Charlie has a little sister named Lola; she is 'small, and very funny'. Lola often gets caught up in situations that she 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 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 Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato', when Charlie plays a trick on Lola to rename her least favourite food 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. 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
Characters
Charlie Sonner
Lola Sonner
Lotta
Marv
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 a software application called CelAction2D. 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.
Charlie and Lola: The Absolutely Complete Series 3 – 28 June 2010
Charlie and Lola – The Absolutely Complete Collection – 29 November 2010
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".
