Welcome to the vibrant, colorful everyday life of Lotta Petermann and her lively circle of family and friends! Lotta (Meggy Hussong) stumbles from one mess to the next: Her annoying “dumb brothers” at home, a turtle named Heesters that’s always popping up everywhere but otherwise keeps to itself, and her mom’s love of Indian recorder music would already be more than enough for an 11-year-old. When she doesn’t even receive an invitation to the birthday bash of the year—hosted by her snobby classmate Berenike von Bödecker—Lotta has had enough. She gets into a huge fight with her best friend Cheyenne. Even a chance encounter with the game-changing teen star Marlon doesn’t help matters. Flanked by her best friend Paul, the two girls must figure out what true friendship really means... Alice Pantermüller is the German author who wrote the children’s books about “Lotta’s Life”—essentially the female counterpart to Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” These books are also written in diary form, allowing Lotta to give free rein to her often quirky thoughts. The clever illustrations in the books (by Daniela Kohl) also make their way—albeit indirectly—into the film adaptation: speech bubbles, comic panels, or comment boxes with arrows pop up in the film’s frames whenever Lotta’s imagination takes a wild turn. The film combines funny everyday scenes, endearing characters, and animated doodles from the books into a lively, modern children’s adventure. It stays true to Lotta’s inner world; it’s colorful, cheeky, and full of situational comedy—while also showing how important solidarity and trust are. "Atmospheric and affectionate, carefree and cheeky, over-the-top yet tender in its treatment of the characters, the film brings the spirited Lotta universe to life. It exuberantly celebrates imagination and unbreakable friendship, while also addressing social differences, vain idols and false role models, as well as cell phone and blog hype. Thus, the film is right in tune with the times, serving as a sort of snapshot of a brightly colored everyday world with a touch of slapstick. There’s fooling around and—at times delightfully corny—banter; characters argue and make up, all while pure joie de vivre bubbles over.” (Horst Peter Koll)