      James O'Brien, Graham Wilde,
                                  Simon Couzens
    dubbing mixer:        Scott Wilkinson
    online editor:           Adam Grant
    editor:                    Zurine Ainz
    voices:                   Jethro Lundie-Brown (Charlie)
                                  Maisie Cowell (Lola)
                                  Morgan Gayle (Lotta)
                                  Ryan Harris (Marv)
                                  Stanley Street (Soren Lorenson)
                                  Jack Lundy (Hippopotamus)

 

      On the web


      Charlie and Lola
      A lovely official site, with lots of info, games and clips too
      including that infectious theme music...

      Tiger Aspect
      The producers' web site...


 
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