Charlie and Lola-Three (2005)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Childrens	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Additional Footage-Dancing Clip; Sporty Clip Game-Snap CD-ROM-Printable Activities Outtakes
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	69:12 (Case: 67)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Kitty Taylor
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Jethro Lundie-Brown Maisie Cowell Ryan Harris Bridget Hurst
Case	Handle
RPI	$19.95	Music	John Greswell Chris Taylor

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Ask any school librarian what series of books is popular among kids these days, and Charlie and Lola would have to be near the top of the list. The vast series of books by Lauren Child make for fantastic learning tools, as well as fun material for early stage readers. This superb animated series captures the humour, the relationship interactions, and most of all, the appearance of those popular books, literally bringing them to life straight off the page.

    The disc I'm reviewing here (in association with my glittery five-year-old assistant) is actually Volume Three of the series on DVD. We've been enjoying Volume One at home for some time now, and it's definitely become a favourite. The episodes on this disc run for about eleven minutes each, and include:

• I can do anything that's everything all on my own - Lola is convinced that she doesn't need help from anyone, for anything, and is becoming rather stubborn about it. Charlie devises a plan to show her that some games are made for two.
• There is only one sun and that is me! - Lola is determined to act as the sun in her school play, but is distraught when she is given the role of a leaf. Charlie shows her that being a leaf isn't so bad.
• I've won... No I've won... No I've won - Who can run faster than a Cheetah? Who can stand on one leg longer than a Flamingo? That'd be Lola - she's got to be the winner of everything, much to Charlie's frustration.
• It wasn't me! - Lola plays with and breaks Charlie's prize-winning rocket ship, after promising not to touch it. This episode includes Lola's imaginary friend, Soren Lorenson.
• Say "Cheese" - It's school photography day, Lola's first, and it's her job to stay clean and tidy for the photos. Of course, puddles and painting make short work of those goals.
• My Little Town - Charlie and Lola need to cooperate when they're given a box of blocks to make their own town. Each of them has a different idea of what a proper town needs most of all. Luckily, their imaginations come to the rescue.

    The adventures of Charlie and Lola are surprisingly involving viewing for kids, and manage to impart some great messages regarding responsibility, honesty, tolerance and especially, having fun! Most importantly of all, the interactions of these siblings highlight the often competitive, yet supporting and loving, brother and sister bond that I can see in my own kids (when they're not trying to kill each other). This series is a really great opportunity to sit together and have a laugh. We enjoy it a lot.

    Some insightful observations from my five-year-old co-reviewer:

    "Lola is so funny, she's hilarious".

    "I love the menus and the games. The puzzles on volume one are better." (Volume one included a range of jigsaw puzzles that the viewer solves with their remote. The game on volume three requires quick reflexes and can be a real challenge, even for an adult.)

Video

    This video transfer is very good for a children's show, easily on a par with the standard definition digital broadcast. The original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 has been retained, complete with 16x9 enhancement.

    The animation is clear and sharp, and looks great on a big screen. Colours are bright and bold, with no bleeding or unsightly artefacts to be seen. There are no dire compression issues to be concerned about.

    An English subtitle stream is provided and is very easy to follow.

    This disc is DVD5 formatted (single layered).

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The show's original English (Dolby Digital stereo) soundtrack is included.

    The dialogue is clearly audible and very easy to follow. There are no sync issues.

    The musical accompaniment is brassy, energetic and suits the adventurous, family-oriented sentiment of the series perfectly.

    There is no dedicated subwoofer or surround activity.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    This is possibly the best presentation of a children's DVD I have found to date. All of the short clips and outtakes are accessible within the menu pages as hidden eggs.

Menu

Additional Footage- Dancing Clip (0:26)

    A small montage of dancing-related clips from series one.

Additional Footage- Sporty Clip (0:24)

    A little montage of sport-related clips from series one.

Outtakes (0:48)

    Some outtakes of the child voice actors messing about, with animation.

Game- Snap

    I tried this game in both the DVD player and PC - but I couldn't get it to work properly. The game involves the viewer hitting enter when a pair of matching cards appears on screen, but when you do, the tricky software changes the pair that is visible on screen and tells you that you've failed. The prize for gaining six out of six snaps is a password, which enables you to access the DVD-Rom features, below.

DVD-Rom Features

    When you put the disc in your PC, a flash frame loads requesting a password. The only way to get this password is by successfully winning the game of Snap. Obviously, since I couldn't get the game to work, I couldn't access this feature, but I did discover that by exploring the contents of the disc you will find a printable set of Charlie & Lola snap cards!

    The transfer is great.

    The extras are challenging, but worthwhile. The menus are particularly well thought out.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall