Bolek and Lolek

Benny and Lenny
Genre	Buddy comedy Slapstick
Created by	Władysław Nehrebecki
Written by	Władysław Nehrebecki
Theme music composer	Waldemar Kazanecki
Country of origin	Poland
No. of episodes	152
Production
Producer(s)	Studio Filmów Rysunkowych in Bielsko-Biała
Running time	9-10 minutes
Release
Original network	Telewizja Polska
Audio format	Mono
Original release	August 12, 1962 – 1986

Bolek and Lolek are two Polish cartoon characters from the children's TV animated comedy series by the same title (Bolek i Lolek in Polish). They were partially created by Alfred Ledwig before being developed by Władysław Nehrebecki and Leszek Lorek. The series is about two young brothers and their fun (and sometimes silly) adventures which often involve spending a lot of time outdoors.

The characters first appeared in an animated film in 1962. Their names are diminutives of Bolesław and . In English, the cartoon was distributed as Bennie & Lennie and Jym and Jam. Some episodes were seen as part of Nickelodeon's Pinwheel. In 1973 the creators of the film placed on the request from the female viewing audience a girl character by the name of Tola. The first time she appeared in occurred in the episode entitled "Tola". In total, Tola appeared in 30 episodes.

In a similar vein to The Pink Panther theatrical cartoons, most episodes do not have dialogues. 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, 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 programs, coloring books, general picture books and games.

Of all the Polish animated cartoons Bolek and Lolek ranks as the number one all-time favorite. The series was popular in many countries, and was one of the few animated movies allowed to be broadcast by Iranian television just after the revolution of 1979.

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

The copyright holders of Polish cartoon Bolek and Lolek filed a lawsuit in 2006 to examine a case of the illegal use of the images of Bolek and Lolek by German homosexuals who wanted to encourage German homosexual minorities to participate in the Warsaw Pride Parade.

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Wikipedia