Charlie and Lola
Encyclopedia
Charlie and Lola are characters created by author Lauren Child
. The siblings were originally introduced in a series of books that were later made into a television series. Despite being primarily aimed at children aged 3–7, the books and shows are popular with adults, due to humorous and relatable storylines. Lola is an energetic, imaginative little girl; Charlie is a patient and kind older brother who has his work cut out (but is always willing) to help Lola learn and grow.
The first "Charlie and Lola" book, I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, published in 2001, won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal
. The character of Lola was based on an inquisitive little girl whom Child encountered on a train in Denmark
. Charlie and Lola's parents, as well as their friends' parents, are often mentioned, but never seen.
Spin-off books based on scripts and animation from the series:
There are also various colouring books and a magazine in the UK.
The "Charlie and Lola" books have been translated into Welsh
under the name Cai a Lois and into many other languages.
For the first book "I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato", Lauren Child said:
. In the CDs, Marv is voiced by Ryan Harris.
Mini Reader; she is a classmate of Lola and Lotta. Voiced by Katie Hedges.
Morten; he is Marv's younger brother. Morten is only featured on some of the books, and he is shy and quiet. In one book he plays a game with Lola called Round and Round and he enjoys it, but Lola does not.
Arnold; he is one of Lola's friend. Arnold is only featured in some of the books and episodes, and in one he stops being friends with Lola, after Arnold won't share his ice cream with Lola when she drops hers, but then Arnold and Lola are able to build their friendship back up.
Nibbles - Charlie and Lola's short-lived mouse(appearance in 'I Will Not Ever Never Forget You Nibbles').
After Nibbles died, Charlie and Lola got a new mouse named Tickles.
style of animation which accurately captures the style of the original books. 2D cel animation
, paper cutout, fabric design, real textures, photomontage
, and archive footage are all employed and subsequently animated in a software application called CelAction. The cartoons are also notable for their use of children's voices, rather than adult voice actor
s, a technique pioneered by the Peanuts television specials.
The first series of 26 episodes (11 minutes each) was first broadcast on 7 November 2005.
. The second series of 26 episodes (again, 11 minutes each) started broadcasting on Cbeebies
on 2 October 2006 (with the morning broadcast also being shown on BBC Two
) a third series followed. In the television series, Charlie is seven and Lola is four, and goes to school (her teacher is called Mrs. Hansen). In episodes of both the first and second series, Charlie celebrates his birthday (in "It's a Secret..." and "This Is Actually My Party"), although this doesn't seem to affect his age in other episodes. The third series, a final 26-episode run, was broadcast in the UK and the US in the 2007-2008 television season. With two special episodes broadcast in 2006 and 2007, a total of 80 episodes were produced.
, lounge
, big band
jazz
, reggae
, bluegrass
, eastern European, sci-fi, Latin
, classical
and film music. There are 17 tracks plus one hidden track, with the programme's theme tune opening and closing the album.
Each track includes spoken word extracts from the series. In many cases, these are manipulated to fit with the musical accompaniment.
"The Bestest in the Barn" was released as a single on 12 March 2007. It features Lola and Lotta teaching various animals on their farm how to sing, dance and play music. This is the only track on the album which does not appear in any episode. Lola and Lotta do however appear as farmers in "I Do Not Ever Never Want My Wobbly Tooth To Fall Out". They also have a tendency to imagine that animals are capable of developing impressive human skills, as seen in "We Do Promise Honestly We Can Look After Your Dog" and "I Will Not Ever Never Forget You Nibbles".
The album is a collaboration between various composers and musicians who write and perform for the TV series. Much of the music is programmed but many tracks feature performances by musicians from London based bands – Menlo Park, Polar Bear
and Acoustic Ladyland
.
Four of the tracks have been animated by Tiger Aspect Productions: "The Bestest in the Barn", "Sizzles", "Batcat" and "It's Snowing". "The Bestest in the Barn" video is encoded as an mpeg on the album CD, and all four videos are included as DVD extras on the series 2 DVD collection.
Production & Arrangement with John Greswell
All other tracks written by John Greswell and produced by Greswell / Taylor for MPM London Ltd.
Except:
Demon Music Group
Ltd.
BBC Worldwide
Ltd.
All tracks published by Tiger Aspect / BMG Music Publishing
Sleeve Package design by David Mackintosh
Tom Beattie, Betti Doherty, Alistair Douglas, Catherine T. Elliot, Tim Fehrenbach, Claudia Lloyd, James O’Shea, Caroline Parkinson, Mark Patterson, Steve Perkins, Kitty Taylor, Clare Winkworth, Andrew Zein.
Lauren Child
Lauren Child MBE is an English author and illustrator. She is best known for writing the Charlie and Lola books and Clarice Bean novels....
. The siblings were originally introduced in a series of books that were later made into a television series. Despite being primarily aimed at children aged 3–7, the books and shows are popular with adults, due to humorous and relatable storylines. Lola is an energetic, imaginative little girl; Charlie is a patient and kind older brother who has his work cut out (but is always willing) to help Lola learn and grow.
The first "Charlie and Lola" book, I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, published in 2001, won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal
Kate Greenaway Medal
The Kate Greenaway Medal was established in the United Kingdom in 1955 in honour of the children's illustrator, Kate Greenaway. The medal is given annually to an outstanding work of illustration in children's literature. It is awarded by Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
. The character of Lola was based on an inquisitive little girl whom Child encountered on a train in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Charlie and Lola's parents, as well as their friends' parents, are often mentioned, but never seen.
Book titles
Original "Charlie and Lola" books by Lauren Child:- I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato (US title: I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato)
- I Am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed
- I Am Too Absolutely Small for School
- Slightly Invisible
Spin-off books based on scripts and animation from the series:
- I've Won, No I've Won, No I've Won
- Snow Is My Favourite and My Best
- But Excuse Me That Is My Book (TV episode title: But That Is My Book)
- We Honestly Can Look After Your Dog (TV episode title: We Do Promise Honestly We Can Look After Your Dog)
- My Wobbly Tooth Must Not Ever Never Fall Out (TV episode title: I Do Not Ever Never Want My Wobbly Tooth To Fall Out)
- Say Cheese!
- I'm Really Ever So Not Well
- Whoops! But It Wasn't Me! (TV episode title: It Wasn't Me!)
- This Is Actually My Party.
- I Can Do Anything That's Everything All on My Own
- You Can Be My Friend
- But I Do Know All About Chocolate (special edition for Comic Relief)
- My School Play Sticker Book (Based upon the episode There Is Only One Sun and That Is Me!)
- My Haircut Sticker Book (Based upon the episode I Like My Hair Completely the Way It Is)
- My Very Busy Sticker Book (Based upon the episode I'm Far Too Extremely Busy)
- My Picnic Sticker Book (Based upon the episode The Most Wonderfullest Picnic in the Whole Wide World)
There are also various colouring books and a magazine in the UK.
The "Charlie and Lola" books have been translated into Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
under the name Cai a Lois and into many other languages.
For the first book "I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato", Lauren Child said:
Charlie Sonner
Charlie has the distinctive tapered, vaguely heart-shaped head distinctive of many of Child's creations, shared by all other characters in the series. Around four feet tall, he has blond hair and black eyes. All of his T-shirts have his name on them. Charlie is often seen either wearing a blue-and-white t-shirt, a red-and-orange t-shirt, a green-and-white t-shirt, or an orange-and-white t-shirt, and with his bare feet poking out of turned-up jeans. He is voiced by Jethro-Laundie Brown in the first series, Daniel Mayers in the second series and Oriel Agranoff in the third series. He is 7 years old.Lola Sonner
Lola is with lighter blonde hair, but the same black eyes; she is about two-thirds of Charlie's height, and wears various skirts, tights, and shoes. She is voiced by Maisie Cowell in the first series, by her little sister Clementine Cowell in the second series and Holly Callaway in the third series. She is 4 years old.Marv Lowe
Charlie's best friend, Marv has a younger brother named Morten and an older brother called Marty. Marv lives in the same apartment complex as Charlie, Lola and Arnold. Marv has a dog called "Sizzles" and it's a hot-dog dogDachshund
The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...
. In the CDs, Marv is voiced by Ryan Harris.
