''Bolek and Lolek'' are two Polish cartoon characters from the children's animated comedy television series by the same name. They were created by Władysław Nehrebecki the author, scriptwriter and main director and partially designed by Władysław Nehrebecki, Alfred Ledwig and Leszek Lorek. The series is about two brothers and their fun (and sometimes silly) adventures which often involve spending a lot of time outdoors.

History and background

The characters were first introduced in an animated film in 1962. Their names are diminutives of Bolesław and Karol. In English, the cartoon was distributed as ''Benny & Lenny'', ''Jym and Jam'' and ''Tim & Tom''. In 1973, at the requests from female viewers, a girl character by the name of Tola was added; she lives in the forest and meets the brothers there. Her first appearance was in the episode "Tola". In total, Tola appeared in 30 episodes. In a similar vein to ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...

'' theatrical cartoons, most episodes do not have dialogue. Exceptions are feature-length films and the series from the 1980s, where the main characters' voices were done by: Bolek – Ewa Złotowska, Ilona Kuśmierska; Lolek – Danuta Mancewicz, Danuta Przesmycka. During the period of the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

, Bolek and Lolek were reproduced in a large quantity of toys: action figures, movies, postcards, online arcades, puzzles, etc., which can be seen in the Museum of Dobranocki (bed-time stories) of the PRL. They are also currently made in computer programmes, colouring books, general picture books and games. The series was popular in many countries, and was one of the few animated films allowed to be broadcast by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian television, along with other popular Polish animated cartoon

Reksio Reksio is a Polish cartoon character who is the protagonist of the children's animated adventure-comedy Polish TV series of the same name. Reksio was created by Polish director Lechosław Marszałek. Its 65 episodes were designed and produced fr ...

, just after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

of 1979. In 2011, a monument of Bolek and Lolek was erected in Bielsko-Biała.

Characters

* Bolek (voiced by Ewa Złotowska and Ilona Kuśmierska) - Lolek's big brother. * Lolek (voiced by Danuta Mancewicz and Danuta Przesmycka) - Bolek's little brother. * Tola - An ordinary girl who lives deep in the forest and has red hair in pigtails. She wears a white shirt, a blue jumper, white socks and black shoes. In her first appearance in the episode "Tola", Tola is leaving the forest and moved to Bolek and Lolek's house and met them for the first time. According to the episode "''Zgubiony Ślad''", Tola lives in the wooden cottage in the forest. She is a supporting character in the series.

Telecast and home release

In the U.S., some episodes were seen as part of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's '' Pinwheel'' from 1977 to 1990, In Canada, the show reruns on the French-speaking TVJQ (now

Vrak Vrak (stylized as VRΔK) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts live-action programming aimed at youth audiences. History Background The youth channel TVJQ () went on the air in 19 ...

) in the 1980s. For several years, it released videotapes and DVDs. In

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, it was aired in Catalan in 1990.

Television series

1. Bolek i Lolek

''Bolek and Lolek'' - 13 Episodes, 1962–1964.

2. Bolek i Lolek na wakacjach

''Benny and Lenny on Vacation'' - 13 episodes, 1965–1966.

3. Bolek i Lolek wyruszają w świat

''Benny and Lenny travel the world'' - 18 episodes, 1968–1970.

4. Bajki Bolka i Lolka

''The Tales of Bolek and Lolek'' - 13 episodes, 1970–1971.

5. Bolek i Lolek na Dzikim Zachodzie

''Benny and Lenny in the Wild West'' - 7 episodes, 1972.

6. Przygody Bolka i Lolka

''The Adventures of Bolek and Lolek'' - 63 episodes, 1972–1980.

7. Zabawy Bolka i Lolka

''Fun with Bolek and Lolek'' - 7 episodes, 1975–1976.

8. Wielka podróż Bolka i Lolka

''Bolek and Lolek's Great Journey'' - 15 episodes, 1978.

9. Bolek i Lolek wśród górników

''Benny and Lenny Among the Miners'' - 7 episodes, 1980.

10. Olimpiada Bolka i Lolka

''Olympics with Bolek and Lolek'' - 13 episodes, 1983–1984.

11. Bolek i Lolek w Europie

''Benny and Lenny in Europe'' - 5 episodes, 1983–1986.

Films

Feature films

* ''Wielka podróż Bolka i Lolka'' – Bolek and Lolek's Great Journey (adapted into the 15-episode series of the same name) – 16 September 1977 * ''Kawaler Orderu Uśmiechu'' – The Knight of the Order of the Smile (sequel to "Great Journey") – 1979

Episodes edited into films

* ''Bolka i Lolka na Dzikim Zachodzie'' (Bolek and Lolek in the Wild West) – 5 December 1986 * ''Sposób na wakacje Bolka i Lolka'' (How Bolek and Lolek Do Vacations) – 1986 * ''Bajki Bolka i Lolka'' (Tales of Bolek and Lolek) – 1986

Educational films

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, id=0146370, title=Bolek i Lolek Television characters introduced in 1962 Copyright infringement Polish children's animated adventure television series Polish children's animated comedy television series Animated duos Television duos Fictional Polish people 1962 Polish television series debuts 1986 Polish television series endings 1960s Polish television series 1970s Polish television series 1980s Polish television series 1960s animated television series 1970s animated television series 1980s animated television series Telewizja Polska original programming Animated television series about brothers Animated television series about children Child characters in television Male characters in animated series Female characters in animated series