Charlie and Lola Volume Four (Region 4 DVD Review)

The cutest little show on television, if you haven't caught up with the delightful stories of brother and sister Charlie and Lola yet then you are definitely missing out. Roadshow afford the perfect catch up opportunity with the arrival on DVD of volume four of episodes from the first series. This means that all first season episodes are now available on DVD.

Charlie and Lola is based on Lauren Child's award-winning children's books. The animation reflects the distinctive style of the books and the exuberance and imagination of the characters: seven-year-old Charlie and his younger sister Lola. One of the biggest plus points of the series is the completely natural feel that is generated by using real little kids for the voices (as opposed to the annoying use of a female pretending to be a kid that is heard in so many animated series). Also a major positive is the top notch, funny and truthful dialogue, Child captures the world of a young person perfectly. It's also got the best theme tune on TV.

With extras that include an interview with series creator Lauren Child, out-takes and a mix and match game this is not to be missed.

The seven episodes featured on the disc are.

I like my hair completely the way it is!
It’s that time when Charlie and Lola have to get their haircut. But something’s bothering Lola and she doesn’t want to tell us what it is. She just wants to keep her hair completely the way it is. Lola wants her hair long so that she can sit on it and look like a princess. Then Charlie wonders if she’s scared. Absolutely not! She’s not scared of the snippy scissors, of hairdressers … of anything! But don’t let that hairbrush get near her knots.

I do not ever, never want my Wobbly tooth to fall out
Lola is horrified because she has her first ever wobbly tooth and she does not ever, never want her wobbly tooth to fall out. She doesn’t want a big gap in her teeth even if Charlie does say that she’ll grow another one which is stronger and better. No, Lola’s tooth is absolutely not going to fall out… not until she discovers there a Tooth Fairy! Who brings PRESENTS! Suddenly she can’t get that tooth out fast enough.

I must take completely everything
Lola is packing to go to Lotta’s for the night. And she is packing everything because her and Lotta are going to play Cinderella! This means that Charlie and Marv can have the whole bedroom to themselves to set up an enormous race track of their own. Disaster strikes when Lola realises she has left her suitcase at home and Charlie and Marv find they are missing a really important piece of track. Imagination comes to the rescue in the form of a teaspoon and an intergalactic space race. But where exactly did that missing bit of track go?

I am hurrying I’m almost nearly ready
Charlie wants Lola to hurry or they’ll be late for school. But there are so many exciting things to do on the way that Lola keeps getting distracted. There’s colouring, and dancing with clouds, playing hopscotch on musical pavements and giggling with hysterical hedgehogs. Charlie has to come up with a cunning ruse to get his little sister to Hurry up… You wouldn’t want to miss Dragon Day at school, would you?

I want to be much more bigger like you
Life’s just not fair when you’re always the smaller one… you can’t go to bed late, you can’t get your own pink milk and you can’t go on the Super Dooper Loop the Looper ride at the fair. Lola does everything she can to make herself taller - imagining she’s a sunflower, a skyscraper and even the tallest mountain in the world. Charlie tries to point out all the advantages of being small… and they even swap places. But Lola remains unconvinced. Only the sight and noise of the really scary Loop the Looper makes her change her mind.

But I am an alligator
Dressing up is one of Lola’s absolutely favourite things to do and now she’s got this fabulous new alligator costume, she’s not ever going to take it off… not ever!. Snap! Snap! Snap! And to Charlie’s embarrassment Lola wears her alligator costume everywhere… the supermarket, the park and she even plans to wear it for her school talk called “All about Me!”. Oh No! What is Charlie going to do to stop her making a fool of herself?!

Snow is my favourite and my best
Snow is on the way and Lola is bursting with excitement. Lola just loves snow. After she finally gets to sleep, she wakes up the next morning to find that everything has gone completely, extremely white! Charlie, Lola, Marv, Sizzles and Lotta have a wonderful time in the park. They make snow angels and have snow races and Lotta and Lola even make a snow dog. Snow really is the best thing ever!...until it melts. Charlie helps a very disappointed Lola see that snow is even more special because it isn’t there all of the time.