Lotta
Lola's best friend. She has black, curly hair and wears two blue bobbles. Lola and Lotta are best friends and love to play together, and visit each other. They do many activities together like dressing up. Voiced by Morgan Gayle.Soren Lorensen
Soren Lorensen is Lola's imaginary friend and is always rendered as monochrome and translucent. When Lola and Soren Lorensen are playing, Soren Lorensen is rather detailed and has the look of a real person only gray and translucent. When someone interrupts them (such as Charlie), Soren Lorensen loses detail and he becomes more transparent. As soon as the interruption leaves, Soren Lorensen goes back to normal. It shows how Soren Lorensen is a product of Lola's imagination and when her thoughts are interrupted by reality, Soren Lorensen starts to fade.Minor or background characters
Marty; he is Marv's older brother. Marty is only featured in some of the books, and he does not throw anything away. Marty does not like Marv, Charlie, Lola or Lotta. His voice actor is unknown and his name is not shown in the credits. His voice is heard in the episode Look After Your Planet. He said "Get out of my room!"Mini Reader; she is a classmate of Lola and Lotta. Voiced by Katie Hedges.
Morten; he is Marv's younger brother. Morten is only featured on some of the books, and he is shy and quiet. In one book he plays a game with Lola called Round and Round and he enjoys it, but Lola does not.
Arnold; he is one of Lola's friend. Arnold is only featured in some of the books and episodes, and in one he stops being friends with Lola, after Arnold won't share his ice cream with Lola when she drops hers, but then Arnold and Lola are able to build their friendship back up.
Pets
Sizzles - Marv's dog. Sizzles is a dachshund. He appears in most episodes. In We (Do Promise) Honestly (We Can) Look After Your Dog, Lola and Lotta try their best to care for Sizzles, who is not pleased. They pull the lead off and Sizzles runs behind a tree, where an identical dog appears, who belongs to another boy. He is brought to school by Marv at the Bring A Pet To School Day in I Will Not Ever Never Forget You Nibbles.Nibbles - Charlie and Lola's short-lived mouse(appearance in 'I Will Not Ever Never Forget You Nibbles').
After Nibbles died, Charlie and Lola got a new mouse named Tickles.
Television series
The books have been adapted by Tiger Aspect into a cartoon series, using a collageCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
style of animation which accurately captures the style of the original books. 2D cel animation
Traditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
, paper cutout, fabric design, real textures, photomontage
Photomontage
Photomontage is the process and result of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs. The composite picture was sometimes photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. A similar method, although one that does not...
, and archive footage are all employed and subsequently animated in a software application called CelAction. The cartoons are also notable for their use of children's voices, rather than adult voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
s, a technique pioneered by the Peanuts television specials.
The first series of 26 episodes (11 minutes each) was first broadcast on 7 November 2005.
. The second series of 26 episodes (again, 11 minutes each) started broadcasting on Cbeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
on 2 October 2006 (with the morning broadcast also being shown on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
) a third series followed. In the television series, Charlie is seven and Lola is four, and goes to school (her teacher is called Mrs. Hansen). In episodes of both the first and second series, Charlie celebrates his birthday (in "It's a Secret..." and "This Is Actually My Party"), although this doesn't seem to affect his age in other episodes. The third series, a final 26-episode run, was broadcast in the UK and the US in the 2007-2008 television season. With two special episodes broadcast in 2006 and 2007, a total of 80 episodes were produced.
The Charlie and Lola Album
Charlie and Lola's Favourite and Best Music Record was released on 19 March 2007, aimed at parents as well as children. The music is largely a development of existing interstitial and theme music taken from series 1 and 2. There are elements of easy listeningEasy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
, lounge
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
, big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, eastern European, sci-fi, Latin
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and film music. There are 17 tracks plus one hidden track, with the programme's theme tune opening and closing the album.
Each track includes spoken word extracts from the series. In many cases, these are manipulated to fit with the musical accompaniment.
"The Bestest in the Barn" was released as a single on 12 March 2007. It features Lola and Lotta teaching various animals on their farm how to sing, dance and play music. This is the only track on the album which does not appear in any episode. Lola and Lotta do however appear as farmers in "I Do Not Ever Never Want My Wobbly Tooth To Fall Out". They also have a tendency to imagine that animals are capable of developing impressive human skills, as seen in "We Do Promise Honestly We Can Look After Your Dog" and "I Will Not Ever Never Forget You Nibbles".
The album is a collaboration between various composers and musicians who write and perform for the TV series. Much of the music is programmed but many tracks feature performances by musicians from London based bands – Menlo Park, Polar Bear
Polar Bear (jazz)
Polar Bear is a British experimental jazz band led by drummer Seb Rochford with Pete Wareham on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on mandolin and electronics....
and Acoustic Ladyland
Acoustic Ladyland
Acoustic Ladyland are a London based jazz/punk band consisting of Pete Wareham on vocals, tenor and baritone saxophone, Seb Rochford on drums, Chris Sharkey on Guitar and Ruth Goller on bass guitar....
.
Four of the tracks have been animated by Tiger Aspect Productions: "The Bestest in the Barn", "Sizzles", "Batcat" and "It's Snowing". "The Bestest in the Barn" video is encoded as an mpeg on the album CD, and all four videos are included as DVD extras on the series 2 DVD collection.
Track listing
- "Charlie and Lola Theme Tune"
- "I Really Want To Play Music"
- "The Bestest In The Barn"
- "Boo!"
- "Sizzles"
- "I Will Not Ever Never Eat A Tomato"
- "Milk Monkeys"
- "Germs"
- "Magic"
- "Bat Cat"
- "Lolaland"
- "Greendrops"
- "I Am Not Sleepy"
- "Martian Attack"
- "All Sleepy"
- "Can You Maybe Turn The Light on?"
- "Charlie and Lola Theme Tune" (Extended Version)
- ".... It's Snowing" (secret track)
Music Credits
Theme Tune written by Tom Dyson and Soren MunkProduction & Arrangement with John Greswell
All other tracks written by John Greswell and produced by Greswell / Taylor for MPM London Ltd.
Except:
- 3 written by John Greswell, Christopher Taylor, Benjamin Nicholls
- 6, 12 written by John Greswell, Christopher Taylor
- 7 written by Tom Dyson, Soren Munk
- 16 written and produced by David Schweitzer
Additional Musicians
- Andy MellonBellowheadBellowhead are an English contemporary folk band originally brought together by John Spiers and Jon Boden. The eleven-piece band plays traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide diversity of musical styles and influences...
– Trumpet / Flugel horn / Piano / Vocals / Clarinet - Benjamin Nicholls – Guitars / Banjo / Jews harp / Double bass / Bass guitar
- Pete WarehamPolar Bear (jazz)Polar Bear is a British experimental jazz band led by drummer Seb Rochford with Pete Wareham on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on mandolin and electronics....
– Tenor saxophone - Sebastian RochfordSeb RochfordSebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...
- Drums / Percussion - Joe Bentley – Trombone
Demon Music Group
Demon Music Group
Demon Records is a United Kingdom record label founded in 1980 by former United Artists A&R executive Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera who had previously started Stiff Records...
Ltd.
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
Ltd.
All tracks published by Tiger Aspect / BMG Music Publishing
Sleeve Package design by David Mackintosh
Voices
- Charlie – Jethro Lundie-Brown, Daniel Mayers (series 2), Oriel Agranoff (series 3)
- Lola – Maisie Cowell, Clementine Cowell (series 2), Holly Callaway (series 3)
- Marv – Ryan Harris
- Lotta – Morgan Gayle
- Soren Lorenson – Stanley Street
Animation of promos
"The Bestest in the Barn", "Dancing Dogs", "Batcat" and "It's Snowing" promos animated by Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd.Tom Beattie, Betti Doherty, Alistair Douglas, Catherine T. Elliot, Tim Fehrenbach, Claudia Lloyd, James O’Shea, Caroline Parkinson, Mark Patterson, Steve Perkins, Kitty Taylor, Clare Winkworth, Andrew Zein.
External links
- CBeebies - Charlie and Lola at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
- Official Charlie and Lola website
- Tiger Aspect Website
- The official website of Lauren Child
- Charlie and Lola theme tune
- Charlie and Lola on Playhouse Disney
- TV.com Show Guide