Charlie 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 debut episode, 'I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato', in which Charlie pretends that her least favourite food (such as carrots, mashed potatoes, fish fingers, and tomatoes) are more fantastical items in order to encourage her to eat them, such as 'orange twiglets from Jupiter' and 'ocean nibblers from the supermarket under the sea'. This may encourage young children to eat particular healthy foods that would otherwise come across as undesirable to them.
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 is ever shown or heard on-screen.
Charlie Sonner (voiced by Jethro Lundie-Brown in Season 1, Daniel Mayers in Season 2, and Oriel Agranoff in Season 3)
Lola Sonner (voiced by Maisie Cowell in Season 1, Clementine Cowell in Season 2, and Holly Callaway in Season 3)
Lotta (voiced by Morgan Gayle)
Marv Lowe (voiced by Ryan Harris)
Morten Lowe (voiced by Macauley Keeper)
Arnold Wolf (voiced by Eoin O'Sulivan)
Minnie Reader (voiced by Katie Hedges)
Evie (voiced by Lara Mayers)
Soren Lorenson (voiced by Stanley Street)
Animation style
The 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.[2]
The series is also notable for its use of children rather than adult voice actors, a technique pioneered by the Peanuts television specials. Both the books and the show also follow a technique of never showing adults.
Home releases
Charlie and Lola 1 – 13 February 2006
Charlie and Lola 2 – 22 May 2006
Charlie and Lola 3 – 4 September 2006
Charlie and Lola 4 – 6 November 2006
Charlie and Lola 5 – 5 March 2007
Charlie and Lola 6 – 28 May 2007
Charlie and Lola: The Absolutely Complete Series 1 (box set of DVDs 1–4) – 13 August 2007
Charlie and Lola: The Absolutely Complete Series 1 (in metal lunch box) – 10 September 2007
Charlie and Lola 7 – 24 September 2007
Charlie and Lola 8 – 19 November 2007
Charlie and Lola 9 (I Really Really Need Actual Ice Skates and Other Stories) – 27 October 2008
Charlie and Lola: The Absolutely Complete Series 2 (box set of DVDs 5–8) – 10 November 2008
Charlie and Lola 10 (I Can't Stop Hiccupping and Other Stories) – 23 February 2009
Charlie and Lola 11 (Everything is Different and Not the Same) – 12 October 2009
Charlie and Lola: The Absolutely Complete Series 3 (box set of DVDs 9–11) – 28 June 2010
Charlie and Lola – The Absolutely Complete Collection (box set of all 11 DVDs) – 29 November 2010
In the United States and Canada, volumes 4 and 5 are reversed, as well as volumes 9 and 11. However, volume 9 is titled "What Can I Wear for Halloween?" instead of "Everything is Different and Not the Same"
^Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 43. ISBN9781476672939.
