Writers: Dave Ingham, Carol Noble
Director: Kitty Taylor
Cast: Daniel Mayers, Clementine Cowell, Morgan Gayle, Ryan Harris, Stanley Street
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: BBC Warner
Release Date: October 23, 2007
We’ve deliberately pushed back the review of Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas until it was closer to Christmas. The characters Charlie and Lola are amongst the most charming and entertaining children in this day and age. This is a show the entire family can enjoy together, regardless of age. While our family has a 3 year old boy, a 13 year old boy, and two adults in it, it can sometimes be hard to find something the entire family will enjoy without those of us who are older sacrificing for the younger child’s enjoyment. Luckily, Charlie and Lola is a show adults, teenagers, and children can all enjoy together.
Every episode starts with ten year old Charlie explaining how his younger sister Lola is small and very funny. Charlie couldn’t be any more correct in that. Lola is a small girl of five who is such a trip. This little British girl is absolutely hilarious. While Charlie is a thoughtful and caring brother (who couldn’t like him?!), it is Lola who really makes the show. Clementine Cowell, the voice of Lola in Season Two, when Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas was filmed, is so great at portraying her innocence, hilarity, and natural childlike nature and wonderment through her voice. It comes across perfectly with the cute yet quaint drawings of the characters on this show.
Release Information:
Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is actually more than just the 2006 Christmas special, which was simply known as Charlie and Lola: How Many More Minutes Until Christmas. The Volume 6 DVD includes six other episodes from the second season of Charlie and Lola. Episodes include “I am Really, Really, Really Concentrating”, “I Spy With My Little Eyes”, “I Am Extremely Magic”, “I Really Wonder What Plant I’m Growing”, “Charlie is Broken!”, and “I Completely Know About Guinea Pigs”. Each of these episodes is 15 minutes long with Charlie and Lola: How Many More Minutes Until Christmas at a special double episode length of 30 minutes. In total, there are two hours of Charlie and Lola episodes included on one disc.
Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas was released by BBC Warner on October 23, 2007. It can be purchased online at retailers such as Amazon, where it is available for $12.99. It is also available through the Charlie and Lola website. Charlie and Lola is based on the book series by British children’s author, Lauren Child. The show first aired on British television in 2005. It can be seen in the U.S. in its third season on Playhouse Disney.
The Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas Plot
Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is made up of seven episodes, and two hours of adventure. The following plot synopsis’ are provided for each episode included in this one disc set. Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is the sixth in a set of DVDs that have been released. Each season, Charlie and Lola are the only characters to have new voices.
This season (season two), the two main characters are voiced by Daniel Mayers and Clementine Cowell. Cowell is the younger sister of Maisie Cowell, the original voice of Lola in Season One. Though I haven’t heard the children voicing Charlie and Lola in season three, Mayers and Cowell do exceptionally well in their roles. It is amazing how much Maisie and Clementine sound alike and Daniel Mayers sounds exactly like Charlie in the first season, voiced by Jethro Lunie Brown.
“How Many More Minutes Until Christmas”: This thirty minute Christmas special originally aired on television in 2006. In it, five year old Lola finds out about Christmas and its true meaning thanks to Charlie. Lola learns about the Advent Calendar, writes her first letter to Father Christmas, participates in the school Christmas card exchange with her best friend, Lotta, and even sings Christmas carols. This is one of the best cartoon Christmas specials we’ve seen in a long time. Sweet, innocent, and fun, the inquisitive nature of Lola and the caring nature of Charlie make this our favorite episode on this DVD.
“I am Really, Really, Really Concentrating”: It’s Sports Day at school and Lola and Lotta must chose the event they want to participate in since it is their first ever sports day. While Charlie and his best friend Marv are great at the three-legged race and Lotta is great at the obstacle course, Lola can’t find anything she’s good at though she’s certain she’ll be the one to win the hard-boiled egg on the spoon race; just as long as she really, really, really concentrates.
“I Spy With My Little Eyes”: Lola and her imaginary friend Soren Lorenson decide to spy on anything, everything and everyone. Their spying gets them in trouble when they spy on the new neighbors. During her spying, Lola becomes convinced a family of wolves has moved in next door to them.
“I Am Extremely Magic”: Charlie gets a magic set and impresses Lola, Lotta, and Marv with his neat magic tricks. Lola wants to be just like Charlie and she becomes obsessed with learning magic. Without Charlie’s secrets she can’t seem to do magic until he tells her she really has to want to be magic, which Lola really does.
“I Really Wonder What Plant I’m Growing”: Lola goes through the trials of trying to grow a plant from a seed. It takes a few seeds (too much sunlight, too much water, etc. kill them), but eventually Lola gets the hang of it with some encouragement from her big brother Charlie.
“Charlie is Broken!”: Charlie and Lola plan to put on a circus show, though Charlie ends up breaking his arm while playing soccer. Lola is sad that Charlie is broken so she not only tries to play nurse (though she’s more harm than help), she finds a way to include him in the circus show.
“I Completely Know About Guinea Pigs”: Lola’s class pet, Bert, who Lola is convinced is a girl, gets to come home with Charlie and Lola over the holiday vacation. Bert the Guinea Pig requires a lot of care, but Lola knows just what to do until Bert disappears from his obstacle course Charlie and Lola built for him. Unless they find Bert, Lola is convinced her whole class is going to hate her.
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Audio/Visual:
The visual quality of Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is typical for a cartoon. The video has been transferred at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. While the drawings are quaint and cartoony, it is a part of the show’s charm! The full frame picture is free of compression artifacts and other visible transfer errors. The sound is great and typical for a cartoon. Available in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, everything is clear and easy to hear. There are subtitles available in English for those with hearing impairments.
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Bonus Features:
There are only a few bonus features on the Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas DVD. These are scenes that haven’t aired and there is a funny, behind the scenes look at Clementine Cowell as she speaks her lines and records one of the episodes of Charlie and Lola. During the bonuses, all of them are in cartoon form, so you never actually get to see the actors. A more “behind the scenes” where we’d actually get to see the voice actors would have been fun for the audience, though this disk stands well on its own!
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Bottom Line:
Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas is one of the cutest cartoons we’ve seen in a long time. The good message, ability to learn without being obvious and the entertaining characters will make this a hit with everyone in the family. If you’re looking for something non-traditional to watch this Christmas, you need to get a copy of Charlie and Lola, Vol. 6 - How Many More Minutes Until Christmas. This one comes highly recommended!
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