The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu

The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu is a Kuboian animated television series created by John Axim and produced by Axim Films, Nightlife Animated Productions (series one) and Bubblegum Studios (series two to four). A slice-of-life series, the show focuses on a sister and brother duo who attempt to find constructive ways to live their lives due to not being able to attend school.

The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu ran for four series; the first two series aired on Vision 1's Saturday evening programming strand Bumper's Block from 1994 to 1995, whilst a third and fourth series aired as part of Vision 1's normal branding in 1997 and 1998. After the show ended production, reruns continued to air on KT until 2008. It was the first Kuboian animated television series to be produced using digital ink.

Premise and setting
Charlie, a thirteen year-old girl, and Tutu, an eleven year-old boy, are two siblings who share a close bond with each other. Neither have attended school a day in their lives due to a lack of a school in their town. Lacking friends close to their age, the siblings try to find ways to keep themselves occupied. The show's main setting, Axim Street (named after show creator John Axim), is a moderately populated urban district. Recurring areas seen on the show include a music shop where Charlie and Tutu sometime buy vinyl records, and a bowling centre where the two sometimes spend time.

Despite Axim Street's lack of a school, Charlie and Tutu are still able to find ways to learn things and help their local community. Charlie volunteers at the Axim Museum, and develops a bond with its owner as time goes on. Tutu, meanwhile, has an allotment which he regularly works on with his mother as a hobby. In later episodes, the siblings make some new friends and also attend a children's social group.

Production
John Axim based the show's premise on both his young adulthood, which was mostly spent being unemployed and with little to do, as well as the state of Kuboian education at the time - as Kuboia did not have an official education system until 1996, many school children were uneducated. He intended to make a television series that would encourage people to use their imagination to counter times where they are bored and with little to do. However, he also wanted to make the programme down to earth and sophisticated, with life lessons that he thought that groups of all ages could learn and relate to. Axim also said that he wanted to target both children and adults with the show, citing that "animation is not purely for kids". In order to demonstrate how the action in each episode would work, the production team would film themselves acting the scenes out in person.

The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu was the first Kuboian animated television series to use digital ink instead of traditional ink. When asked about this, Axim noted that digital ink was cheaper and less time-consuming, and also helped the show look more visually appealing. He admitted that he never intended to revolutionise animation by using digital ink, and it was "just the better option". As such, the show did not promote itself as an animated series with digital ink during its initial run.

Critical reception
With the use of digital ink and each episode running consistently at twelve frames per second or more, critics have generally praised The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu as higher in quality compared to other children's television series at the time. A review from Common Sense Media awarded the show a 4/5 star rating, with the site's consensus reading "Sister and brother duo are great role models for children."

On internet database website IMDb, the show has an average user rating of 7.7 out of 10.

Ratings
Upon its premiere, The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu became a popular show for Bumper's Block, which resulted in the show continuing past its original intended run of episodes. In the United Kingdom, CBBC saw as many as five million viewers tuning in to watch new episodes for the second and third series.

Impact and legacy
Though the show did not market itself as such, The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu was the first Kuboian animated television series (and one of the first in general) to use digital ink. After the show's premiere, almost every mainstream Kuboian animated series had switch to digital ink (instead of traditional ink). Speaking about the show in 2001, a reviewee for British television channel Channel 4 cited the show as "colourful and inspiring", as arguing that the quality of episodes gets progressively better. A BBC reporter commented on the show in 2006, stating that it "was clearly ahead of its time".

Although John Axim intended to make the show appeal to children of all ages, it has often been marketed as a show for younger children. This was especially reflected in the 2000s, when the show saw reruns on pre-school television networks. Axim has reportedly been disappointed with this, as he feels the marketing discourages older audiences from giving the show a chance.